News Release                                                                                         March 26 , 2010

ABC journalist wins inaugural national broadcasting award

If Sarina Locke thanks her Mum when she accepts the inaugural Australian Star Prize for Rural Broadcasting today, it will be for more than conventional reasons.

The Canberra-based ABC journalist took out the new award with an impressive radio documentary based around a visit to West Timor where she followed in the footsteps of her mother, Dr Russ Locke.

A veterinarian from Holbrook in southern NSW, Dr Locke worked in West Timor 15 years ago, helping village women to vaccinate their chickens as part of an AusAid project to develop veterinary services in the Eastern Islands.

Sarina visited her at the time, and decided to return last year with financial assistance from the Crawford Fund and Australia’s Centre for International Agricultural Research, to find out whether the $40 million Australia spent on agricultural aid in Indonesia in 2009 was helping to lift farming families out of deep poverty.

Sarina was presented with a $1000 cheque by award sponsor Rabobank at a gathering of the Farm Writers Association of NSW in Sydney. She also received a certificate as winner of the radio category in the award, which was organised by the Australian Council of Agricultural Journalists (ACAJ).

Adelaide-based ABC Television journalist Kerry Staight won the television category with her piece, ‘All in the Family’, broadcast on ABC Landline on February 11, 2009.

Ian Doyle from Doyle Media Services, also based in Adelaide, was given an encouragement award in the category for online video, for a piece broadcast via the S. Kidman and Co website.

The Star Prize was adjudicated by a panel of three judges:

• Veteran radio and television broadcaster, Neil Inall, well known as presenter of the former ABC television program, ‘Countrywide’, and Seven network's ‘Cross Country’.

• Former ABC rural reporter and executive producer of the ABC’s Rural Department in WA, Alan Richardson, who is now regional content manager for ABC South East SA.

• Pioneering online rural broadcaster, Chuck Zimmerman, from Missouri in the United States, whose company, Zimmcomm New Media, specialises in blogging and podcasting for the agricultural industry.

ACAJ president and award coordinator Liz Harfull said the judging panel were extremely impressed with Sarina’s piece, which she researched, produced, edited and presented on her own.

“Our panel of three judges found it an excellent example of where personal family involvement gave the story an extra dimension,” she said. “It was well-crafted with clear audio and sound effects, a logical progression of the story line; and an original, lively and creative approach that held attention despite it being a long piece.”

The story had broad airplay in June last year on the ABC Country Hour in New South Wales, 666 ABC Canberra, ABC Radio National’s Bush Telegraphy and on Radio Australia internationally.

Judges applauded television winner Kerry Staight for the sensitive approach she took to the topic of succession planning, an issue she found was one of the most confusing and confronting facing Australian farmers.

“The judges credited Kerry for tackling the story and for the work she put into researching the issue and finding farmers prepared to be interviewed. She presented a balanced view of the issues, and demonstrated excellence in documentary production and presentation, with strong and relevant content,” Liz said.

While there was no outright winner in the online video category, judges decided to give an encouragement award to Ian Doyle for his creative use of video as rich web content. They found his piece on the challenges Kidman’s face in recruiting Generation Y for jobs on the company’s isolated pastoral leases to be well crafted and appealing for the intended audience.

The three award recipients will now represent Australia in the first-ever international award for agricultural broadcasting, due to be announced at a world congress of farm journalists and communicators in Belgium in late April.

“The winners of the first year of the Rural Broadcasting awards have clearly demonstrated that the quality of broadcast journalism in the rural sector in this country is extremely high,” said Rabobank state manager Southern NSW Patrick Lally.

“The winners not only informed us all about issues of vital importance to Australian agriculture, but they found a way to entertain us at the same time, through applying considerable technical skills with often limited resources.

“Rabobank is proud to be part of a program that recognises and celebrates this excellence, and we look forward to the award continuing to grow in stature.”

Finalists for the competition were selected by the five state-based rural press clubs which fall under the umbrella of the ACAJ.

The winning entries can be viewed at www.acaj.org.au

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Editor’s please note: For more information on the awards contact ACAJ president and award coordinator Liz Harfull on 0409 674 941 or email lizk@adam.com.au