A groundbreaking Guardian Australia investigation into incarcerated teenagers born with severe intellectual disabilities has been awarded the media diversity Australia prize at the Walkley Foundation’s midyear media prizes.
In the box: how children with FASD end up in police cells, by Queensland correspondent Ben Smee and medical editor Melissa Davey, uncovered the stories of children who, branded repeat offenders, spend their days locked in adult watch houses despite living with the effects of foetal alcohol spectrum disorder.
The series of three articles, published in July last year, was recognised by the judges at Thursday evening’s awards ceremony in Sydney.
Guardian Australia was also a finalist in the young Australian journalist of the year’s coverage of community and regional affairs and innovative storytelling categories, and the Our Watch award for excellence in reporting on violence against women.
The ABC journalist April McLennan was announced as the John B Fairfax family young journalist of the year, with her coverage of unwanted medical intervention in childbirth and the accusations against former Launceston mayor Danny Gibson singled out by the Walkley judging board.
She won the public service journalism and coverage of community and regional affairs prizes in the young journalist category for her reporting in Launceston.
Freelance journalist of the year prize went to Prue Lewarne for her coverage of Latin America for SBS, and the women’s leadership in media award was won by SBS’s Calliste Weitenberg.
The awards are held separately from November’s Walkley awards for excellence in journalism.
The Walkley Foundation chief executive, Shona Martyn, said the “judges remarked on the high quality of entries across the categories, an encouraging reminder that Australia’s best journalism is of the highest standard”.
