A journalism graduate with a background in intrepid travel as a tourism guide has scooped three awards at the annual AUT School of Communication Studies Awards.
Kim Bowden, who recently graduated with the Postgraduate Diploma in Communication Studies was recognised last night for overall excellence in journalism, for her outstanding contribution to regional reporting – topping her class in Asia-Pacific journalism - and was one of three recipients of an international internship.
Linden Clark, manager of Radio New Zealand International, presented the inaugural RNZI Award for Asia-Pacific journalism to Bowden - and spoke about the importance of reporting the region.
“The Pacific is extremely important to New Zealand. We broadcast from New Zealand out to the Pacific, and it’s a way of telling people in Pacific countries what is going on in the region,” she said.
Clark recognised that many countries in the Pacific had limited access to news resources, and described RNZI as providing a service.
“They don’t necessarily have the resources or ability - for Melanesian countries to find out what is going on in Polynesian countries and vice versa.
“Obviously they are good at reporting from their own countries, about themselves, but they don’t have the resources to source stories from the rest of the region.
“We provide a service linking the whole of the Pacific together.”
Newsroom internship
Bowden was stunned to learn she would be given the opportunity to complete a week-long all expenses paid internship at the Wellington RNZI newsroom.
“It was a pleasant surprise,” she said.
Pacific Media Centre director Dr David Robie praised Bowden for her “commitment, dedication and maturity” for her portfolio of Asia-Pacific stories.
Clark also presented Bowden with the Kunda Dixit Prize – one of the "Frames of War" trilogy books featuring photojournalism of the 10-year Maoist war edited by the Nepali Times publisher.
A selection of photographs by Dixit’s team was exhibited at AUT University last December after touring global cities.
Bowden was presented with an AUT /Pacific Media Centre and Asia New Zealand Foundation international internship in China.
She will spend three months working in the newsroom at China Daily.com, a leading English language news website based in Beijing.
She thanked both AUT and the Asia New Zealand Foundation for the “great opportunity”.
Finally, Bowden was recognised with the APN National Publishing Award for the Outstanding Graduate in the Postgraduate Diploma in Journalism, presented by New Zealand Herald deputy editor David Hastings.
Having spent six years working for adventure tour company Intrepid Travel in Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Fiji, Vanuatu and New Zealand before embarking on a career in journalism, Bowden is familiar with the Asia-Pacific region.
She looks forward to being able to continue telling stories from the region, saying “the big thing that I really love about journalism is telling people’s stories.
“I think that the more people I meet and the more of the world I see, the more stories I can tell. And that’s what’s going to make me a special journalist.”
Most of Bowden's Asia-Pacific stories were published on Pacific Scoop.
Kim Bowden featured on Radio NZ International
Pacific Media Centre
