Royal Television Society reinstates award for Gaza journalists after backlash
The UK's Royal Television Society (RTS) has reinstated its award recognising the work of journalists in Gaza, reversing its earlier decision to cancel it last week.
'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,' a spokesperson said on Friday in a statement via Deadline.
'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.'
The spokesperson said '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," referencing a documentary BBC pulled from its streaming platform.
'Gaza: How to Survive a War Zone', a documentary about children in Gaza, was removed from iPlayer in February after mounting pressure from pro-Israel activists over a featured child being the son of a Palestinian minister. Ministers, bureaucrats and civil servants in Gaza are appointed by Hamas, while in the West Bank they are appointed by the Palestinian Liberation Organisation.
New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch
Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters
The cancellation of the award during the Television Journalism Awards in the UK last week sparked outrage in the UK, particularly among media staff.
Nearly 400 journalists, including leading media personalities, signed a petition requesting a meeting with King Charles over the decision to drop the recognition award and demanded an explanation of the decision-making process.
Signatories of the letter included Channel 4 News presenter Krishnan Guru-Murthy, television and radio presenter Sangita Myska and historian and former BBC current affairs presenter Jonathan Dimbleby, who called the RTS 'cowardly' for its decision.
The RTS said it is now 'discussing how this will take place,' but welcoming the decision, the media workers say 'the charity's statement does little" to address the concerns.
In a letter published by Artists for Palestine UK, UK Screen Industry criticised the RTS' recent statement for framing the decision to cancel the award simply as a 'pause,' and a "previously announced review process,' even though there was no mention of such a procedure earlier.
'In light of the organisation's apparent attempts to now reframe this shameful debacle, we stand by our demand for full answers to the questions raised in our letter of 11 March. We also ask: why did it take the RTS far longer to reinstate the award than it did to withdraw it?' the letter said.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Middle East Eye
an hour ago
- Middle East Eye
Mohammed bin Salman condemns Israel's war on Gaza in Eid message
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has used his Eid al-Adha address to denounce Israel's war on Gaza and renew calls for a peaceful resolution for the Palestinian people. 'Eid al-Adha comes this year while the suffering of our brothers in Palestine continues as a result of the Israeli aggression,' he said during his remarks. He urged the international community to act, saying it must 'end the disastrous repercussions of this aggression, protect civilians and innocents, and create a new reality in which Palestine enjoys peace.'
Gulf Today
5 hours ago
- Gulf Today
Netanyahu admits Israel supporting armed criminal gang against Hamas in Gaza
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu admitted that Israel is supporting an armed group in Gaza that opposes the Hamas group, following comments by a former minister that Israel had transferred weapons to it. Israeli and Palestinian media have reported that the group Israel has been working with is part of a local Bedouin tribe led by Yasser Abu Shabab. The European Council on Foreign Relations (EFCR) think tank describes Abu Shabab as the leader of a "criminal gang operating in the Rafah area that is widely accused of looting aid trucks." Knesset member and ex-defence minister Avigdor Liberman had told the Kan public broadcaster that the government, at Netanyahu's direction, was "giving weapons to a group of criminals and felons." "What did Liberman leak? That security sources activated a clan in Gaza that opposes Hamas? What is bad about that?" Netanyahu said in a video posted to social media on Thursday. "It is only good, it is saving lives of Israeli soldiers." Michael Milshtein, an expert on Palestinian affairs at the Moshe Dayan Center in Tel Aviv, told AFP that the Abu Shabab clan was part of a Bedouin tribe that spans across the border between Gaza and Egypt's Sinai peninsula. Some of the tribe's members, he said, were involved in "all kinds of criminal activities, drug smuggling, and things like that." Milshtein said that Abu Shabab had spent time in prison in Gaza and that his clan chiefs had recently denounced him as an Israeli "collaborator and a gangster." "It seems that actually the Shabak (Israeli security agency) or the (military) thought it was a wonderful idea to turn this militia, gang actually, into a proxy, to give them weapons and money and shelter" from army operations, Milshtein said. He added that Hamas killed four members of the gang days ago. The ECFR said Abu Shabab was "reported to have been previously jailed by Hamas for drug smuggling. His brother is said to have been killed by Hamas during a crackdown against the group's attacks on UN aid convoys." Israel regularly accuses Hamas, with which it has been at war for nearly 20 months, of looting aid convoys in Gaza. Hamas said the group had "chosen betrayal and theft as their path" and called on civilians to oppose them. Hamas, which has ruled Gaza for nearly two decades, said it had evidence of "clear coordination between these looting gangs, collaborators with the occupation (Israel), and the enemy army itself in the looting of aid and the fabrication of humanitarian crises that deepen the suffering of" Palestinians. The Popular Forces, as Abu Shabab's group calls itself, said on Facebook it had "never been, and will never be, a tool of the occupation". "Our weapons are simple, outdated, and came through the support of our own people," it added. Milshtein called Israel's decision to arm a group such as Abu Shabab "a fantasy, not something that you can really describe as a strategy". "I really hope it will not end with catastrophe," he said. Agence France-Presse
Middle East Eye
9 hours ago
- Middle East Eye
Thousands march in Rome against Israel's war on Gaza
Tens of thousands took to the streets of Rome on Saturday to protest the ongoing Israeli war on Gaza, in a massive demonstration led by opposition groups accusing Italy's government of being complicit in Israel's assault. 'Stop the massacre, stop complicity!' read a banner at the front of the march, as a sea of Palestinian flags, rainbow peace banners, and 'Free Palestine' signs stretched down the capital's avenues. Organisers estimated the turnout at around 300,000. The peaceful protest moved from Piazza Vittorio to San Giovanni, where speakers condemned the violence in Gaza and criticised the silence of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's far-right government. Protestors hold a banner reading "Free Palestine" as they join a demonstration called by Italian opposition parties in support of Palestinians in Gaza, in Rome on June 7, 2025 (AFP) A man holds a placard reading "Free Palestine" as he joins a demonstration called by Italian opposition parties in support of Palestinians in Gaza, in Rome on June 7, 2025 (AFP) Protesters holds puppets on the shape of human bodies covered with fake blood as they join a demonstration called by Italian opposition parties in support of Palestinians in Gaza, in Rome (AFP)
