Yasmine Alawakal

2024 Kennedy Awards Student Journalist of the Year Winner

The Kennedy Foundation award for the Student Journalist of the Year underlines the Foundation’s commitment to supporting and encouraging young and aspiring journalists. This could be the beginning of what one would hope to be a long and rewarding career in Australian journalism.

Last year the winner was, Yasmine Alawakal who won the award for a body of work that included, ”Hiding in Plain Sight”: Young Australians spending beyond their pay check” and “Seeing Red-The high cost of menstruating”.

Was the Kennedy Award your first recognition for your work?

Yasmine: “I have won university awards previously and I received the JERAA’s award for data journalism in one of their student journalist categories, but this was the first big industry award that I had won.”

Why did you enter?

Yasmine: “I applied for the award just because I thought it would be a great platform to try and get my work out there, as a student journalist. It's something that some of my colleagues have entered in other categories, and for them, it was just such a great experience.

I probably went into it not expecting to win. I was aware there was lots of competition, but I was really pleased to win this award. It was just such a great opportunity to get recognition at an industry level.”

And the Gala Awards night itself?

Yasmine: “It was quite surreal to be surrounded by so many high -calibre journalists at the peak of their careers and who have produced such impactful work. So, to be there, surrounded by those kinds of media professionals in Australia, it was great.

I think it was formatted in a great way, so you got to see snippets of the different stories up on the screen, then hear from some of the journalists in particular categories.”

And winning?

Yasmine: “Journalism, particularly when you’ve only recently graduated, can be quite competitive to land jobs early out of university.

So, I think it definitely helped me to differentiate myself, going forward and applying for jobs.

It was great to have that industry recognition. That my work had been impactful and reached a wider audience and I think it helped to validate that”.

“I'm now working as a cadet journalist at SBS, and it definitely helped play a part in me working my way there.”

Has it changed you personally?

Yasmine: “I think as a student journalist, it can be difficult to find sources for stories, and it can be trickier when you're working in a small team to put your pieces out and reach a wider audience.

Fortunately, I kept connected with the sources, particularly in the story I did about medical misogyny.

It was great and was quite validating for me to hear afterwards how happy they were to be included and that through my Kennedy Award, the stories reached a wider audience. They had their voices heard, and it was great to have that kind of impact. ”

Yasmine’s answer to that question highlighted her humility and underlined that her focus was not on herself but the people whose stories she was telling. But personally, what effect did it have?

Yasmine: “This award provided a great boost in my confidence. I have always been passionate about journalism and sharing stories, but it certainly helped validate the feeling that I was creating stories that resonated with other people.

It’s exciting early in your career to be recognised in this way and have people viewing your work and saying it was impactful. Or it had the intended aim of educating or shedding awareness about topics that may not make their way into the mainstream fast news cycle. So, it was exciting, it was a booster of confidence, it was great.”

When did you first think you wanted to be a journalist?

Yasmine:”I have always loved storytelling. I probably gravitated more towards books while young, and my second major at university was publishing. I have always really enjoyed stories and hearing about other people’s perspectives. I have also loved public speaking, that’s something I really enjoyed growing up.    

I think journalism is the perfect mix of the fact that you get to speak with diverse Australians and people who are experts in different fields every day. You are constantly learning and get to distil and synthesise that information so it’s easier to understand for a wider audience. It’s truly something different every day.

It’s constantly challenging me, but early into my career, I am absolutely loving it.”

And now you’ve actually got a job in the professional media as a cadet with SBS. Were you prepared?

Yasmine: “Where I studied at UTS, there were no exams. The focus was on learning practical skills, to get behind the camera and build your portfolio of work. But the best training is when you’re on the job, and I get to work and do rotations all across the newsroom and current affairs with documentary teams, including ‘Insight’ and ‘Dateline‘.

From rotations in digital to radio and TV, it’s been a very unique experience and a great place to work.”

And ambition ?

Yasmine: “To continue telling impactful human interest stories and learning from interesting people who come from different backgrounds to myself. 

That’s the great thing about journalism is you get to interact with people you wouldn’t normally meet, speak and talk to. I’ve just had a taste of that so far and SBS, driven by their charter and purpose, has given me great opportunities to do that. My hope is to continue telling these sorts of impactful stories.”

You have a multi-cultural background, your dad is of Palestinian heritage, is that an obstacle for you as a journalist?

Yasmine: “Well, my family is generally a creative lot and has fully supported my career choice. There is no doubt that coming from a multicultural family has made me engage with the news and storytelling in a unique way. I have seen firsthand the impact news could have on an individual’s understanding and connection to the world, especially for those marginalised groups or individuals.

Now working as a journalist that purpose is front of mind; to educate and inform audiences, to report using facts and empower people to form their own opinion.

In an ever-changing and increasingly fast paced world, I believe the role of trusted journalism is more important than ever.”