RTS Television Journalism Awards 2021
Awards Ceremony
Wednesday, 24 February, 2021
The winners of the RTS Television Journalism Awards 2021 have been announced.
The virtual celebrations were hosted by Mishal Husain, Presenter, BBC Radio 4 and BBC News at Ten.
This year, the ‘Judges’ Award’ was given to all the technical teams in recognition of the ingenuity, innovation and speed they demonstrated this year to keep journalism on the air.
In individual awards, the BBC led the way, taking home nine wins across the 19 categories including ‘Scoop of the Year’ for BBC Breakfast’s Free School Meals, as well as ‘Interview of the Year’ for The Andrew Marr Show’s interview with the Chinese Ambassador, which the jury described as “a masterclass in technique, gutsy and went for the jugular”. ITV News at Ten took home the 'Daily News Programme of the Year' award, and ‘Television Journalist of the Year’ was awarded to Clive Myrie, BBC News, as well as ‘Network Presenter of the Year’ for his versatile, measured and compelling style.
Sky News garnered five awards this evening, receiving ‘News Channel of the Year’, as well as John Ryley being recognised with the prestigious ‘Outstanding Contribution Award’ for his impressive 30-year career, working for many of the UK’s major broadcasters throughout his tenure and effecting genuine change in the industry.
Chair of the Awards, Simon Bucks, said: “This has been an incredibly challenging year for all journalists and news organisations. Despite the difficulties of covering the Covid-19 pandemic, all the broadcasters who enter these awards have distinguished themselves with some remarkable coverage and every one of the nominees would have been a worthy winner. Moreover, many of them were not about the Coronavirus, but a range of other important stories which in any normal year would have dominated the agenda. I congratulate them all.”
“I am also immensely proud that despite all the constraints the RTS has managed to run the Television Journalism Awards so successfully.”
See the programme for the RTS Television Journalism Awards 2021 here
Watch the awards below.
See the full list of winners below.
Winners
Breaking News: Beirut Blast
Production Company: Al Jazeera English
Nominees:
Camera Operator of the Year: David McIlveen
Production Company: BBC News at Ten
Broadcaster: BBC News for BBC One
Nominees:
Current Affairs – Home: Panorama - The Forgotten Frontline
Production Company: BBC Panorama for BBC
Nominees:
Current Affairs – International: The Schools that Chain Boys
Title: BBC News Arabic
Production Company: BBC News Arabic for BBC iPlayer
Nominees:
Daily News Programme of the Year: ITV News at Ten
Production Company: ITN/ITV News for ITV
Nominees:
Digital Award: Need To Know - 2019 UK General Election Series
Title: Seth Goolnik & Warren Nettleford
Production Company: ntk.network
Nominees:
Interview of the Year: Andrew Marr and the Chinese Ambassador - The Andrew Marr Show
Production Company: BBC News for BBC One
Nominees:
Nations and Regions Current Affairs: Unequal Force? A BBC London Special
Production Company: BBC London for BBC One
Nominees:
Nations and Regions News: Coronavirus in London: Who’s hit the hardest?
Production Company: BBC London for BBC One
Nominees:
Nations and Regions Presenter of the Year: Hannah Miller
Title: Granada Reports
Production Company: ITV News Granada for ITV
Nominees:
Network Presenter of the Year: Clive Myrie
Title: BBC News at 10; BBC News at One
Production Company: BBC News Channel BBC News for BBC One and BBC News Channel
Nominees:
News Channel of the Year: Sky News
Nominees:
News Coverage – Home: Covid UK
Production Company: Sky News
Nominees:
News Coverage - International: A Warning from Italy
Production Company: Sky News
Nominees:
News Technology: The Trump data leak
Title: Channel 4 News
Production Company: ITN for Channel 4
Nominees:
Television Journalist of the Year: Clive Myrie
Production Company: BBC News for BBC News Channel
Nominees:
Young Talent of the Year: Renata Brito
Title: Video Journalist
Production Company: The Associated Press
Nominees:
Scoop of the Year: Free School Meals
Production Company: BBC Breakfast for BBC One
Nominees:
Specialist Journalist of the Year: Nick Martin
Production Company: Sky News
Nominees:
Judges' Award: Technical Teams
Nominees:
“The pandemic and lockdown forced the industry to devise new ways of content gathering, and in the frontline were hundreds of colleagues – the technical and engineering teams - whose contributions are rarely recognised in these awards. They not only had to innovate at speed, often they were the only people who routinely had to go to work despite the personal risks. As one juror said pithily “they kept journalism on the air.””
Outstanding Contribution: John Ryley
Title: Sky News
Nominees:
“The Outstanding Contribution award goes to a journalist who really has done what it says on the tin – effected genuine change in our business. I have witnessed it first-hand over 30 years. He has worked for all three of the major UK broadcasters. His style is innovative, idiosyncratic.
His integrity, influence and authority, colossal.”