Guardian Australia’s Ben Smee and a team from SBS have been named joint winners of the coveted journalist of the year award at Queensland’s annual media awards – the Clarions.
Smee, the Guardian Australia’s Queensland state correspondent, and SBS journalists Jennifer Luu, Jodie Noyce and Chloe Angelo, won the top award for their exclusive investigation, In the Box: Inside the Isolation Cells where Australian Kids are Imprisoned. Smee also picked up two other awards at a ceremony on Saturday night.
In the Box investigated the plight of children, sometimes as young as 11, who are locked up in Queensland police watch house facilities intended for drunk and disorderly adults.
The documentary included exclusive footage of children’s experience in the tiny, freezing-cold isolation cells with no mattresses, toilets or windows.
It built on Smee’s long-term work investigating the experiences of children and young people in police custody in Queensland.
The Clarion judges said In the Box “reflected the core values of investigative journalism”.
“This groundbreaking investigation into children being locked-up in Queensland watch houses combined compelling vision and high production values with well-researched and impactful story-telling. It showcased the value of developing contacts over a long period to source exclusive material and interviews,” the judges said.
In the Box also won the social issues reporting category, with judges noting Smee’s persistence in “delving into the nuances of Queensland’s youth crime and the failings of the system for the past couple of years”.
Smee’s body of work on the Queensland election won the commentary, analysis, opinion and critique category, with the judges commending his “clear, elegant style” that “walks the tightrope of great factual journalism and excellent opinion writing”.
Guardian Australia reporter Ella Archibald-Binge won the award for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander issues reporting for her previous work at the ABC on Queensland’s truth-telling inquiry and stolen wages.
More than 330 entries across the 28 categories were received for this year’s Clarion awards, run by the Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance. This year marks the 30th year of the awards, which are described as honouring “fearless reporting, innovation, and a deep commitment to public interest journalism”.
