Journalism students shine with Crikey Award win and Asia New Zealand Scholarship success

Kaya Selby, a postgraduate student from Te Kunenga ki Pūrehuroa Massey University’s Postgraduate Diploma in Journalism, has won the Crikey Award for Investigative Journalism. This achievement is part of the annual Ossie Awards, administered by the Journalism Education and Research Association of Australia (JERANZ).

Kaya's award-winning piece exposed the abuse of boys residing at a youth justice facility in New Zealand.

"I'm enormously gratified and grateful to have received the award. I put my all into the story because I felt it mattered," Kaya says.

"For me, it felt like a good ending to a great year in the postgraduate journalism programme. Our teachers gave us all free range to write, research, and investigate stories that felt like our own. It was that confidence that saw me travel across the lower North Island for my youth justice story."

Judge Charlie Lewis says, “Kaya delves deeply and vividly into the trauma inflicted on some of the most vulnerable people in society. It's well-structured and the prose is clean and evocative. The style is backed up by assiduous journalism - the array of interviews and depth of research shows throughout."

Massey students dominate Asia New Zealand scholarships

Massey journalism students have again secured a number of Asia New Zealand scholarships. These scholarships allow postgraduate students to travel to Asia and work for news organisations in countries such as Thailand, the Philippines, South Korea and India.

In total, Massey students secured more than half of the available Asia NZ scholarships, reflecting the strength and reputation of the university's journalism program. Among the recipients are Kaya Selby, who has just started an internship with JoonAng Daily in Seoul, South Korea. Other successful Massey postgraduate students heading to Asia in 2025 include:

• Imogene Bedford, who will be working with Thai PBS in Bangkok
• Silva Massa, who will be joining The Philippine Star in Manila
• Caitlin Lester, who will be contributing to The Deccan Herald in Bangalore, India
• Lauren Pattemore, a 2022 Bachelor of Communications graduate, who will be working with TaiwanPlus in Taipei.

Asia NZ Media Adviser Eleanor Wenman says the results are a strong showing for Massey.

“We increased the number of internships this year and have nine internships/placements in total. It’s great to see how many are from Massey.

Journalism Programme Leader Associate Professor James Hollings says he is very proud of Kaya for winning the Crikey Award.

“We’ve worked hard to make Massey a centre of excellence for teaching journalism, and particularly investigative journalism, and this is a testament to that. Kaya is a terrific journalist, who poured his heart and soul into this story. It’s immensely gratifying to see his efforts rewarded, and to see the stories of the people he talked to shared more widely.