Alice journalist wins global award

ABC podcast Spies in the Outback, hosted by Alice Springs journalist Alex Barwick and dealing with Pine Gap, has won the top gong at the New York Festivals Radio Awards.

The prestigious awards celebrate creative storytellers from across the globe and recognise exceptional quality in broadcast audio content. The jury chose the podcast series from a field of thousands of entries across six continents.

The story starts in the Cold War era and examines the secretive US/Australian defence base.

Barwick has been a reporter in the region for 17 years. She says she wanted to tell a story from regional Australia that would capture the imagination of a global audience.

"It was important to tell the history of Pine Gap and how it's shaped my town with care, while also examining what role it may have played in past and present global conflicts," she says.

Contributed.