The short list for the 2012 AIBs has now been announced and it includes entries from 23 countries across five continents, submitted by broadcasters and content producers from Norway to Nigeria and from Canada to Taiwan, reflecting the best of global TV and radio production and technology.
“The shortlist has been even more challenging to compile this year,” says Simon Spanswick, AIB chief executive. “We received an extremely wide range of entries from a large number of organisations located all over the world. Most were of an extremely high standard which meant some hard choices had to be made in determining the shortlist for the 2012 AIBs. Now it is up to our global panel of independent judges to deliver the names of the winners in this year’s competition.”
The shortlist is:
| Best current affairs documentary | radio | |
| BBC Radio 5 Live | Abortion OB – Victoria Derbyshire |
| Radio New Zealand | Broken River |
| Radio Taiwan International | China’s Weibo: Tiny Blogs, Huge Impact |
| Radio Television Hong Kong | Double-not, Original Sin? |
| RFE/RL | Solitary Confinement |
| BBC World Service | The Bombardment of Homs |
| BBC Arabic | Women of Tahrir Square |
| Best creative feature | radio | |
| An RTÉ Radio 1 programme by Colette Kinsella | Conversations in the Dark |
| Voice of Russia | Human Trafficking: A British Experience |
| BBC World Service | Knitting in Tripoli |
| Voice of Nigeria | Perspectives |
| Société Radio-Canada | Tale of Objects: The Bra |
| Voice of America | The Making of a Nation: Depression Arts & Culture |
| RTE Radio 1 | The Reindeer Santa left behind |
| Best investigative documentary | radio | |
| Czech Radio | Britons at Czechoslovakian Radio |
| Ruth Evans Productions Ltd | Green Gold – The Bamboo Boom |
| ABC Radio Australia | Intellectually disabled fight for justice |
| RTE Radio 1 | Maurice – A Final Journey |
| BBC World Service | Tz Pupils Labelled Red for HIV |
| BFBS Radio | Yuddha Ka Sarathi |
| Best live news coverage | radio | |
| RFE/RL | Boy’s Suicide |
| BBC Burmese | Coverage of the 2012 Burmese By-elections |
| MEBN Afia Darfur | Kabkabyia Violence |
| BBC World Service | Sudan Independence/Fergus Nicoll |
| International radio personality | |
| Radio New Zealand | Kim Hill |
| Voice of America | Steve Ember |
| Most innovative technology | |
| Radio Taiwan International | Establishment of mobile citizens’ broadcasting network… |
| Ross Video | Inception |
| BBC | Virtual Local Radio – ViLoR |
| Best transmedia production | |
| Deutsche Welle | Destination Europe |
| BBC World Service – Russian | Russian Presidential Election |
| Best children’s factual programme or series | TV | |
| BBC Newsround | Children of the drought |
| BBC Newsround | My Autism and Me |
| Westdeutscher Rundfunk | The Show with the Mouse – Atomic Energy |
| Best current affairs documentary on a domestic subject | TV | |
| Antena 3 | A Hell of a Living |
| NHK | Fallout: The Last Days of litate village |
| CBS News 60 Minutes | Hard Times Generation |
| ABS-CBN Broadcasting Corporation | Mine Tailings |
| Channel 4 | The Great Ticket Scandal |
| Press TV | The Mistake |
| Best current affairs documentary on an international subject | TV | |
| France 24 | Colombia: Caught in the crossfire |
| CBS News 60 Minutes | HANK |
| ABC | India – Toxic Trade |
| KBS | Kim Jong II |
| TV2 Norway | The Price of War/The Hard Way Out |
| SVT | Wikirebels |
| Best investigative documentary | TV | |
| Radio Free Asia | An Invisible World – The lives of slaves |
| BBC Arabic | Jordan’s Secret Shame |
| Press TV | Meeting Peru’s Most Wanted |
| Channel 4 | Sri Lanka’s Killing Fields |
| Channel NewsAsia | Get Rea! – Lets Partee & Play |
| True Vision Productions | Ukraine’s Forgotten Children |
| Best live sports coverage | TV | |
| Nine Network Australia | International T-20 Cricket |
| ABC Development Corporation/AKTV | PBA 2012 Commissioner’s Cup Finals |
| Eurosport | Roland Garros 2012 |
| Nine Network Australia | State of Origin Game 3 |
| International TV personality | |
| NDTV | Barkha Dutt |
| ABS-CBN Broadcasting Corporation | Ted Failon |
| Voice of America | VOA’s OMG! – Jessica Beinecke |
| Kush Communications Ltd | Zeinab Badawi |
| Best science programme or series | TV | |
| NHK | Cosmic Front: Dark Energy |
| Société Radio-Canada | Costa Concordia |
| Westdeutscher Rundfunk | Gorillas of the Congo – Chainsaws to the Rescue |
| Press TV | Helli High School |
| Channel 4 | Mummifying Alan: Egypt’s Secret |
| RTTV | New Siberian Tech from Novosibirsk |
| Best short report or documentary | TV | |
| Antena 3 | A Tale of a Survivor |
| BBC Media Action | Girl Hub – Tirunesh |
| Deutsche Welle | Harapan Rainforest |
| RFE/RL | One Family, Three Armies and a Lost Generation |
| RTTV | RT in-flight with aero-stunt masters |
| Voice of America | The Falling Man Family |
| Kansai Telecasting Corporation | The policeman Zookeeper |
| eNews Channel | The Story of Lucas Sithole |
| Best specialist genre programme or series | |
| INX News Pvt Ltd | Choosing to Die |
| CNBC | CNBC Meets…. |
| BBC World News | Collaboration Culture |
| TV2 Norway | Dining with the Enemy |
| Deutsche Welle | Made in Germany |
| Russian Travel Guide | The Untouched Heart of the Urals |
| Eurosport | The Battle |
| Best live news coverage | TV | |
| Phoenix Satellite Television Co | China’s Wenzhou Train Collision |
| BBC Arabic | Coverage of Egypt’s Presidential Elections |
| NDTV | On a Maoist Hostage Trail |
| France 24 | The Tripoli Brigade |
| Antena 3 | University Square Demonstrations |
The shortlist can also be downloaded in pdf format here
The international panel of judges includes programme makers, journalists, editors, producers and executives across every continent – full details of all the judges are here. Over the coming four weeks, they will be evaluating and reviewing entries and submitting their results in time for the annual gala evening on Wednesday 7 November.
“This year, the judges are receiving the entries electronically,” says Spanswick. “For the first time, we have done away with the need to ship DVDs, audio CDs and accompanying paperwork around the world by courier. Instead, all the material is online for judges to watch or download at their leisure. It makes these awards a little bit greener.”
The gala awards evening in London will be hosted this year by Evgenia Altfeld, a presenter/producer at RTG TV in Russia. Evgenia has worked in TV news in Russia before becoming a political spokesman in the St Petersburg region. She joined RTG TV in 2011 and now produces and presents a range of programmes for the Russian travel channel.
Places can be reserved at the 2012 AIBs by visiting the awards page of the AIB website.
The 2012 AIBs are sponsored by Eurosport and RTG TV.