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.

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.