Peter Taylor wins Quaker truth award
‘Journalists often find themselves working against a background of intimidation, misinformation and reluctance or refusal to engage and listen with others'
The BBC journalist Peter Taylor has been awarded the second Quaker Truth and Integrity Award, in recognition of his ‘outstanding’ work over fifty years, especially covering the Troubles in Northern Ireland, and Islamist extremism.
‘Peter’s painstaking and brilliant reporting has been based on seeking to bridge differences and understand those from extreme traditions,’ the citation reads. ‘In doing so, he courageously and often at personal risk made a material contribution towards preparing the way for the 1998 Good Friday Peace Agreement, crucially involving the IRA.’
As well as being the author of ten books, Peter Taylor has made award-winning documentaries for the BBC and ITV, and has received Lifetime Achievement Awards from BAFTA and the Royal Television Society. He has also investigated the power of ‘big tobacco’ and was awarded the World Health Organisation Gold Medal for Services to Public Health. In 2008 he received the James Cameron Award ‘for work as a journalist that combined moral vision and professional integrity’.
This is the second year that the award has been won by a journalist. The first recipient was journalist Carole Cadwalladr. The Quaker Truth and Integrity Group (QTIG) said this highlighted both the importance of trustworthy reporting in today’s world, and the challenges journalists face.
‘Journalists often find themselves working against a background of intimidation, misinformation and reluctance or refusal to engage and listen with others,’ QTIG said.
QTIG and the Quaker Truth and Integrity Award were set up in 2022 in response to concerns over the undermining of truth and integrity in public life.
