All Media - International Journalism - Winner

Ginny Stein, Dateline, SBS TV, "Burma – Inside the Secret City"

Video journalist Ginny Stein joined Dateline in 2002 after four years reporting in South-East Asia for the ABC. In that period she covered the conflict in East Timor and the ousting of President Soeharto.

Stein divides her time between bases in Sydney and Thailand.

A four-time Walkley finalist, this is Stein’s first Walkley award.

In 2006, Stein travelled to Burma with the idea of reporting on Burmese dissidents who had begun to speak out after years of harassment. On a tourist visa and often forced to film with a hidden camera, Stein found herself in the nation’s new capital city, seen only by a handful of outsiders.

Judges’ comments

This is brave and fascinating reporting that takes the viewer into one of the world’s most closed societies.

The reporter took considerable risks in order to get this story. Stein tapped into the bubbling tensions that have since exploded.