RT Becomes First Ever Russian TV Channel to Get Emmy News Nomination

MOSCOW, Aug. 13 /PRNewswire/ -- The Russian-based television channel RT, which broadcasts in English, Arabic and Spanish, has been nominated for the prestigious Emmy International Television Award. It makes RT the first Russian TV channel to be nominated for an Emmy in the News & Current Affairs category.

RT's coverage of the first visit to Russia by U.S. President Barack Obama in July 2009 is up for the top industry prize and major rivals for the Emmy include Sky News, Al-Jazeera English and TV Globo.

"Five years ago, when RT was being set up, we wouldn't have believed that we would be able to compete as equals against the best of world's TV news crews in such a short space of time. And this is what is happening now. Of course, we are happy and proud. We would like to thank the International Academy of Television Arts & Sciences for its objective approach," RT's Editor-in-Chief Margarita Simonyan said.

The awards are presented by the International Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, the world's most prominent association of leading broadcasting companies. "The 2010 International Emmy Award Nominees for News & Current Affairs offer a fascinating window into the human drama constantly unfolding around the world in conflict zones, politics or even daily life," said Bruce L. Paisner, President & CEO of The International Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. "We congratulate them for their outstanding achievements in television reporting." 2010 Emmy International Television Awards will take place in New York on September 27.

Earlier in June RT was nominated for two Golden Nymph awards at the world's biggest annual Monte Carlo Television Festival. RT's "Mortal Motor City: Detroit on the Edge," a four-minute story on once booming center of U.S. auto industry, was running for the top prize in Best TV News Package category. Reaching the finals in Best 24-Hour News Program was "Nightclub Horror," RT's coverage of the tragic fire at the nightclub Lame Horse in the Russian city of Perm.

Also in June the channel has won three gold awards and one bronze at the Promax/BDA World Gold Awards 2010 -- the industry's standard-setting competition in television design and marketing. Two gold awards went to the highly debated posters of RT's QUESTION MORE promotion campaign, which received widespread and heated coverage in the Western mass-media and Internet blogs. Major U.S. airports went as far as refusing to display RT's controversial images. RT responded by printing on blank billboards "Our Ad. Politically Correct. For the original version please visit www.rt.com." In January the campaign was recognized as the Ad of the Month by the British Awards for National Newspaper Advertising.

RT Prime Time Russia's promo video won yet another gold in the Image Promotion category. RT Spanish channel's news bumper was awarded bronze in the category Television/Video Presentation: News.

RT's previous list of professional awards include 2009 New York Festival Silver World Medal for Best News Documentary ("A city of desolate mothers"), 2008 London Media Excellence Awards Special Jury Award in the Best Creative Feature category ("Russian Glamour" feature story) and Russia's most prestigious broadcasting award TEFI in Best News Anchor category.

For further information please visit our website at www.rt.com.

SOURCE RT