CHANNEL 4 - BBC WINS BIG AT ROYAL TELEVISION SOCIETY JOURNALISM AWARDS

The BBC has picked up eight awards at the Royal Television Society awards for journalism, with Jeremy Paxman named presenter of the year.

The corporation's political correspondent Nick Robinson was named specialist correspondent of the year at the prestigious ceremony, while Alan Johnston, the journalist held hostage in Gaza for several months in 2007, received the judges' award for "extraordinary broadcast journalism".

And Newsnight Paxman claimed the presenter award, with the judging panel praising his "compelling" style of interviewing.

Robert Beston, the BBC business correspondent, took the scoop of the year prize, for being first to report the Northern Rock meltdown, with the judges calling his exclusive the result of " one journalist following a hunch that something was up and tracking down the truth through contacts and commitment".

And the BBC also won the domestic current affairs award for its documentary The Great Granny Chart Invasion, concerning the senior citizens' rock band the Zimmers.

Sky News was named news channel of the year while ITV's Evening News took the news programme of the year award for the second year in a row.

John Suchet won the lifetime achievement award after 40 years in journalism.

The Royal Television Society journalism winners in full:

Lifetime achievement: John Suchet

Judges' award: Alan Johnston

Presenter of the year: Jeremy Paxman - Newsnight, BBC Two

Young journalist of the year: Hamish MacDonald - Al Jazeera English News Hour

Specialist journalism: Nick Robinson - BBC News

Television journalist of the year: Alex Crawford - Sky News

News programme of the year: ITV Evening News - ITN for ITV News

News channel of the year: Sky News

News - international: Iraq: Apache Company - ITN and Guardian Films for Channel 4 News

News - home: The Crevice Trial: Links To 7/7 - ITN for Channel 4 News

News event: Battle of Gaza - Reuters Television

Scoop of the year: Northern Rock - BBC News

Current affairs - home: The Great Granny Chart Invasion - Power to the People - BBC Current Affairs for BBC Two

Current affairs - international: China's Stolen Children - Dispatches Special, True Vision for Channel 4

Camera operator of the year: Darren Conway - BBC News

National regional current affairs: The Pit Bull Sting - Spotlight, BBC Northern Ireland

Nations and Regions news coverage: The Lesley Molseed Trial - Granada Reports, ITV Granada

Multimedia: The Floods BBC News / BBC Nations and Regions

Innovation: Sky.com - Sky News