RTS commits to making special award after Gaza coverage controversy

The Royal Television Society (RTS) has committed to the return of its special journalism award following pausing the prize over “recent controversy around some Gaza coverage”.

Earlier this week, current affairs veteran Jonathan Dimbleby, Channel 4 News presenter Krishnan Guru-Murthy, Sky News journalist Alex Crawford and BBC journalists Fergal Keane and Orla Guerin were among those who signed a letter expressing their “shock and disgust” at not recognising the journalists of Gaza.

The RTS had been set to honour the “journalists at the television journalism awards on March 5 2025, but subsequently reversed this decision on the day of the awards”, the letter said.

It comes after the BBC apologised for and removed the documentary Gaza: How To Survive A Warzone from iPlayer, saying it had “identified serious flaws” in the making of the programme.

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Daily coverage

Channel 4 News admitted that the son of a Hamas official, who featured in the BBC Gaza programme, was briefly part of its daily coverage of the Israel-Hamas war.

Following the broadcasters’ letter being issued, a spokeswoman for the RTS said: “A decision was taken not to present the special award at the Royal Television Society Journalism Awards.

“At that time, it was felt strongly that there was potential at the ceremony on the night for the recent controversy around some Gaza coverage to overshadow the award.

“Following the decision to pause the presentation of the award, the RTS met this week as part of the society’s previously announced review process.

“The society remains committed to recognising the work of journalists in Gaza and will be making the special award. It is discussing how this will take place.”

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'Lack of transparency'

The letter from broadcasters – also including Channel 4’s chief correspondent Alex Thompson, executive producer and former editor of Channel 4 News Ben de Pear, Oscar-winning directors Kevin MacDonald and Asif Kapadia, and RTS and Emmy-winning director Ramita Navai – also said they were concerned by the RTS’ “lack of transparency”.

They also copied in the King, the royal patron of the RTS, and requested to meet with him.

“Journalists in Gaza have indeed achieved this with exceptional coverage that, despite unimaginable challenges, has brought the realities of the war to a global audience,” the letter also said.

“Their work has made a profound impact, showcasing resourcefulness, creativity and enterprise under extreme conditions, which the RTS itself values in its awards criteria.”

The letter was signed by more than 300 media figures.

U-turn

The UK Screen Industry, which coordinated the statement, said it welcomes the “U-turn” but said the “charity’s statement does little to address or allay our concerns”.

“It is clear to all that this award must be presented at the RTS Programme Awards on March 25 with the full recognition and honour these journalists deserve,” the body said.

“Any further delay and prevarication would only serve to undermine the RTS’s credibility further.”

The statement added the “reversal is just the first step”, and called for an review.

Channel 4 said it had “thoroughly reviewed” how Abdullah al-Yazouri, the son of Ayman Alyazouri, who has worked as Hamas’s deputy minister of agriculture, came to appear in “three short news segments for the programme”, before taking the decision not to feature him again.

It also denied he had featured in a documentary or any of its coverage which won awards.

Last year, Channel 4 News was named news programme of the year by the RTS and also took home the title of news provider of the year at the 2024 British Journalism Awards.

The BBC said it is “seeking additional assurance” from production company Hoyo Films after it admitted “they paid the boy’s (Abdullah) mother, via his sister’s bank account, a limited sum of money for the narration”.

Other accusations have been made that parts of the documentary were mistranslated and more children who appeared in it were linked to proscribed terrorist organisation Hamas.

Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy has accused the BBC of failing to show enough urgency in its review of the documentary.

However, presenters Gary Lineker and Anita Rani, and actors Riz Ahmed and Miriam Margolyes, are among more than 500 media figures who condemned the withdrawal from iPlayer.