Taiwan Indigenous Television producer Umas Suqluman has won the World International Broadcasters Network’s (WIBN) Journalism Excellence Award, announced on Thursday night at the network’s conference in Kautokeino, Sápmi, Norway.
Suqluman received the award for Landslide Dam Disaster: A Record of Tribal Rescue Efforts, a series of reports on a landslide dam failure in Hualien, Taiwan, last September that killed 19 people and left five missing.
The reports documented the impact on Amis tribes and villages, including their homes, livelihoods, education, economy, land and agriculture.
“Even two of our daily news reporters had their homes severely affected. Despite a shortage of reporting personnel, we continued to station reporters in the area for long-term, in-depth reporting, and explored post-disaster reconstruction and needs from the perspective of the Indigenous peoples,” Suqluman says.
Six Indigenous journalists from across WIBN’s global network were finalists, representing Aotearoa, Australia, Taiwan, Sápmi and Canada. Their work covered issues including disaster response, environmental protection, public health, cultural knowledge and Indigenous rights.
The Aotearoa finalist was Jessica Tyson, of Te Atihaunui-a-Pāpārangi, for her Te Ao with Moana story Seabed mining Taranaki debate: Economic bloom or environmental blow. The story examined Australia-based Trans-Tasman Resources’ (TTR) proposal to mine 50 million tonnes of seabed a year in the South Taranaki Bight.
Tyson weighed the proposed economic benefits against concerns from iwi, scientists and environmentalists, and says she was proud to uplift the voices of Taranaki iwi while scrutinising the project’s claims.
“As Indigenous journalists we need to explain the complexities, question claims being made and make sure Indigenous voices are heard. I’m incredibly proud that this story was able to contribute, in some small way, to documenting that because our stories become part of the record. They can challenge decisions and hold people in power to account,” Tyson says.
She also acknowledged those who contributed to the story:
“Tēnei ka mihi ki ngā pūkōrero katoa i tēnei pūrongo - ngā iwi o Taranaki, otirā, ki a Ngāti Ruanui, ki tōku tīma nō Te Ao with Moana, rātou ko taku whānau nō Whakaata Māori. He mahi tahi tēnei.”
WIBN chair Shane Taurima says the calibre of this year’s finalists reflects the strength and evolution of Indigenous journalism internationally.
“What we are seeing across these finalists is Indigenous journalism at its most powerful – grounded in community, led by Indigenous voices, and unafraid to take on the issues that matter most.”
The other finalists were Angel Moore from APTN, Canada; Hsu Li-ling from Hakka TV, Taiwan; Johan Ante Utsi from NRK Sápmi, Norway; and John-Paul Janke from NITV, Australia.
