University of East Anglia
University of East Anglia
06/16/2026 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 06/16/2026 09:42
Student documentary maker wins national award at Royal Television Society Awards
Student documentary maker wins national award at Royal Television Society Awards
By: Communications
A UEA broadcast journalism documentary maker has won a national television award.
Rithula Nisha's solo-shot film "Ghosts in the Machine - The invisible eyes of cybercrime" won the Royal Television Society (RTS) Student Television Awards postgraduate journalism category.
International student Rithula moved to the University of East Anglia from Bangalore, India, where she had previously worked as a Product Development Engineer. She graduated with an MA in Broadcast and Digital Journalism last summer.
She said: "Two years ago, about this time, I was rolling around aimlessly in India at a bit of a loss of life. If you had told me then that this is where I'd be I wouldn't have believed you.
"The path to get from there to today was paved with a lot of effort and sacrifice and mostly on the part of people who live me.
"I would like to thank every one of them today - my family; my parents; and my really lovely peers and professors at the University of East Anglia."
Rithula Nisha at the Royal Television Society Awards (Photos: Julian Sturdy)
RTS judges called the film: "A highly creative, broadcast-ready piece that stands out for its strong access and incisive questioning on an underreported topic.
"Compelling case studies and a well-crafted sense of suspense kept us engaged throughout.
"The storytelling is reinforced by stark statistics and excellent use of graphics, delivering both impact and clarity."
Rithula now works as a Project Editor in Tech, AI and Cyber at Bizclik in London.
Rithula's film was the 15th award nomination for student video journalism films made at UEA Broadcast House in 2025.
In February, ten students were nominated in the Royal Television Society East Student Awards.
Cameron Noble's self-shot film, "Saving Benji and Balu", was named best factual film and Kerena Cobbina won the journalism category for her documentary "Faith Beyond Belief - Why is Religion So Important in Kenya?"
Kerena Cobbina (left) and Cameron Noble (right) with their RTS Student Awards (Photos: Julian Sturdy)
Cameron also won best documentary at the Broadcast Journalism Training Council Awards 2025.
Simon Bucks, RTS Trustee for Awards, said: "The Student Television Awards are a marvellous showcase for the best work from the new generation of UK producers and teams. It's a great testament to their skills and talent to be found across the whole country. Each year the students' entries exceed our expectations in quality. 2026 will - I know - be no different and we look forward to celebrating with all of the nominees and winners at the awards ceremony in June."
The UEA broadcast journalism student documentaries can be viewed on the UEA Journalism website.
For more information on studying journalism at UEA, head to the UEA journalism course pages.
University of East Anglia published this content on June 16, 2026, and is solely responsible for the information contained herein. Distributed via Public Technologies (PUBT), unedited and unaltered, on June 16, 2026 at 15:42 UTC. If you believe the information included in the content is inaccurate or outdated and requires editing or removal, please contact us at [email protected]