Television Journalism Awards 2009
WINNERS
Young Journalist of the Year
Hannah Thomas-Peter - Sky News
“A combination of fantastic access and great insight has enabled our winner to help transform health coverage on Sky News.”
Nominees
Joe Crowley - Inside Out BBC South
Kate Taunton - Channel 4 News ITN for Channel 4 News
Nations and Regions Current Affairs
The Story of Michael Barnett - Inside Out BBC Yorkshire
“A powerful programme with a sure touch…with the confidence to let the story tell itself.”
Nominees:
A Friend in Need - Focus ITV Meridian
Meat Hygiene - Week In Week Out Special BBC Wales
Nations and Regions News Coverage
Weston Pier Fire - The West Tonight ITV West for ITV1
“… comprehensive, engaging and professionally presented. It had outstanding pictures and a real sense of an event which affected the whole community.”
Nominees:
Boris's Deputy - Ray Lewis Investigation BBC London News
The Darwin Trial North East Tonight for ITV1
Scoop of the Year
HBOS/Lloyds TSB Merger BBC News Channel
“… indeed 'an extraordinary exclusive' which heralded the extraordinary changes in the British banking system.”
Nominees:
China - The Moment the Earth Shook ITV News
Canoe Man - Gerard Tubb Sky News
Presenter of the Year
Jon Snow - Channel 4 News ITN for Channel 4 News
“…yet another superb year, whether it was in the studio – interrogating politicians and bankers - or out in the field - from the Middle East to the United States. One jury member said ‘he’s just brilliant. There’s nothing more to say.’”
Nominees:
Kay Burley - Sky News Sky News
Andrew Neil - BBC News
News Coverage - Home
The British Banking Crisis BBC News
“The winning entry started with a scoop of the first order and followed it with reportage and explanation of the highest quality. It was without doubt the story of the year and showed BBC News at its very best.”
Nominees:
Ipswich - Guilty ITV News
Heathrow Crash BBC News
News Coverage - International
Congo Crisis ITN for Channel 4 News
“Top class coverage of a consistently high standard… It was totally comprehensive, enterprising and managed brilliantly to use small individual stories to explain the bigger picture.”
Nominees:
China - The Earthquake ITV News
Conflict in the Caucasus - Newsnight BBC Newsnight for BBC Two
News Channel of the Year
BBC News Channel
“The winning news channeldelivered a fantastic series of scoops on the story of the year. It was a channel you had to watch to keep abreast of the breaking economic news.”
Nominees:
Al Jazeera English News Al Jazeera English News
Sky News Sky News
Current Affairs - Home
Nominees:
Omagh: What The Police Were Never Told - Panorama BBC for BBC One
The Secret Peacemaker BBC for BBC Two
Current Affairs - International
Undercover in Tibet – Dispatches True Vision for Channel 4 Television
“…a truly great current affairs film that sheds light on the future. Filmed just months before Tibet erupted into rioting, this extraordinarily brave programme, made at great personal risk and with much hardship, illuminated the tensions and troubles of the country, with powerful testimony and pictures.”
Nominees:
Britain's Most Wanted - This World Mentorn Media for BBC for BBC Two
Iraq's Lost Generation - Dispatches Hardcash for Channel 4 Television
Innovative News
10 Days to War - Newsnight BBC Newsnight for BBC Two
“The winning series harnessed everything from drama documentary to a special website to re-examine events leading to the Iraq war in 2003. The jury saw this as a brave and successful venture to capture a new and younger audience.”
Nominees:
Unplugged Sky News
On The Frontline - Afghan Headcams ITV News
Specialist Journalist of the Year
Robert Peston - BBC News
“One journalist dominated this year’s specialist category. [He] owned the story of the Credit Crunch and its impact on the whole economy.”
Nominees:
Faisal Islam - Channel 4 News/ Channel 4 News at Noon ITN for Channel 4 News
Jason Farrell - Five News Sky News for Five News
News Programme of the Year
BBC News at Ten BBC News for BBC One
“In a vintage year for news output, this programme shone through. The jury felt it had led the way on a wide range of major stories and the experience and quality of its leading correspondents had simply been unmatched anywhere else. It had triumphed on the big story of the year but had supported that with first-class reporting throughout.”
Nominees:
Five News with Natasha Kaplinsky Sky News for Five News
News at Ten ITV News
Camera Operator of the Year
Garwen McLuckie - Sky News Sky News
“The winner’s work in Africa was fearless and showed a remarkable empathy for the problems faced by people across the continent. His story-telling was impressive and his work demonstrated immense personal bravery and the highest technical skills.”
Nominees:
Raul Gallego Abellan - Associated Press Television News Associated Press Television News
Stuart Webb - Channel 4 News ITN for Channel 4 News
Television Journalist of the Year
Robert Peston - BBC News
“The winning correspondent produced probably the most sustained run of scoops and exclusives in the history of broadcast news in the UK... It would not be an exaggeration to say that a large part of the nation hung on the winner’s words every night -- he personally revived appointment-to-view.”
Nominees:
Martin Geissler - Africa Correspondent ITV News
Emma Hurd - Sky News Sky News
Lifetime Achievement Award:
Peter Wilkinson
“This year’s winner is, for the first time, a cameraman. He is not a household name - but you will all recognise his work. Many of the defining moments of our era have been captured through his lens, and he is one of the true pioneers of his trade.
The winner was ITN's longest serving cameraman, cutting his teeth in the monochrome days of the Vietnam War, bringing the world images of America's humiliation at its own embassy. In the course of his work since then, he's yomped across Antarctica and paddled up the Amazon way before climate change became fashionable, and been winched across the North Sea to cover the Cod Wars. On many occasions, he witnessed the brutality of life and death in Northern Ireland.
Today's generation of news editors think nothing of putting up a helicopter to cover a story. What few know is that it was our winner who first pioneered aerial newsgathering - often live. He was based aboard ITN's own aircraft - the first to be operated by any British news provider.
He is always known to friends and colleagues as a charismatic, patient and diligent professional - qualities which came to the fore just over a decade ago when he was selected by all the main newsrooms to be the first official pool cameraman at Buckingham Palace, where he has struck up a unique relationship with the Queen. His work gives us all a view of our Royal Family which was unthinkable just a few years ago. And, well into his 60s, he's still going strong.”
Judges’ Awards:
Zimbabwe News Teams
“[This year’s Judges’ Award] recognises and salutes the work of a disparate collection of journalists, cameramen, producers and others who work under the radar, who have helped the outside world to report and understand a major international story that would otherwise have remained largely hidden from view.
Robert Mugabe's government in Zimbabwe has done its best to cover up the terrible economic and human cost of its actions by banning western broadcasters. It goes further, harassing and physically intimidating not only those journalists who get in under cover but any locals who might offer them help.
Despite this, several extraordinary brave people have taken great risks to work with Western journalists and broadcastersbecause of their passionate belief that the real story of Zimbabwe must reach a wider world. It's fair to say that without their work, very little of the British reporting of the country over the past few years would have been possible.
For obvious reasons the people we honour tonight cannot be identified, but in a few minutes we'll hear first hand from some of our colleagues who have had the benefit of their courage and expertise.”
Gold Medal
Stewart Purvis
“[The Gold Medal goes] to someone whose name may not be widely known by the public but who has influenced, directly or indirectly, virtually everything we've seen on screen tonight. He is, without doubt, one of the makers of modern television news.
Those of us who have had the privilege of working for him - and learning from him - will attest that he has been by turns inspiring and pretty terrifying; a true leader and an extraordinarily talented man; a genuine innovator and an uncompromising perfectionist; the sort of boss for whom - and maybe it's a cliche but it's still true - most of us would happily follow over the top of any trench towards the sound of guns.
And besides, we have to be nice to him now because after more than 30 years as a leader of our industry, he's now a regulator!”.