Special Prizes
On three occasions, the Orwell Prize judges have decided to award a Special Prize, for outstanding contributions to political writing and broadcasting.
2008
Clive James was awarded a Special Prize for Writing and Broadcasting after being shortlisted for the Journalism Prize 2008 (for three editions of A Point of View on BBC Radio 4).
He has been a staple of British screens, airwaves and publications since the early 1970s. A writer, poet, essayist, broadcaster and commentator, he has written for the Listener, the New Statesman, the Review, The Observer, The Guardian, the LRB, the Spectator and the Times Literary Supplement. He has presented (and created) television programmes including Fame in the 20th Century, Clive James’ Postcard from... and Clive James on Television.
Chair of the Orwell Prize, Professor Jean Seaton, said: ‘Clive James is a master, in the Orwell tradition, of the essay. Whether written or broadcast his words are sharp but humane.’
2007
BBC Newsnight
At the ceremony for the Orwell Prize 2007, a Special Prize was awarded to Newsnight, BBC2's flagship current affairs programme.
The judges said: 'When we were discussing the many very fine pieces of journalism that were submitted Newsnight just spontaneously emerged in our deliberations as the most precious and authoritative home for proper reporting of important stories, beautifully and intelligently crafted by journalists of rare distinction.
'We unanimously believed that its values of objective intelligent news ought to be rewarded. We did not set out to award this prize – it plays a role in the collective intelligence of the nation.'
Peter Barron, Newsnight editor, said: 'When Newsnight won the Orwell Prize in 2007 we felt honoured for two reasons. First, this was not a competition we had entered – the judges had simply decided that the work we do on Newsnight deserved recognition. And second, we were delighted to be associated with a prize which seeks to celebrate the principles of Orwell's journalism – to make politics and political thought accessible and artful.'
2004
The late Hugo Young, The Guardian's senior political commentator, was honoured with a Special Prize at the Awards Ceremony 2004. He had been shortlisted for the Book Prize for Supping with the Devils: Political Journalism from Thatcher to Blair, but the judges instead presented his family with a Special Prize recognising his outstanding contribution to political journalism.