Colin Cosier has won the inaugural Jana Wendt Award for International Reporting, sponsored by Qantas Group.

He won the award for his story "Finding Yusuf", aired on SBS Dateline; an exceptional piece of international journalism, that was both a political story and a human story that packed a big emotional punch. It showed the value of Australian reporters being on the ground in hard-to-get-to-places chasing stories of national and international significance.

Judges' citation

Finding Yusuf is an exceptional piece of international journalism. It shows the value of Australian reporters being on the spot in hard-to-get-to places chasing stories of national and international significance. Cosier and his team showed up Australian officialdom by achieving something our national security apparatus was unable to do: reach, comfort and give voice to a citizen taken to a war zone when still a child. He then broke that news to Yusuf's parents, as well as the rest of Australia. This was a well structured political story, as well as a human story that packed a big emotional punch.

Other finalists

• Amanda Hodge, The Australian, “Southeast Asian scams and Myanmar’s Forgotten War”
• Prue Lewarne, SBS Dateline, “The Beast: Mexico’s Deadliest Train”
• Ben Lewis, SBS Dateline, “Murder in Afghanistan”

This award carries an $8,000 prize, and is supported by the Qantas Group.