A SHARED RESPONSIBILITY
Bob Jobbins OBE, Chairman, The Rory Peck Trust

The Rory Peck Trust has had another highly successful year - culminating in this evening's Awards. The quality of the entrants has been outstanding, the judges have brought to their choices the very highest levels of professionalism, and by being here you have demonstrated your support for the work of the Trust.

And yet in spite of our successes - the help we have given to dependents of freelances killed in Colombia, the grant which made desperately needed medical treatment possible or the bursaries which provided safety training for freelances - there is also a sense of frustration.

If only we could have raised more money we could (logically) have done so much more. It takes only small amounts of money to make an enormous difference. A minimal contribution, less than £1000, can provide a training bursary that could save the life of a freelance operating in one of the many areas
of conflict. A modest award to the dependents of a murdered freelance can stave off financial calamity.

As the work of the Trust becomes better known, appeals for help become more frequent. This year we have virtually exhausted our budget: if there are more cries for help we can respond only by going into the red, which automatically eats into next year's budget, and so on.

The generosity of our major sponsors, Sony and APTN, make this evening and our work possible. Many others offer financial and practical help: the big broadcasters support our Training Fund as do the
Financial Times and the Guardian, and from the broadcasters we also receive invaluable help in organising the awards ceremony and the judging. But
the fact remains that the work of freelance media workers continues to be difficult and dangerous - and not all employers are prepared to support our work and recognise the importance of the role that freelances play.

I firmly believe that if our fundraising efforts are to succeed we must be able to demonstrate that the entire media industry is playing a full part in meeting the shared responsibility for the freelance sector which, as events of the past year have again demonstrated, plays an increasingly significant role in bringing the news to the public.

The Rory Peck Awards Brochure 2002

• Programme
• A Shared Responsibility
• The Trust in 2002
• Freelancers Deserve More
• Freelance Stories of the Year / APTN
• From the Sponsor
• The Trust and Sony
• Judging Panels
• Judges' Reports
• List of Entrants
  

• Winners
• Finalists
• The Freelancers' Choice 2002

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