RTS Will Now Give Prize Recognizing Journalists In Gaza At Next Week’s Programme Awards

Journalists covering the Gaza conflict will finally be recognized next week by the Royal Television Society (RTS), following a fortnight-long saga that has seen the RTS attract ire from all corners of the industry.

A spokeswoman for the organization said in the past few minutes: “The RTS will be making the Special Award for Journalists in Gaza at the Society’s Programme Awards on March 25.”

These awards recognize TV shows and will take place in a week’s time. The special award was initially meant to be given at the RTS Journalism Awards earlier this month but was scrapped at the last minute, with the RTS saying it did not wish to “add fuel to the fire” around Gaza: How to Survive a War Zone, the BBC documentary that was pulled after it was revealed that the child narrator was the son of a Hamas minister.

Hundreds of British media figures have since contacted the RTS and even requested a meeting with RTS Patron King Charles, with the RTS bowing to pressure last week, saying it would in fact go ahead with the gong. Big beasts like the BBC’s Jonathan Dimbleby had branded the RTS “cowards” for its initial decision to scrap the prize.

The award will be given at a ceremony that traditionally recognizes mainstream TV shows. This year’s noms include Ben Whishaw for Black Doves and Ambika Mod for One Day.

The news comes on a tragic day for Gaza, with hundreds reported to have been killed overnight by Israeli airstrikes as the fragile ceasefire slips.