Mike with rebels Shan troops in Burma
The Today programme's Mike Thomson has been acclaimed News Journalist of the Year at the 2012 Sony Radio Academy Awards. The award judges commented: "In a category with many outstanding entries, Mike Thomson still stood out, particularly for
his work on the feared Central African militia group, the Lord's Resistance Army,
where after creating leads and building the trust of his sources he risked his life to bring a series of heartbreaking stories to the Today programme listeners.
His feature on the orphans of Kabul was another powerful piece of reporting
and overall his was a remarkable and gripping portfolio of work." "I was particularly delighted that the Sony judges highlighted my series of reports on the notorious LRA," Mike explains. "I remember several very frightened people I interviewed in a small Congolese village saying that they hoped my coverage would bring their plight to world attention. The trouble was that much of the media's attention was focused on the Arab Spring. But last night's award shows that these people, and 400,000 others displaced from their homes in central Africa, were most certainly not forgotten after all." Mike, whose award-winning radio packages were produced by Lewis James and Nina Manwaring, is no stranger to Sony honours. These include a Gold Award in 2003 for his coverage of the looming famine in Ethiopia and a Silver for News Journalist of the Year in 2007. His work for Radio 4's Document has also brought honours for Mike and his team. In 2002 they won Sony Gold for Best News Programme. This was followed by Radio Story of the Year in 2005.
Explore some more of Mike's work from the past year.
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