Latest Update: Leading UK Journalists Request Meeting With King Charles Over Scrapping Of RTS Gaza Award….Read More

Some of the best-known figures in the UK media sphere have signed a letter requesting a meeting with King Charles over the Royal Television Society’s (RTS) decision to scrap a special recognition award for journalists in Gaza.

The King is the Royal Patron of the RTS and the group of nearly 400 people have asked to meet with him and “demanded transparency” about the body’s decision-making process around its journalism awards.

The letter has been signed by BBC heavyweights including Jonathan Dimbleby, Orla Guerin and Fergal Keane, along with the likes of Channel 4’s Krishnan Guru-Murthy and Matt Frei. Dimbleby branded the RTS “cowards” over the move.

The saga started with the RTS’ shock decision to scrap a special recognition award for journalists in Gaza due to not wanting to “add fuel to the fire” around Gaza: How to Survive a War Zone, the BBC documentary that was pulled after it was revealed that the child narrator was the son of a Hamas minister. The move has been criticized since, resulting in this letter collated by the Artists for Palestine UK group.

Citing the 170 journalists who have lost their lives in Gaza, the letter, which can be read in full below, says: “We urge the RTS to reconsider its stance and re-evaluate the extraordinary efforts of these journalists. Their coverage is precisely the type of work that should be honoured through the Special Award, which aims to acknowledge achievements outside traditional categories”

The letter divides its queries into five sections, taking issue with the RTS’ “decision-making process,” “criteria and justification,” “procedural transparency,” “precedent and consistency,” and “diversity commitment.”

On the first point, it asks for information on how the decision was reached. On “procedural transparency,” it says it has been “widely reported that the RTS has been lobbied on this matter” and therefore asks “Were any external factors or pressures involved in this reversal?” In an email to jurors last week, Adrian Wells, chair of the RTS Television Journalism Awards, said that the award had become a “political football and the RTS is keen not to add fuel to the fire in this current environment.” Wells explicitly referenced attacks against the BBC’s film from right-wing newspapers, as well as criticism of Channel 4 News for also featuring in its coverage 14-year-oldAbdullah Al-Yazouri, the son of Ayman Al-Yazouri, the deputy minister of agriculture in Gaza’s Hamas-run government.

Failing to reinstate the award will “cause further serious damage to the reputation of the RTS, and the British media more widely,” the letter concludes, adding: “We look forward to receiving your response in writing on this pressing and urgent matter.”

The group has copied their letter to King Charles and requested to meet with him. We will update on their progress.

Deadline has reached out to the RTS for comment on this letter. Last week, an RTS spokesperson said: “Investigations have recently been launched into a number of news reports from Gaza and, as those reviews are ongoing, we didn’t feel it was appropriate to proceed with the award this year.”

The letter in full

Dear Chair and Members of the Board,

We are writing as television and film professionals, including Royal Television Society (RTS) members, nominees and award-winners, to express our shock and disgust regarding the recent decision to withdraw the 2025 Special Award due to be given to recognise the journalists of Gaza who have been recording the conflict, work which has cost at least 170 of them their lives.

The RTS had initially decided to honour these journalists at the Television Journalism Awards on 5 March 2025, but subsequently reversed this decision on the day of the awards. The RTS Special Award is specifically designed to recognise an outstanding contribution to the advancement of video journalism that goes beyond conventional categories. Journalists in Gaza have indeed achieved this with exceptional coverage that, despite unimaginable challenges, has brought the realities of the war to a global audience. Their work has made a profound impact, showcasing resourcefulness, creativity, and enterprise under extreme conditions, which the RTSitself values in its awards criteria.

We are particularly concerned by the lack of transparency surrounding the decision to withdraw the award. The Special Award, as outlined in your criteria, is given at the discretion of the Society following a process that includes discussions and recommendations from Jury Chairs and Entrant representatives/nominators. This raises the overarching question: who was involved in the decision-making process, and on what grounds was the Special Award for Gaza journalists withheld?

As such, and as members of the broader media community who value the principles of journalistic integrity, transparency, and recognition of exceptional work in challenging circumstances, we are seeking clarity on several aspects of this decision.

1. Decision-Making Process:

Could you please provide information on how this decision was reached? According to your published criteria, Special Awards are “awarded or deferred at the discretion of the Society following discussion and guidance from the Jury Chairs and Entrants representatives” and recommendations are made by “the RTS Committee of Neutral Chairs.” We would like to understand: