MOSCOW, April 9 (RIA Novosti) – The Russian RT news channel has been honored with a prestigious gold medal award at the New York Festivals, besting the US-based CNN news channel, and claiming an additional two bronze medals, RT’s press service told RIA Novosti.
RT News Channel, previously known as Russia Today, is a Russian international information TV company. RT is the first Russian channel presenting round-the-clock news in English, Arabic and Spanish.
The RT editor-in-chief is Margarita Simonyan and in late 2005 the network began English-language news broadcasts from Moscow.
RT has 22 bureaus in 19 countries, with offices in Washington, New York, London, Berlin, Cairo and Baghdad, employing over 1,000 media professionals around the globe.
The network has a global reach of over 644 million people in more than 100 countries.
In 2007, RT was the first Russian channel to upload its videos to YouTube, becoming one of the most watched providers of content on the video website.
In 2009, the network launched a unique project, FreeVideo, that offers free online access to RT’s videos for media professionals. All FreeVideo files are available in several formats and have detailed commentaries in five languages: English, Spanish, Arabic, German and French. CNN, Fox News, ABC, AP and Reuters have used FreeVideo files in their coverage.
In 2011, RT launched RTDoc, a television channel featuring documentaries about Russia, broadcasting 24/7 in English, which have received a number of prestigious awards.
RT began broadcasting "Larry King Now" last year, an exclusive show hosted by the famed US interviewer Larry King.
Late last year, the network launched a radio station, Sochi Today, in preparation for the Winter Olympics in the Russian Black Sea resort. It became the first radio station to broadcast in Sochi primarily in English.
RT has won a wide range of prestigious awards. In 2010, the network became the first ever Russian TV channel to be nominated in the Emmy International Television Awards. In 2012, the news channel received a second Emmy nomination for covering the Occupy Wall Street movement.
Last year, the channel took the top prize for best round-the-clock news channel at Europe's most prestigious gathering of TV officials, the Monte-Carlo Television Festival.
And last year, the news channel also won the top prize at the New York Festivals. The "Julian Assange Show," RT’s weekly interview program, was the winner in the category for political documentary and information programs.
In April, RT also took the gold and two bronze medals in the New York Festivals. Its "Blood and Honor" documentary, which bested an effort by CNN, won the prize in the category for social documentaries.
The promo "Noticias desde dentro" on the Spanish version of RT's 24-hour news channel won the bronze in the News Promotion category. An RT Technology Update broadcast focusing on new ways of using nuclear energy in industry won another bronze medal in the Science & Technology category.
