Two productions by Omroep Brabant have been nominated for the Regiohelden Awards. These are the prizes for the best journalistic productions of the regional broadcasters. It concerns nominations in the categories ‘Image catcher’ and ‘Storyteller’. “Some stories you want to shout from the rooftops, they deserve a bigger stage,” emphasizes the jury.
The winners of the various Awards will be announced on Thursday 20 April during the Regiohelden festival, an event for regional journalism. Then it will also become clear which entry wins the Gouden Regiohelden Award, the annual prize for the best journalistic production of all Dutch regional broadcasters.
The professional jury that chooses the winners consists of Carmen Fernald (jury chairman, NTR), Freek Staps (ANP), Sylvia Cools (De Stentor), Erwin van Nuland (NOS), Peter Smet (SvdJ), Evert Cuijpers (Omroep Venlo), Joëlle Terburg (Fonds BJP), Nejifi Ramirez (Bureau Regio), Joost Engelberts (director of, among others, the TV series De Aardappeleters and podcast series Onland) and Ellen Kamphorst (winner of the Gouden Regiohelden Award 2021, now working at NOS).
One of the Omroep Brabant nominees is ‘Brabant under the radar’, in which the viewer gets an insight into the fight against criminals undermining Brabant society. The series is in the running for an award in the Best Video Production of 2022 category, for productions that are entertaining, original and engaging. The jury speaks of an ‘exciting subject that is relevant to the region’. ‘Brabant under the radar’ has to compete for the award against the L1 production ‘Know what you forget’ – which is about dementia – and ‘The green heart, the coveted land’, by Omroep West.
In the Storyteller category, ‘The Secret of Mother Salvation’ has a chance to win the award for best documentary. The film is about the ‘transit house’ Moederheil, where in the last century unmarried women gave birth and had to give their children up for adoption. “This touches you,” explains the jury. “The secret of mother’s salvation” is poignant and moving. The people who have experienced this have been brought to the limelight in an honest way. Other contenders for this prize are ‘Kibbutz op e klaai’ by Omrop Fryslân and ‘Dejongen van Menum’ by RTV Oost.
Other nominees are:
– Category News Hunter (the best own news story of 2022, high-profile news with a demonstrable, regional impact obtained through good own research):
– Broadcasting Flevoland: ‘The Floriade Debacle’
Jury: “A complex subject on which the journalists got a grip by continuing to dig for answers.”
– Broadcasting Gelderland: ‘In the sights of De Jager – Abuses in De Glind’
Jury: “This story gets under your skin, it touches you. Thanks to our own research, a larger problem has been revealed that has also been tackled nationally.”
– RTV East: ‘Dossier care research’
Jury: “Impressive how the journalists get their teeth into this socially very relevant dossier.”
– Category Eavesdropper (the best audio production of 2022. The format is free, it can come from different journalistic platforms. It can be a radio item, a podcast (series) or a radio broadcast):
– Broadcasting Gelderland: ‘Not of the world’
Jury: “A pleasure to listen to. The maker takes you to a world you don’t know and about which you only want to know more.”
– RTV East: ‘Murder on the Oosterveld’
Jury: “It’s a pleasure to listen to this. You’re going to love a man who’s a criminal.”
– RTV Utrecht: ‘Outlaw’
Jury: “This provides insight into a political process. Craftsmanship with surprising details. It reveals how local politics works in some places.”
– Category Newcomer: (who is the young talent who entered broadcasting and stands head and shoulders above it? Who responds to new (journalistic) forms for production, research and has refreshing ideas about interaction with the audience):
– Omrop Friesland: Steven Nagel
Jury: “The brain behind the production. Someone who can shake things up. He puts a refreshing stamp on the productions he makes.”
– Broadcasting Gelderland: Rome Tap
Jury: “She jumps off the screen and gives access to stories from the region in a pleasant way.”
– RTV North: Martin Klungel
Jury: “He is young and can do good journalistic research on a difficult dossier. That is phenomenal.”
– RTV Utrecht: Roos van Bijnen
Jury: “She has only been working for a short time and is already making good, journalistic, relevant stories.”
– Category Inventor (the best innovative journalistic project of 2022):
– Omrop Friesland: ‘Passion for gaming’
Jury: “With these projects for young people, they really do their best to reach new target groups.”
– RTV East: ‘Special Olympics’
Jury: “As a viewer you get a different picture of people with disabilities. It’s nice to have them report.”
– Broadcasting Zeeland: ‘Stempo lead challenge’
Jury: “This shows that without a lot of money you can make something that will stick with the audience.”