Media Awards

Celebrating the best of human rights journalism

Dennis Sheridan, aged 3 years, plays with a suitcase that he found at Dale Farm. © Mary Turner, winner of our 2012 award for Photojournalism The Amnesty International Media Awards were established in 1992 to recognise the best in human rights journalism.

They celebrate the breadth and quality of human rights reporting across the media - including broadcast, digital and print.

Over the past two decades the awards have grown in prestige, recognising excellence in human rights reporting and acknowledging journalism's significant contribution to raising public awareness of human rights issues.

There are 11 categories in the awards, recognising newspaper, magazine, radio, TV, digital and student journalism. Each is judged by an independent panel.

2013 winners

All photos taken by Giovanna Del Sarto

The winners of the 2013 Media Awards were announced on 12 June at a ceremony hosted by BBC News presenter Philippa Thomas at the British Film Institute in central London.

Winners include:

Anthony Loyd (Times) in the National Newspapers category for his coverage of the Syria crisis
Eric Allison and Simon Hattenstone (Guardian Weekend) in the Magazines (newspaper supplements) category for their article on Neville Husband's abuse of teenage boys in a detention centre
Ronke Phillips (ITV News London) in Nations and Regions for her report on witchcraft from Congo to London
Ai Weiwei and Cheng Yizhong (New Statesman) in the Magazines (consumer) category for their issue of the New Statesman

This year's awards ceremony included a focus on Syria, with guests taking part in a new campaign calling for the release of Mahmoud Ali Othman, a citizen journalist from Homs detained by Syrian government forces over a year ago.

Missed all the action on the night? Catch up on Storify

How the judges decide

Judges for the awards are selected from the media, arts and entertainment industries, NGO sector, academia and the legal profession. Senior staff at Amnesty International also take part in the judging but have no casting vote or additional influence over the choice of winners.

In selecting the winning entries, the judges take into account:

quality of writing, filming or photography and depth and quality of research
currency or news value
accessibility or appropriateness for the target audience
exposure of human rights abuses or how the story was brought to a new audience
whether and how the debate on human rights is carried forward or new and emerging issues highlighted
whether and how victims are given a voice and human stories behind the headlines are brought to the fore
innovation and creativity in getting the message across
commitment to a long running human rights issue
impact of the piece on the audience, government or other influential bodies

Contacts

Further information and queries
If you have any queries, wish to contact us or require any further information please email media.awards@amnesty.org.uk or call 020 7033 1544.

Nations and Regions award contacts

Scotland
Siobhan Reardon 0131 718 6684
siobhan.reardon@amnesty.org.uk

Northern Ireland
Grainne Teggart 0792 804 2315
grainne.teggart@amnesty.org.uk

England
Alison Willis 020 7033 1544
alison.willis@amnesty.org.uk