By Caitlin Pike
The BBC dominated the One World Media Awards this year, winning five
awards, but a remote radio station in the middle of the Nicaraguan
jungle saw off competition to take the Special Award.
Radio Palabra de Mujer impressed the judges with its efforts to
support women in the remote jungle area of Nicaragua where
unemployment, alcoholism and domestic violence are widespread. The
station plays a key educational role in the region and is currently
fighting a proposed hydroelectric dam, which threatens to displace
20,000 people.
The award was presented to Yamileth Mendieta,
director of the radio station, by Baroness Patricia of Scotland. “How
extraordinary that a tiny radio station in a region without phones or
even a postal service could win an international award,” said Mendieta.
Dominic
Waghorn, Sky News’ Asia correspondent, was named broadcast journalist
of the year for his coverage of China and Cambodia. Radio 1Xtra
collected the radio documentary award for Hip Hop in the Holy Land,
which documented the hip hop scene from Arab and Israeli perspectives.
Films
of Record for BBC4 won the TV documentary award for Malaria: Fever Road
about the malaria season in the Kisii highlands of Kenya.
BBC
East collected the local media award for Rwanda Revisited, which
followed a 10-year-old from Norwich back to his birthplace where his
father was murdered during the genocide.
The annual One World
Media Awards comprise 12 award categories, which recognise the
achievements of the media in furthering the public’s appreciation of
international affairs. For a full list of winners go to
www.pressgazette.co.uk.
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