GITMO REPORT GRABS ONE OF 6 NODS FOR RT AT NEW YORK FESTIVALS
MOSCOW, FEBRUARY 25, 2014 –RT’s series of reports on the Guantanamo Bay detention camp received a nomination for the prestigious international New York Festivals award. RT’s entries are in the finals of five more categories, competing alongside CNN, BBC, CNBC and HBO.
“RT Goes to Guantanamo” is nominated in the in the Special Report category. It tells an in-depth story of the Guantanamo prison camps, its prisoners and staff and the US Naval Base and its residents, covering aspects not often discussed in the media. Most of the elements of the 5 episodes were filmed in just 2 days – produced, directed and written by a sole reporter, Anastasia Churkina, and filmed and edited by one photographer. “The pair worked under tight filming restrictions and in the constant presence of escorting military officials, but the final product – showing sides of GITMO viewers around the world rarely see – was greeted with great enthusiasm by RT audience,” says Margarita Simonyan, RT’s editor in chief.
RT Arabic channel is a finalist in the Best Innovation category. Its news report on the latest developments in Syria implemented 3D technology during a live broadcast. Using VIZRT digital systems, several 3D objects were designed in the newsroom in real time, including a moving tank and flying planes.
Two of RT’s works are nominated for Best Documentary/Information Program. Blood and Honor, shortlisted in the Human Concerns category, explores ancient customs of the peoples of the Caucasus and offers a candid look at the phenomenon of blood feuds and public executions in the modern world. Meanwhile, a report on new applications of nuclear energy earned RT’s program Technology Update a nomination in the Science & Technology category.
Two more nominations were earned by RT for Promotion. Noticias Desde Dentro (Reporting from Inside the News) promo for RT Spanish news report is a finalist in the News Promotion category and promo for RT’s SophieCointerview series made the cut in the Information/Magazine Program Promotion division.
Last year at New York Festivals RT won the top prize for best television political documentary program with The Julian Assange show. The 12-part interview series featured exclusive interviews with some of the most influential and iconoclastic politicians and thinkers of the day and generated a media firestorm. RT had also previously taken silver at New York Festivals for best news documentary for its special report on South Ossetia titled “A city of desolate mothers.”
New York Festival's World's Best Television & Films competition honors programming in all lengths and forms from over 50 countries in Television and Film industries. The 2014 awards ceremony will take place on April 8 in Las Vegas, NV.
RT is an international news network that broadcasts 24/7 in English, Arabic and Spanish from its studios in Moscow and Washington, DC, and is available to 644 million viewers worldwide. RT is the first TV news channel in history to cross the one billion views mark on YouTube. It is the winner of the Monte Carlo TV Festival Awards for best 24-hr broadcast, and the only Russian TV channel to garner two nominations for the prestigious International Emmy Award for news reporting.
