Royal Television Society to give prizes that journalists in Gaza recognize
Journalists who cover the war in Gaza – including the 170 killed – will now be recognized by the British Royal Television Society (RTS) in a reversal of a decision that has fueled controversy, anger and debate from the entire industry for two weeks.
“On 25 March, the RTS will make the special prize for journalists in Gaza in Gaza at the Society’s Program Awards,” said a spokesperson for the organization on Tuesday.
The special prize would be awarded during the RTS Journalism Awards that was held earlier this month, but was withdrawn at the last minute. At the time, the organization said that it did not want to add “fuel to the fire” around the “Gaza: How to survive a war zone” documentary of the BBC, which was drawn after it was revealed that the child narrator was the son of a minister in the government of Hamas (a movement that also generated weeks of heated discussion on both sides).
“A decision was made not to award the special prize during the Royal Television Society Television Journalism Awards during the ceremony on March 5,” said RTS spokesperson in the latest update. “At that time it was strongly felt that during the ceremony there was potential for the recent controversy around Gaza coverage to overshadow the price.”
The move was immediately convicted by British journalists, including various well -known figures. A letter signed by nearly 400 people asked for a meeting with RTS protector King Charles about the issue and ‘demanded transparency’ about the decision-making processes of the RTS. Renomed current affairs host Jonathan Dimbleby called the RTS “Cowards.”
“We welcome the U-bend of the Royal Television Society in restoring the special prize for the courageous Palestinian journalists from Gaza,” said the artists for Palestine UK Group on the Rts Reversal. “However, the statement of the charity does little to tackle or remove our worries.”
The RTS announcement came on a day of intense bloodshed in Gaza, where more than 400 Palestinians were reportedly killed in strikes by Israel at night and the ceases -the breaking fires that came into force in January.
