- Jon Williams
- 25 Sep 07, 03:00 PM
Last week, the papers were full of the Queen clutching her Emmy - well Helen Mirren anyway. Today we've got one of our own.
Last night in New York, the أغر؟´«أ½ took first prize in the Oscars of the TV industry, winning the International Emmy in the news category for our coverage of last summer's war in Lebanon.
More than a year after the end of the war, the ramifications of the events last summer rumble on - today, the Lebanese Parliament held its first round of voting to elect a new president (they failed to do so). At the risk of blowing our own trumpet, last night's award makes it a double - earlier in the summer, our coverage of last summer's war won the other prestigious international news award, the Prix Monte Carlo.
In fact it's a double 'double' - "" a Guardian Films programme commissioned for أغر؟´«أ½ Two also won the other International Emmy in the current affairs category.
I confess I'm biased - the prize for Lebanon is a richly deserved tribute to the bravery of the reporters, producers, crews and engineers who spent six weeks on both sides of the Israel/Lebanon border.
Last summer's conflict was challenging and complicated for the أغر؟´«أ½. It was vital for our teams to get to the heart of the story, report events as they witnessed them and remain measured and impartial. Their courage allowed us to report all sides of the story. A specially-commissioned audience survey for أغر؟´«أ½ News reported that a majority believed the أغر؟´«أ½ had provided the best coverage of the conflict, with 64% trusting it and 11% distrustful.
Why do awards like this matter? In a sense, of course, they don't. The fact that audiences in the UK and around the world continue to turn to the أغر؟´«أ½ is the bigger prize - every week, 230 million people around the world get their news from the أغر؟´«أ½.
What is significant is that last night's award was presented in New York, alongside the awards for the US domestic television market.
On Monday, the أغر؟´«أ½ is launching a new, nightly TV programme aimed at the US market - World News America will be seen across the United States on أغر؟´«أ½ America and around the globe on أغر؟´«أ½ World. Its mission is to report the world to America and America to the world. I believe having people in places like Beirut (and 41 other places), before, during and after conflicts like that of last summer allow us to do just that.
Jon Williams is the أغر؟´«أ½'s world news editor
- Louise Cotton
- 25 Sep 07, 11:58 AM
At one point I had vision of burly blokes up and down the country sitting in their cars, vans and lorries sobbing as they listened to Victoria Derbyshire's show on Five Live yesterday.
In front of me was a screen filling up with text message after text message:
"I'm a 49 yr old man with 2 grown up kids and I'm weeping like a soppy idiot; I have just tuned in half way thru. I cant stop crying now; Hello. I'm a 6ft. Geordie rugby player - harder than a coffin nail. I'm in tears. Image destroyed in front of 2 mates; I'm a hardened 38 year old copper in absolute tears at home."
I've never seen such an immediate and overwhelming reaction to a piece of audio on a programme. The Five Live listeners were reacting to an extraordinary 999 tape. It's the story of Jacob Hickman's birth and how his dad, Leo, delivered him at home with help on the phone from a London ambulance 999 operator, Katie Vallis.
Leo's wife Jane went into labour and the midwife was stuck in traffic. So we heard Katie talking Leo through the whole thing, including some scary moments when the baby appeared still in the birth sac and had to be freed with the help of a safety pin.
We played eight minutes of it with Jane and Leo listening in the studio. Baby Leo snoozed through most of it. We all looked a bit tearful.
It was an amazing listen. Not just because it was a privilege to hear Jacob's first cry but because of the awe-inspiring professionalism of the 999 operator and dad Leo's pretty cool handling of it all.
My colleague Katie Kernan had spotted the of the call in The Guardian and saw how it could become a great radio listen. London ambulance and the Hickman family agreed to let us broadcast the tape. We decided to reunite Leo and Jane with Katie Vallis, the 999 operator they only knew as CAC1821.
Twenty years old, and cool as a cucumber, Katie told us this was her first baby delivery and how she used autocards on screen to guide them through the birth. Job done, a healthy baby, all very matter of fact. But you have to hear it to understand the impact. All of us who heard it were either in tears or just stunned!
Have a listen (here). It was scary, uncomfortable, raw. It was primeval, intimate, exhilarating, and just bloody brilliant!
I think we're all grateful to the people involved for letting us share Jacob's birth. Quite simply it was joyful - and that is something you can wait a long time to hear in life, let alone on your radio.
Louise Cotton edits the Victoria Derbyshire programme
The Guardian: "At least one member of the أغر؟´«أ½ Trust is unhappy with the mild disciplining of Alan Yentob over "noddy shots" he performed." ()
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