Media statement by Nomonde Mbadi, Executive Director of Corporate Affairs

Sky News cameraman, Garwen McLuckie recently surprised the world when he scooped the ‘Royal Television Society’ (RTS) Award, which he describes as the Oscars of television news. He is a graduate of Video Technology at the Durban University of Technology.

“I am over the moon. This is the highest accolade that a camera operator can receive in the television industry. Just being nominated for such an award is amazing, let alone wining it. I was nominated last year,” says thrilled McLuckie. His work on the coverage of the Post election violence in Kenya; Ethiopian Famine and on Zimbabwe, was entered on his behalf.

Praising his work in Africa, he says, the RTS judges commented that: “The winner’s work in Africa was fearless and showed a remarkable empathy for the problems faced by people across the continent. His story-telling was impressive and his work demonstrated immense personal bravery and the highest technical skills.”

McLuckie believes the secret to his success: “I show an overwhelming enthusiasm to my work. I bring in a lot of energy. I cover every angle possible when filming. I will not let up until I know in my heart that I have got the shot.” This was a highly contested award as entrants included cameramen from Sky News, BBC, ITN, Channel 4 News, Reuters, APTN, etc.

He has covered every major news event around the world for the 13 years that he has been with Sky News. Those that stand out are 9/11 where he spent months in Pakistan and Afghanistan covering the war. He was embedded in Iraq with the American 101st Airborne for 3 months on the front line. He says the most intense war he has ever witnessed was in Liberia. He was nominated for an Emmy Award for his coverage of that conflict. He also covered the Boxing Day Tsunami where he says he has never witnessed ‘death on such a scale’. He was a cameraman at Arafat’s funeral in the West Bank.

He advises aspiring camera operators that energy is an important factor. “Go out to every story with energy and cover every possible angle and use a tripod,” he says.

For more information, please contact Bhekani Dlamini on 031 373 2845 to facilitate the interview.