News Broadcasting
CNN’s Terror on Tape series bags UK honour
MUMBAI: CNN’s Terror on Tape series has bagged the UK Royal Television Society’s (RTS) International News Journalism Award. The series, which unveiled Al Qaeda from a cache of training tapes discovered by CNN senior international correspondent Nic Robertson and his team in Afghanistan, was originally broadcast on CNN in August 2002.
The weeklong series detailed the expertise, resources and resolve of the Al Qaeda movement, revealed painstakingly by Robertson, over several weeks tracking the tapes in Afghanistan, working with sources he had cultivated during his years of reporting from the country since 1996.
Experts have told CNN that these tapes delivered new insights into the training methods of Al Qaeda, showing how the clandestine network prepares for various operations, including assassination, kidnapping and urban combat. Additionally, many of the documents and manuals included instructions on how to hijack and blow up airplanes, how to build bombs and how to explode trains, ships and other modes of transportation.
Also involved in the production of the series were Mark Phillips, Ingrid Arnesen, Mike Boettcher, Maria Fleet, Richard Griffiths, Fuzz Hogan and Henry Schuster. The judges described Terror on Tape as a “genuine scoop,” praising Mr. Robertson’s “meticulous research combined with careful, straightforward story-telling,” and said that it made a “genuine contribution to the understanding of the Al Qaeda network.”
News Broadcasting
Kamlesh Singh receives Haldi Ghati Award from MMCF
India Today Group editor honoured for three decades of journalism at Udaipur ceremony.
MUMBAI- Kamlesh Singh just turned a lifetime of sharp words into a shiny shield because when journalism wakes up a society, even the Maharana of Mewar wants to pin a medal on it.
The Maharana of Mewar Charitable Foundation (MMCF) conferred its prestigious Haldi Ghati Award on Kamlesh Singh, a senior editor at the India Today Group, during a ceremony in Udaipur on 15 March 2026. The national award, instituted in 1981-82, recognises “work of permanent value that initiates an awakening in society through the medium of journalism.”
Singh, who leads several editorial initiatives including Aaj Tak Radio, the Teen Taal community and The Lallantop, was presented the honour by Lakshyaraj Singh Mewar, Managing Trustee of MMCF. The citation highlighted his three decades of contributions to Indian media, innovations in digital journalism, mentoring young reporters, and his popular podcast persona “Tau” on Teen Taal, which fosters thoughtful public discourse.
The Haldi Ghati Award, named after the historic Battle of Haldighati symbolising valour and resilience, is one of four national awards given annually by MMCF. Past recipients include Tavleen Singh, Piyush Pandey and Raj Chengappa.
Other honourees this year included Padma Vibhushan Pt Hari Prasad Chaurasia, Vedamurti Devvrat Rekhe, Treeman of India Marimuthu Yoganathan, Vir Chakra Capt Rizwan Malik, and US-based researcher Molly Emma Aitken, who received the Colonel James Tod Award for contributions to understanding Mewar’s spirit and values.
In an era where headlines often shout louder than substance, the MMCF quietly reminded everyone that real journalism isn’t about noise, it’s about the quiet, persistent work that stirs society awake, one thoughtful story at a time.
