Four Scottish entries make shortlist for 2012 Amnesty Media Awards

Amnesty International UK has announced the shortlist for its prestigious annual Media Awards.

The shortlists are announced in nine categories, covering print, broadcast and online journalism. Additionally, the Gaby Radio Memorial Award will be made to a journalist who has been covering human rights issues for less than five years and a Student Award will be made for those even newer to human rights journalism. (For full details of the shortlisted entries, see below).

Amnesty’s Media Awards, now in their 21st year, recognise excellence in human rights reporting and acknowledge journalism’s significant contribution to the UK public’s awareness and understanding of human rights issues. The winners of this year’s Amnesty International UK Media Awards will be announced in a ceremony at the BFI in central London on Tuesday 29 May.

Amnesty International Scotland  Director Shabnum Mustapha said:

“There are some amazingly strong entries in this year’s awards including four from Scotland.

“It’s been interesting to see how the protests in the Middle East and North Africa have been reflected in the entries, but also fascinating to see such a breadth of topics covered.

“The important thing is that these awards both reflect and to some extent nurture high-quality human rights journalism. This year’s impressive shortlist continues that tradition.”

Last year’s Media Awards went to BBC Radio 4, the Belfast Telegraph, the Bureau of Investigative Journalism, Channel 4 News, CNN International, the Guardian, Guardian Weekend Magazine, GQ Magazine, the Independent, Marie Claire, More 4, the Sunday Times Magazine and VERITA Magazine.

Previous winning journalists have included Ghaith Abdul-Ahad, Lucy Ash, Andrew Gilligan, Lindsey Hilsum, Alan Johnston, Sue Lloyd-Roberts, Eamonn McCann, Jonathan Miller, Gaby Rado and Mike Thomson. More information at: www.amnesty.org.uk/mediaawards