The winners of Amnesty International UK’s prestigious Media Awards 2019 have been announced at a ceremony in London.
The Guardian took home Amnesty’s Impact Award for its Windrush Scandal campaign, and imprisoned Reuters journalists Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo were recognised for their investigation into the massacre of Rohingya people in Inn Din state in Myanmar.
Channel 4 News, The Mail on Sunday and BBC Radio 4 were also winners at this evening’s awards.
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.
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 highlighted 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 Loughinisland in 1994. The pair gave a speech about their experiences during the ceremony.
Kate Allen, Director of Amnesty International UK, said:
“Media work is vitally important for Amnesty and everything we do. This evening we’ve seen some brilliant journalism that has had enormous human rights impact.
“The reporting we’ve recognised has helped change lives – from the Windrush Generation in Britain to Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh.
“Without a free press, it’s extremely difficult to expose wrong-doing and hold leaders to account. But even here in the UK we’re seeing it being threatened – especially with the sinister arrest of Trevor Birney and Barry McCaffrey in Northern Ireland last year.
“That’s why our awards are about congratulating the achievements of the media and championing its role in creating a fairer, more open world.”
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 Diapre (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 honour journalists in their own countries this week, highlighting global work to promote human rights issues in the press.
