Selling Out Paradise
Our 101 East documentary “Selling Out West Papua” and accompanying interactive “The $5 Forests” have been recognised with the Wincott Foundation’s Video Journalism of the Year award, a Venice TV Award, Overseas Press Club Award of America citation and was highly commended at the AIB awards. It was also nominated for an Amnesty Media Award and One World Media Award. Our exhaustive investigation exposes the controversial dealings of resource companies in a region of the world usually shut off from outside scrutiny. It brought international attention to a little- known issue, highlighting a critical environmental matter and raising awareness about the rights of Indigenous people. The documentary and interactive that accompanies it shine a light on the plight of tribes often forgotten in the rush to transform pristine forests into lucrative palm oil plantations whose products are then sold around the world.
Exposing the corporate misconduct behind environmental destruction in Indonesia is an incredibly dangerous endeavour. Local journalists and activists have been killed, assaulted, harassed and jailed by myriad stakeholders who stand to profit from deforestation. Despite the risks, our team of mostly Indonesian reporters trekked for hours, camped in villages and navigated roads in one of the most militarised corners of Asia. The risks were exceptionally high. All of our questions for the tribespeople and the logistics were written in code in case company officials or soldiers detained our reporting teams.
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