Sydney freelance journalist Ella Rubeli has been named the 2014 Walkley Young Australian Journalist of the Year for her “outstanding and compelling work” and “extraordinary” use of video, photojournalism, print and multimedia in multi-platform storytelling.
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Rubeli, 24,whose work appeared in The Global Mail, was commended by Walkley Advisory Board judges Marina Go, John Stanley, Anne Davies and Angelos Frangopoulos for her work that “not only displayed the incredible emotion and impact that great storytelling can have, but proved that photojournalism will continue to play a powerful role across all mediums and has a very bright future.”
“Ella Rubeli’s outstanding and compelling work has made her the clear winner of the 2014 Walkley Young Australian Journalist of the Year Award … An incredible job and a very worthy winner,” judges said.
Rubeli, who grew up in Dungog, was also named winner of the camerawork category by judges Newcastle Herald photographer Natalie Grono and Seven Network videojournalist Tim Noonan, both Walkley Award-winners, as well as Walkley finalist Rick McPhee, a producer with Cordell Jigsaw Zapruder.
“Approaching her work with honesty and maturity, Ella showed outstanding use of all mediums with creativity and technical skill in videography, still photography and audio capture,” judges said, in a statement.
“The judges found her work powerful, emotive and beautifully composed. Ella is an exciting and promising new talent in visual journalism.”
In her entry statement, Rubeli described a passion for multimedia storytelling across platforms.
Her three stories told of “determined individuals” and communities fighting coal miners in the Hunter Valley, a mother grieving the loss of her son and the indigenous housing crisis in Tennant Creek in the Northern Territory.
“I am most interested in characters and personal stories behind the big issues,” she said.
The camerawork category was supported by UNSW, with an additional prize of $1000 worth of camera gear from Nikon.
As the overall winner, Rubeli will fly to the USA with Cathay Pacific to visit CNN in New York or Atlanta as well as Twitter’s Washington headquarters.
She is now studying at the Australian Film Television and Radio School in Sydney, majoring in documentary filmmaking.
