The Association for International Broadcasting (AIB) announced the winners of its annual global media excellence awards at a gala event in London on 9 November 2010.
The AIB Awards are unique in broadcasting because of their independence from commercial interests – an independent panel of judges consisting of respected professionals from the broadcasting and wider industries selected the winners among a record number of entries submitted from all over the world.
Categories covered by the AIBs include separate awards for radio and television, cross-media productions, as well as awards for innovation in marketing, use of technology, and for the first time this year a People’s Choice award where the public determined the winner in the category ‘Best coverage of Climate Change’ via online voting.
Simon Spanswick, AIB CEO said: Very noticeable this year were the vast improvements in entries to the cross-media category we saw a range of submissions that ably demonstrated the potential for story-telling across multiple platforms, whether serving a highly web-literate audience or an audience in an area where mobile rather than web is the most effective way to reach people.”
Hosted by Vanessa Mock, EU Correspondent, Feature Story News, the event was attended by 180 senior executives, producers and journalists from media organisations around the world.
The winners of the 2010 AIBs are:
Clearest coverage of a single news event television
Winner: Al Jazeera English (Qatar) for Gaza Flotilla coverage
—“well-rounded, with journalists on the ground everywhere, ensuring that all sides of the stories were presented, combined with background footage, excellently chosen guests and high quality analysis”—
Highly commended
France 24 (France) for The Battle of Bangkok
—“high risk and high impact coverage, told from behind the lines on both sides”—
Al Jazeera English (Qatar) for Thai Protests coverage
—“excellent live coverage of a developing story”—
Clearest coverage of a single news event radio
Winner: BBC World Service (UK) for Connexion Haiti
—“a lifeline to the survivors of the Haitian earthquake exactly the sort of thing that international broadcasters can do so well when disaster strikes”—
Best creative feature – television
Winner: VRT (Belgium) for Volt
—“a wonderfully subversive consumer affairs programme that is an example to broadcasters throughout the world of the TV medium holding companies to account”—
Highly commended
Voice of America (USA) for Bai Jie Speaks English
—“a great concept, nicely realised with a good portion of humour”—
WDR (Germany) for Pizza in Auschwitz
—“this fly-on-the-wall documentary is a must-see that leaves you deeply impressed”—
Best creative feature – radio
Winner: Tinderbox Production (UK) for Flexible Friend or Foe
—“the story of the credit card excellent editing, amazing creativity and a highly relevant story”—
Highly commended
BBC World Service (UK) for The Day that Lehman Died
—“an absolutely gripping programme, with creative re-enactments to illustrate a complex tale”—
Radio Netherlands Worldwide (Netherlands) for Down’s but Not Out
—“the story of a young Down’s sufferer wanting to lead a normal life is treated with sensitivity and warmth worth listening to more than once”—
Most innovative technology – sponsored by Bloomberg TV
Winner: Sony Professional and HBS (UK) for The World’s First 3D World Cup
—“the winner for sheer innovation very, very cool one of the technology highlights of the year”—
Highly commended
CNN International (UK) for CNN International/YouTube Debate on Climate Change
—“cost-effective and ingenious use of existing technology to create excellent audience interactivity on a truly global basis”—
Ruwido Austria (Austria) for Invitro Remote Control
—“a clever twist on a household product with real relevance to the iPhone generation, well thought out and beautifully designed”—
Best cross-media/online production – sponsored by Eurosport
Winner: Arte France (France) for Prison Valley
—” this advanced form of web documentary and truly multimedia production shows the way ahead for content producers aiming to capture the attention of audiences across platforms”—
Highly commended
Radio Free Asia (USA) for Travelling Down the Mekong
—“the multilingual efforts alone make this production stand out”—
BBC World Service Trust (UK) for BBC Janala
—“highly creative, with excellent use of mobile, to make language teaching more accessible”—
Most creative marketing strategy
Winner : Shree FM (Sri Lanka) for Badumalla
—“the cleverly devised and executed campaign worked on two levels as a way to promote the station across the country and increase audience numbers, and as a corporate social responsibility campaign “—
Best children’s factual programme or series – sponsored by 1GOAL
Winner: BBC (UK) for Horrible Histories
—“thoroughly engaging and educational a format that will work in territories worldwide looks great on the screen with inventive use of graphics and first-rate story-telling”—
Highly commended
KI.KA Der Kinderkanal von ARD und ZDF (Germany) for Next stop – happiness
—“this philosophical programme stretches the viewer’s imagination great viewing”—
BBC (UK) for Newsround
—“thoroughly accessible for kids of different ages, well paced with clever visual support and good variety of subjects”—
Best investigative documentary – television
Winner : Clover Films (UK) for The Dancing Boys of Afghanistan
—“fascinating and disturbing, with remarkable access to the subject a risky investigation requiring immense self-control on the part of the production team”—
Highly commended
Al Jazeera English (Qatar) for Dirty Little Secrets
—“an excellently executed investigation into claims that the US used biological weapons against civilians in the Korean war”—
VRT (Belgium) for Blood Antiques
—“the dark world of Afghan ‘blood antiques’ and Belgian antique dealers expertly uncovered, using good dramatisation and interviews—
Prospero Productions (Australia) for Every Family’s Nightmare
—“remarkable access to a family being torn apart by Australia’s criminal justice system, with sensitively handled interviews”—
Best investigative documentary – radio
Winner : Czech Radio (Czech Republic) for A Boy and the Stars
— “why does the name of Jewish boy Petr Ginz who perished in Auschwitz and his fascination with space travel still live on in people’s consciousness? great use of the sound stage in this sensitive production”—
Highly commended
RFE/RL (Czech Republic) for Plight of Afghan, Tajik Prisoners
—“delves into the issue and stirs up interest in the highest levels of Afghan government to end the bureaucratic limbo “—
People’s Choice “Best Coverage of Climate Change” – sponsored by ADB
Winner decided by online voting: Phoenix Satellite Television (HongKong) for Earth Rescue Operation
—“clearly a hit with viewers, winning the AIB’s inaugural People’s Choice award in a closely fought contest the programme examines the major problems of pollution, carbon dioxide emissions and increasing demand for resources while looking optimistically at new technological solutions and man’s ingenuity in solving problems”—
Best current affairs documentary – television
Winner : Channel 4 Television (UK) for Afghanistan: Behind Enemy Lines
—“compelling, providing a unique perspective the whole team was prepared to take a risk to deliver outstanding television”—
Highly commended
Société Radio-Canada (Canada) for The Ultimate Forgiveness
—“a compelling story, movingly told with beautiful images”—
BBC Three (UK) for Women, Weddings, War and Me
—“shocking pictures, strong emotions in an excellent film”—
Best current affairs documentary – radio
Winner : BBC World Service (UK) for Dying to Give Birth
—“drew the listener in from its opening seconds – once listening to the programme, it was impossible to stop”—
Highly commended
Radio Taiwan International (Taiwan) for Breaking into Death Row
—“dealt with a very challenging subject in a way that probably could not be bettered”—
Ruth Evans Productions (UK) for A Dollar a Day
—” great context and a thoroughly well-told story”—
Best historical documentary – television
Winner : WDR (Germany) for Picture of the Napalm Girl
—“disturbing to watch but giving remarkable insight into the Vietnam War, the photographer and his subject”—
Highly commended
Phoenix Satellite Television (HongKong) for Journey to North Korea
—“excellent pace and great content were complemented by sophisticated editing and sound”—
Best specialist genre – television
Winner : The Doha Debates (Qatar) for The Doha Debates
—“an outstanding contribution to TV in the Middle East and around the world”—
Highly commended
SBS TV (Australia) for Italian Food Safari
—“beautiful and lovingly produced essentially a cookery show but with a cultural perspective and great visual appeal”—
Russian Travel Guide (Russian Federation) for Finding Seal Pups
—“beautifully photographed, with insightful context”
International personality of the year – television
Winner: Stephen Sackur BBC News (UK)
—“knowledgeable and well-prepared and not afraid to hold his interviewees to account”—
International personality of the year – radio
Winner : Alain Lefèvre Société Radio-Canada (Canada)
—“his genuine passion for the things he talks about comes across so clearly”—
Full details of the 2010 International Media Excellence Awards can be found at theaibs.tv
The judges
for the AIBs have a vast range of experience in different aspects of broadcasting and are drawn from all over the world. In 2010 the judges were: Malika Alouane, Director of Channels Programming, JCC and Baraem TV, Qatar; Salim Amin, Chairman, A24 Media, Kenya; Samuel Attah-Mensah, MD, OmniMedia Ltd. (CitiFM), Ghana; Zeinab Badawi, Journalist/Presenter, BBC World News, UK; Paul Bristow, VP Strategy, Advanced Digital Broadcast, Switzerland; Jay Chauhan, VP Technology, NDTV, India; Linden Clark, Manager, RNZI, New Zealand; Julian Clover, Editorial Director, Broadband TV News, UK; Bryan Coombes, Director Business Development, Babcock International Group, UK; Natasha Elkington, Reporter and Online Editor, Thomson Reuters, UK; Adelheid Feilcke-Tiemann, Director International Relations, Deutsche Welle, Germany; Jeff Gedmin, President, RFE/RL, Czech Republic; Jill Grinda, Worldwide Distribution Director, euronews, France; Ma Guoli, CEO, Infront Sports and Media, Peoples Republic of China; Amir Jahangir, CEO, Mishal, Pakistan; Abubakar Jijiwa, Director General, Voice of Nigeria, Nigeria; Francois Laborie, CCO, Vizrt, Norway; Stanislas Leridon, Internet and New Media, France 24, France; Brian Martinez, International Managing Director, Bloomberg Television EMEA, UK; Marcus Metzner, Head Marketing & Communications, S4M, Germany; Charles-Antoine Moulin, Editorial Director, Eurosport 2, France; Naveen Naqvi, Journalist/Producer/Anchor, Pakistan; Mark Rhodes, President, Intermedia, USA; Lior Rival, VP Sales and Marketing, RRsat Global Communications Network, Israel; Vatche Sarkisian, Director of Research and Program Review, Middle East Broadcasting Networks, USA; Bhavneet Singh, MD & Executive VP,MTV Networks International; Debra Soon, MD TV, Channel NewsAsia, MediaCorp, Singapore; Simon Spanswick, CEO, AIB, UK; Victoria Vorontsova, Head of Spanish Channel, RT Channel, Russia
About the AIB
Established in 1993, the AIB is the international industry association and global knowledge network for the international broadcasting industry cross-media, cross-border, cross-cultural. With a reach of over 25,000 communicators and media professionals, AIB is a unique centre of information about international broadcasting, covering TV, radio, online and mobile. AIB researches regular market intelligence briefings for its members and provides client-specific consultancy and project support. Members receive an extensive package of services throughout the year. AIB publishes the comprehensive Global Broadcasting Sourcebook and the international media magazine, The Channel. AIB hosts the annual AIB International Media Excellence Awards the “AIBs”. For more information, visit www.aib.org.uk