Channel 4 News wins two journalism awards

Political correspondent Michael Crick was named journalist of the year at the Political Studies Association awards and reporter Paraic O’Brien won TV news story of the year at the Foreign Press Association awards for his shocking report on life beneath Bucharest’s streets.

Michael Crick

The Political Studies Association awards ceremony was hosted by Channel 4’s Jon Snow and recognises the academics, journalists, campaigners and politicians who have made an exceptional contribution to the study and the practice of politics.

The judges said of Michael Crick: “He has doggedly spoken truth to power for over thirty years. He is persistent, some might even say relentless, in the pursuit of the truth of a story. He has an encyclopedic knowledge of British politics which allows him to set his analysis in historical perspective. For some politicians who get themselves into trouble he is the itch that just won’t go away, and by causing such irritation he does a great service to democracy.”

Richly deserved. Journalist of the Year at the PSA Awards our @MichaelLCrick c4news pic.twitter.com/o0UH3VQMLo

— Martha Finlay (@MarthaFinlay) November 25, 2014

Paraic O’Brien

Paraic’s team, which included cameraman Jim Wickens, fixer Radu Ciorniciuc and producer Job Rabkin, were given unprecedented access to the biggest network of tunnels beneath the streets of Romania’s capital.

The shocking film revealed scenes of unbelievable squalor, drug abuse, exploitation and forlorn prospect for so many and revealed a stark contrast to the rest of the European Union.

Last week, Paraic and his team also won an Amnesty International Media Award for their investigation into the world of Bucharest’s homeless underground society which has been viewed over a million times online.