The Feed producer wins Walkley Young journalism prize

Joel Tozer, producer on SBS 2’s The Feed, has won the 2014 Walkley Young Australian Journalist of the Year Award for television/video journalism.

Tozer took out the award for three of his feature stories including “Inside Providence: The secretive Korean church led by a convicted rapist”, “Carmen’s Story: Living through the pain of abuse” and “Cotton wool kid”.

SBS Director of News and Current Affairs, Jim Carroll, said: “SBS is incredibly proud of the ground-breaking television Joel and the The Feed team are delivering.”

“The Feed takes on the most challenging subjects and continues to push the boundaries – presenting provocative, emotive, and topical news and current affairs stories for younger audiences.”

“It is fantastic that Joel’s outstanding work has been recognised by the industry and a testament to the diverse and exceptional content The Feed is producing,” he said.

Joel’s story Inside Providence: The secretive Korean church led by a convicted rapist revealed the Australian operation of the secretive Korean church – Providence. For the first time, former members of the church in Canberra spoke openly with The Feed about being initiated into a group they say recruits young women as spiritual brides for its leader – a man who is currently serving time for rape, in a South Korean prison.

Carmen’s Story: Living through the pain of abuse follows the story of 38 year old Carmen Burnett who is coming to terms with the pain of being harmed by someone she loved. Carmen, the youngest of five children, grew up in a broken home, and after her father left was physically and sexually abused by her older brother.

Cotton Wool Kid told the story of 34-year-old Brisbane man Dean Clifford who suffers from the rare condition known as Epidermilysos bullosa that involves his skin blistering and falling off. From a chronically ill cotton-wool baby Dean has always defied doctors’ expectations and this powerful story follows Dean on his endeavour to bench press 150kgs.

The Feed airs Monday – Friday 7:30pm on SBS 2.