The annual AIB Awards for media excellence have honoured BBC Persian TV, France 24, Deutsche Welle and BBC World News, amongst others. The winners were selected from a pool of 200 entries from 26 countries.
”The AIBs celebrate the best in broadcasting worldwide and the winners highlight how professional output is continuing to stand out and offer genuine value in an age of user-generated content,” said AIB chief executive Simon Spanswick. “The AIBs also demonstrate how broadcasters are using new technology both to improve programme making and to reach out and involve their audiences more fully.”
The recently established BBC Persian TV won the award for the ‘Clearest coverage of a single news event’ for the Iranian elections. The winner of ‘Most innovative technology’ was France 24 for its iPhone application, at launch the first such app to appear. BBC World News anchor Zeinab Badawi was named ‘International personality of the year’, the judges describing her as “a clear winner”.
The AIB Editors’ Awards were collected by the Al Jazeera Children’s Channel “in recognition of the channel’s innovative and inspirational approach to providing fun education television to a region of the world where children are underserved”.
Belgium’s VRT News was also honoured by the AIB Editors, thanks to the innovative coverage of the 2009 elections that were said to tear down barriers between presenters, politicians and voters.
Selected independently of commercial interests, the AIB Awards were presented by Bloomberg TV anchor Francine Lacqua at a ceremony at St Luke’s, London, home to the London Symphony Orchestra.
Full list of winners
- Clearest coverage of a single news event – television: BBC Persian TV (UK) for The elections that shook Iran
- Clearest coverage of a single news event – radio: RFE/RL (Czech Republic) for Special coverage of the Azeri referendum
- Most creative specialist genre – television: Pyramedia (UAE) for The Prince of Poets
- Most creative specialist genre – radio: Deutsche Welle (Germany) for Family affairs – how to become a political player
- Best creative feature – television: Rockhopper TV (UK) for Love in a time of HIV – I love NY.
- Best creative feature – radio: Tinderbox Productions (UK) for The counterfeiter’s tale
- Most innovative technology: France 24 (France) for World pioneer on the iPhone
- Best mobile or cross-media production: RTHK (Hong Kong) for Deconstructing Hong Kong
- Most creative marketing strategy: ABC Radio Australia (Australia) for Pacific break
- Best current affairs documentary – television: CBC Radio-Canada (Canada) for Baby boomers take on Mount Mera/Channel 4 (UK) for Dispatches – Pakistan’s Taliban generation
- Best current affairs documentary – radio: Tinderbox Productions (UK) for Children of God
- Best historical documentary – television: WDR (Germany) for Tiananmen
- Best investigative documentary – television: BBC World News (UK) for Korea, out of the North
- Best investigative documentary – radio: Ruth Evans Productions (UK) for The new scramble for Africa
- International TV personality of the year: Zeinab Badawi – BBC World News (UK)
- AIB Editors’ Awards: Al Jazeera Children’s Channel (Qatar) – JCC ; VRT News (Belgium)
