RTÉ has won eight awards at the sixth ESB National Media awards. Four of the awards went to the RTÉnewsroom and one to Lyric FM. RTÉ's Legal Affairs Correspondent, Mary Wilson, was presented with the Overall Journalist of the Year Award for her in-depth coverage of the trial of Catherine Nevin on both radio and television. Paul Cunningham received the Radio Journalist of the Year award for his coverage of the Lindsay Tribunal. Annette O'Donnell won the News and Current Affairs Award for her coverage of the Moriarty Tribunal.
Kathleen McMahon received the Radio News and Current Affairs Award for her 'Hidden Ireland' series of Morning Ireland reports on those left behind by the Celtic Tiger. The Television Sport Award went to Adrian McCarthy for his documentary for RTÉ on GAA referees. The Campaigning and Social Issues Television award went to Fiona Ghoff and Keelin Shanley of RTÉ Programmes and the equivalent prize for Radio went to RTÉ’s Brenda Power. Sinéad Wylde of Lyric FM won an award for Radio Features and Documentaries.
TV3's Ursula Halligan took the Television News Award. Susan McKay of the Sunday Tribune won the Print Journalist of the Year and Karl O'Brien of the Irish Examiner won the Young Journalist of the Year award.
Michael Mills, chairman of the panel of judges, said that there was an urgent need to reform the libel laws. He said that at the end of the day recourse to the European courts might be the only way to force action on this to bring the libel laws here into line with the laws in most other countries and in the United States. In all 26 journalists from television, radio and the print media were honoured.
