UTV Live special 'Dying on the Streets' nominated for national RTS journalism award

UTV Live has been nominated for a major nationwide journalism award.

The broadcaster has nominated for an RTS Journalism Award, in the Nations and Regions News category.

The RTS Journalism Awards celebrate creativity and excellence in journalism, and attract entries from all the major broadcasters in the UK.

‘Dying on the Streets’ was a special UTV Live production, examining the escalating drugs and homelessness crisis in Belfast.

Fifteen people lost their lives in just two months - many of those tragedies occurring in the busy city centre.

The programme saw journalists go onto the streets at night to speak to people sleeping rough who had witnessed friends die in front of them.

Teams saw people ‘shooting up’ and some told UTV getting drugs in Belfast was as easy as buying beer.

Coroner Joe McCrisken called for "drastic intervention" and other guests interviewed pointed to the unique position in which Northern Ireland separates its addiction and mental health services, making tackling two closely-related problems extremely challenging.

Just weeks after the programme, the ministers for health, communities and justice met bereaved families, who said the meeting would not have happened without the programme helping to shine a light on the growing drugs and homelessness crisis in the city.

Simon Clemison, Head of News and Programmes at UTV said: “It’s an incredible achievement that our work has received such high level recognition. We are all extremely proud our journalism is being honoured in this way.”

UTV was nominated in the same category last year for its special programme on the Ballymurphy inquest findings and also won recognition in current affairs.

Winners will be announced at a ceremony in London in early March.

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