ITV scoops three awards for coverage of Jimmy Savile sex abuse scandal (beat doc on Arafat poisoning

[alp227]

Source: The Guardian

ITV has won three prestigious Royal Television Society TV journalism awards for its coverage of the Jimmy Savile sex abuse scandal.

Exposure: The Other Side of Jimmy Savile, the ITV documentary that lifted the lid on the case, won two awards and a third award went to ITN for ITV News' Savile coverage.

ITV's investigation into allegations that the late Jim'll Fix It host had sexually abused vulnerable teenage girls was broadcast last October and led to a major criminal inquiry. The Metropolitan police later declared that the BBC presenter was the worst paedophile in British criminal history.

Exposure: The Other Side of Jimmy Savile won scoop of the year, beating a BBC Panorama investigation into people with severe brain injuries and their ability to communicate and an Al Jazeera documentary, What Killed Arafat, which led to the disinterring of the Palestinian leader's body after it revealed he may have been poisoned.

Read more: http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2013/feb/21/itv-rts-awards-jimmy-savile

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Wow, apparently exposing the pedophilia of a beloved pop culture icon is more worthy an award than "an Al Jazeera documentary, What Killed Arafat, which led to the disinterring of the Palestinian leader's body after it revealed he may have been poisoned"?

[pkdu]

1. Sex

(With kids) ...sells. How f-king sad is that.?

[muriel_volestrangler]

2. Tests on Arafat have not yet shown anything

The Savile scandal has produced allegations he sexually assaulted about 400 children or vulnerable adults (eg in hospitals), led to the arrest of about 10 other people in the entertainment industry for similar offences, the resignation of a BBC director general (the BBC is under heavy criticism for ignoring the evidence in front of their faces about this), and more (eg investigation into a children's home in London where it's alleged MPs came to rape children; a retired politician was falsely accused of this at another home, and there are lawsuits pending about that). It's not about what sells (ITV's 'Exposure' is broadcast at a quiet time of night); it was a major investigation that was arguably the top news story for the year in the UK.

The Arafat story, on the other hand, was produced by an overseas channel, on an overseas subject, and its impact is so far uncertain (face it, it hasn't been a big talking point here on DU, has it?).

[geek tragedy]

3. The Arafat poisoning is FAR from proven.

He may have been poisoned. Well, that has been the case for years.

Given the half-life involved, skepticism is warranted.