RTS Fellowship

Jack Thorne, Abi Morgan and Steven Knight among new RTS Fellows

Jesse Armstrong (Peep Show and Succession), Steven Knight (Peaky Blinders and the upcoming Victorian boxing drama A Thousand Blows), Abi Morgan (The Hour and The Split) and Jack Thorne (National Treasure and His Dark Materials) have all been honoured by the RTS.

Seetha Kumar: Champion for TV talent

Seetha Kumar

It is the best of times: the television business is booming. It is the worst of times: there is a skill shortage, so wage costs are soaring. Yet shouldn’t that make it the best of times again? Won’t television be forced to find and train a new generation of programme-makers who won’t all be white and middle class? This, I tell Seetha Kumar, the ambitious chief executive of ScreenSkills, is a battle she can win.

RTS East visits the virtual landscape with Dr Nick Lodge

Covering a lot of ground from the humble cathode-ray tube to the latest 8k displays, Lodge explained what it takes to make a production truly immersive – so the scene feels as real as if viewers were seeing it with their own eyes.

The viewers’ vision is filled with what’s playing out before them; cuts, mixes and zooms don’t make sense in this environment. The production needs to find other ways to lead them from one scene to the next.

Russell T Davies celebrates his TV career with RTS Wales

Russell T Davies at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama (Credit: Aaron Lowe Photography)

RTS Cymru Wales Chair Judith Winnan made the award at the end of a sold-out event at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama to mark the RTS Centre’s 60th anniversary.

The multi-award-winning writer and regenerator of Doctor Who had been discussing his career with Gethin Jones. The TV presenter met Davies when he was working on Blue Peter 15 years ago – and went on to appear in Doctor Who, albeit as a Dalek and Cyberman.

Jane Turton appointed new Chair of the Royal Television Society

Joining Jane Turton on the Board of Trustees is Anne Mensah, Vice-President of Content, Netflix, and Jane Millichip, Chief Commercial Officer Sky Studios.

Additionally, the RTS is awarding eight new Fellowships for 2019, recognising industry heavyweights who have made an outstanding and exceptional contribution to the industry.

Obituary: Bernadette Rogers (1929 – 2019)

Bernadette Rogers (left) with her civil partner Joyce Rogers (Credit: PA)

Bernard, as he then was, joined the Society in June 1958 and became a Fellow in 1975. At the time, he was chief engineer and manager of the Advanced Laboratory at Rank Radio International, as well as vice chairman of the British Radio and Electronic Equipment Manufacturers’ Association’s technical committee.

In 1952, Bernard was taken on by the Rank Organisation to work on colour television research. He went on to advise Margaret Thatcher’s government. One of his tasks was to win acceptance for the British Teletext system from standards bodies in Europe and the US.

How to uncover the truth in investigative journalism

All the President's Men (Credit: Warner Bros)

Arguably, the world has rarely been more in need of investigative journalism. Corrupt politicians; election meddling, state repression, business shenanigans, cheating in sport.… the list is endless. An RTS Futures event in May was therefore timely, with leading journalists discussing how they seek to right wrongs and bring the powerful to justice. 

Truth seeking is not for the faint-hearted: it requires exhaustive research and dogged patience – and, for those journalists investigating the world’s most oppressive regimes, bravery. In truth, it’s probably a young person’s game.