ITV's Julie Etchingham wins RTS presenter of the year

ITV's Julie Etchingham won presenter of the year at the Royal Television Society journalism awards last night, where there were also prizes for Sky News and BBC1's 10pm news bulletin. Etchingham beat the BBC's David Dimbleby and Channel 4 News presenter Krishnan Guru-Murthy to the presenter prize and was described by the judges as "strong and professional with range and authority, an extraordinary journalist with real star quality". Sky News won news channel of the year, a category in which the BBC News Channel was not even nominated, but there was consolation for BBC News when its flagship 10pm news bulletin on BBC1 won news programme of the year for the second year running . Judges said the programme had "several specialists at the top of their game" with "outstanding coverage from Afghanistan and Iran, a string of high-powered exclusives and impressive presentation". Sky News's Alex Crawford was named television journalist of the year for her reportage from Afghanistan and the Mumbai terror attacks, while Panorama's Paul Kenyon won specialist journalist of the year for creating "human, engaging, compelling television" and giving a "voice to people who don't usually get heard". BBC Scotland won scoop of the year for the release of Lockerbie bomber Abdelbaset al-Megrahi, which the judges said "caught everybody by surprise, including some colleagues within the BBC". Channel 4 News won the home news award for its coverage of the policing of the protests at the G20 summit at which Ian Tomlinson died, while Sky News's reporting on the rise of the Taliban in Pakistan, Pakistan: Terror's Frontline, won the international news coverage prize. The home current affairs award went to Panorama, for its programme What Happened to Baby P?. The international current affairs prize went to This World: Gypsy Child Thieves, made by BBC current affairs for BBC2. Former GMTV director of programmes Peter McHugh, who stepped down last year after 17 years, was given the lifetime achievement award. The judges' award went to journalists and other media workers covering Gaza from all news organisations, including broadcasters and agencies, a "group of people who risked their lives to ensure that the world could witness a war that would otherwise have unfolded largely in secret". Royal Television Society television journalism awards - the winners Young journalist of the year Tamanna Rahman - Panorama, BBC Current Affairs for BBC One "The winner helped produce some of the most gripping television of the year, bravely exposing a side of Britain we don't often get to see. Her raw and simple style was both innovative and powerful." Nations and regions current affairs Inside Out South West – Vanessa George BBC South West "The jury selected an outstanding winner from a very strong shortlist. The winning programme involved a major scoop, great access, and great storytelling." Nations and regions news coverage Meridian Tonight (South) - Justice for Hannah, ITV Meridian "…extensive and riveting coverage of an horrendous crime with remarkable access to the family concerned." News coverage – home G20 Policing ITN for Channel 4 News "… an outstanding and very strong piece of journalism, a proper investigation, brilliantly done." Current affairs – home Panorama: What Happened to Baby P?, BBC Current Affairs for BBC One "… an agenda-setting programme which was the result of a painstaking investigation. It was a story that in less restrained hands could have easily been sensational and over-emotive, but this measured account of the short life and death of Baby P was all the more convincing and shocking." Current Affairs – international This World: Gypsy Child Thieves, BBC Current Affairs for BBC Two "A fantastic achievement. A powerful eye-witness account and an outstanding example of storytelling." News Coverage – international Pakistan: Terror's Frontline, Sky News "The winning entry was described by the jury as 'fantastic', containing material that everyone wished they'd had. The reporting was brave, exclusive and thoughtful. It showed great journalistic foresight to invest – ahead of other news organisations – so thoroughly in the story of the rise of the Taliban in Pakistan." Scoop of the year Release of the Lockerbie bomber, BBC Scotland "The winning scoop caught everybody by surprise, including some colleagues within the BBC, and its impact spread far and wide beyond its home turf." Presenter of the year Julie Etchingham – ITV News, ITN for ITV News "The winner was described by one judge as having grown, in an extremely short time, into a key part of the channel's news team. Strong and professional with range and authority, an extraordinary journalist with real star quality." Innovative news Sky News and Skynews.com for Fallen Heroes "The jury felt that [this] entry … stood out as a model for the future. It involved viewers in providing a web-based 'living tribute' to the British soldiers who have died in Afghanistan. Combining high production values with users' own content, it provided a Remembrance Day tribute that was truly moving – and is still being updated as a constant memorial." The Independent award Mehran Bozorgnia - Afghan life crumbles despite foreign aid, Channel 4 News "The winner produced an outstanding and riveting film which uncovered aspects of life in Afghanistan which we had not seen before. To have produced high-quality video and sound in these circumstances, without resorting to undercover filming, is a real achievement which fully deserves this award and which sets a high standard for future entries in this category." News programme of the year BBC News at Ten, BBC News for BBC One "The winner demonstrated reporting strength in great depth, both at home and abroad with several specialists clearly at the top of their game. There was outstanding coverage from Afghanistan and Iran, a string of high-powered exclusives and impressive presentation." News channel of the year Sky News "The winning channel demonstrated that it can report foreign news as well as its traditional fare of UK breaking news. Coverage ranged from the Swat Valley in Pakistan to Afghanistan, Iran and Mumbai while at home Adam Boulton continued to harry the prime minister and hound MPs and the home news team continued to chase every story." Specialist journalist Paul Kenyon – Panorama, BBC Current Affairs for BBC One "Our winner has given a voice to people who don't usually get heard, and created human, engaging, compelling television in the process. His dogged coverage of African migration has been groundbreaking." Camera operator of the year Dai Baker – Channel 4 News, ITN for Channel 4 News "The winner showed great imagination and technique and his use of light and reflections were well thought through and effective." Television journalist of the year Alex Crawford, Sky News "For the outstanding quality, depth and humanity of her reportage from Afghanistan and the Mumbai terror attacks." Lifetime achievement award Peter McHugh "[This Award] goes to a man who has kept the flag of popular journalism flying high, first in print and for the last few decades in television, with remarkable success. He started on newspapers on his home turf of the north-east, then moved on to the Sun and the Daily Mail before becoming by far the most influential figure in breakfast television over the past 20-something years. He's nurtured talented young people by the score, if not by the hundred, and has seen star presenters come and go over the years, but he has always retained his great gut instinct for a good newsy story or a great human interest tale." Judges' Award Gaza news teams "The award this year goes to a group of people who risked their lives to ensure that the world could witness a war that would otherwise have unfolded largely in secret. When Israel launched its assault on Gaza just over a year ago it went to extraordinary lengths to keep the world's media out. The Israeli military sealed off Gaza from journalists and camera teams to prevent them seeing and reporting what was going on. Most of the media found itself stranded on a hill top several miles away and, effectively, shut out of the story entirely. Inside Gaza, however, individuals and small groups of local journalists and cameramen took extraordinary risks to send pictures and eye-witness reports to the outside world showing the daily toll of death and destruction. Some were freelancers, some locally hired producers or stringers working for Reuters and APTN or other broadcasters. Whatever their status they made an irreplaceable contribution to the work of the television agencies and the rest of the world's media." • To contact the MediaGuardian news desk email [email protected] or phone 020 3353 3857. For all other inquiries please call the main Guardian switchboard on 020 3353 2000. • If you are writing a comment for publication, please mark clearly "for publication".