The winners of Amnesty International UK’s prestigious Media Awards 2019 have been announced at a ceremony in London this evening, with the BBC Documentary of Princess Latifa taking the most prestigious award for best documentary.
Amnesty’s Media Awards, which have been running annually since 1992, celebrate excellence in human rights journalism and applaud the courage and determination of journalists who often put their lives on the line to report on vital human rights issues.
The ceremony was held at Bafta in central London and was hosted by journalist and Channel 4 News presenter Cathy Newman.
Escape from Dubai: The Mystery of the Missing Princess was produced by the BBC World’s current affairs team for BBC two with the Free Latifa campaign group director Tiina Jauhiainenand David Haigh. The BBC documentary crew were the first media that Tiina Jauhiainenand the team met in London in April 2018 when they were released from the UAE secret prison and David Haigh and the team have worked tirelessly with the BBC to produce the groundbreaking documentary, which ultimately saw the UAE forced to reveal the whereabouts of Latifa after 9 months of their silence. The BBC crew were given exclusive access to the team and filmed across the world from Cornwall to Manilla.
David Haigh said “Tiina and I worked around the clock for almost 8 months with the amazingly said and passionate BBC team, Sam, Jane, and Sarah. On choosing the production team it was critical to us to ensure that they would tell the true story, which needed bravely and passion and this team had it in bags”
Tiina Jauhiaien added “the BBC has done my brave friend and her courage bid for freedom justice. Now we just need to get her free so she can sit with me and watch HER documentary”.
Kate Allen, the director of Amnesty UK said: “Without a free press, it’s extremely difficult to expose wrong-doing and hold leaders to account” and “Our awards are about congratulating the achievements of the media and championing its role in creating a fairer, more open-world”. Escape From Dubai has helped us raise awareness on Latifa’s plight and has changed many people’s views on UAE as a safe holiday destination to a more realistic one.
During the ceremony, there was a moment of reflection for the 89 journalists who were imprisoned last year for their work. The event was also used to highlight the case of Barry McCaffrey and Trevor Birney- two Northern Ireland journalists who could potentially face prison sentences for exposing police collusion in a massacre of six civilians in Loughin island in 1994. The pair gave a speech about their experiences during the ceremony.
The winners:
News (Broadcast)
- Channel 4 News (Pacha Films) -Riding the Death Train to the US
Judges: Ronke Phillips (ITV); Nevine Mabro (Channel 4 News); Sarah Sands (BBC Radio 4 Today); Peter Diaper (Sky News); Harriet Garland (Amnesty).
Features
- Corinne Redfern, Elle UK & Fuller Project for International Reporting – The Warriors: My Husband Sold Me To A Brothel
Judges: Lucy Pasha-Robinson (HuffPost UK); Anna Silverman (Grazia); Nosheen Iqbal (Observer); Emma Gatten (Telegraph); Sharon Lougher (Metro); Niall Couper (Amnesty).
Radio and Podcasts
- BBC Radio 4 (Falling Tree Productions) -Lights Out: A Sense of Quietness
Judges: Sirin Kale (Broadly, VICE); Felicity Finch (The Archers); Nick Rotherham (BBC); Jonathan Rugman (Channel 4 News); Sam Lawlor (Amnesty).
Student Journalist
- Claisse Opulencia, Canterbury Christ Church University -Canterbury Landlords Offering Free Rent for Sex
Judges: Aimee Meade (Metro); Megha Mohan (BBC); Tina Moran (Press Association); Kirstie O’Mahony (Women in Media/BBC); Ella Berny (Amnesty).
Gaby Rado Award for Best New Journalist
- Joe Wallen-The Telegraph
Judges: Eleanor McDowall (Falling Tree Productions); Liliane Landor (Channel 4 News); Paul Waugh (HuffPost UK); Louis Rado; Harriet Garland (Amnesty).
Investigation
- Reuters -Myanmar Burning
Judges: Cait FitzSimons (5 News); Sue Turton (Channel 4 Unreported World); Toby Castle (BBC); Miriam Wells (Bureau of Investigative Journalism); Cora Bauer (Amnesty).
Regional Media
- BBC Northern Ireland – Spotlight: Buried Secrets
Judges: Toby Granville (Newsquest); James Stewart (BBC); Matthew Barraclough (BBC); Gail Walker (Belfast Telegraph); Patrick Corrigan (Amnesty).
Photojournalism
- Giles Duley (Humanity Magazine) -We are here because we are strong
Judges: Phil Coomes (BBC); Paul Conroy (photojournalist and documentary maker); Claire Thomas (freelance); Liz Jobey (Financial Times Weekend Magazine); Rich Cowley (Amnesty).
Innovation
- Al Jazeera Digital -Lost Childhoods: Nigeria’s fear of ‘witchcraft’ ruins young lives
Judges: Mustafa Khalili (BBC); Shehani Fernando (freelance VR director); Sam Joiner (The Times); Mohit Bakaya (BBC Radio 4 Factual); Laurie Hanna (Amnesty).
News (Written Word)
- Ian Birrell, The Mail on Sunday –Locked Up For Autism
Judges: George Arbuthnot (Sunday Times); Emily Retter (Daily Mirror); Olivia Alabaster (Independent); Claire Newell (Telegraph); Harriet Garland (Amnesty).
Documentaries
- BBC Two – Escape from Dubai: The Mystery of the Missing Princess
Judges: Fran Baker (Blakeway North); Chris Shaw (ITN); Nawal Al-Maghafi (BBC); Nick Springate (BBC); Neil Durkin (Amnesty).
Impact Award
- Amelia Gentleman & The Guardian –Windrush Scandal
Judges: Kate Allen (Director, Amnesty UK); Kerry Moscogiuri (Director of Campaigns and Communications, Amnesty UK); Thomas Schultz-Jagow (Senior Director, Campaigns and Communications, Amnesty International Secretariat).
The full Media Awards 2019 shortlist can be found here.
Amnesty International USA and Amnesty International Canada will similarly honor journalists in their own countries this week, highlighting global work to promote human rights issues in the press.
Read the full press release here: https://www.amnesty.org.uk/press-releases/amnesty-media-awards-2019-winners-announced