Drew Ambrose
Documentary Maker, Journalist, and TV Producer
Drew is an international correspondent who specialises in long-form investigative reporting on global affairs and human rights. Since 2011 he has produced more than 140 news documentaries in 45 nations for Al Jazeera English and has been the digital lead on many groundbreaking online projects.
Drew was the creator and show runner of three special series for Al Jazeera - A Sense of Community , Mindset and Flatten the Curve.
Fluent in Indonesian, he lived in Kuala Lumpur and Jakarta, working fulltime in bureaus for major news organisations.
Throughout his career, Drew has reported from the frontlines of the Asia-Pacific's biggest emergencies including the Rohingya Refugee Crisis, Typhoon Haiyan, the 2014 Thailand Coup, The Easter Sunday Bombings, Black Saturday Bushfires, 2007 Garuda Plane Crash and the Yogyakarta Earthquake.
Drew has produced complex investigations on dolphin hunting, secret torture centres, deforestation, clergy abuse, pandemic medical waste dumping, cyber-pedophila, enforced disappearances, slavery, sex trafficking and indigenous incarceration.
Some of his work is conducted in dangerous locations such as Pakistan, Syria, PNG, Mexico and Ukraine.
In 2020, Drew was expelled from Malaysia after the police launched a criminal investigation, arrested a whistleblower and raided Al Jazeera’s bureau for a documentary he produced on the plight of migrants during the coronavirus pandemic. The move triggered condemnation by human rights and press freedom groups who said information contained in the documentary was accurate and true. The Global Investigative Journalism Network listed the documentary as one of the best pieces of reporting that year.
As a volunteer, Drew has also lectured, conducted workshops and created curriculums for schools and tertiary institutions. He mentored young reporters for the Walkley Foundation and Melbourne Press Club. Drew contributed chapters to five academic books on journalism.
He has been a Dart Ochberg and Our Watch Fellow. He's been a delegate in Australian youth dialogues with India and Indonesia.
Drew has been nominated for over 110 media prizes including the News Emmy , Orwell Prize, Shadid Award and Amnesty International UK Media Award . His biggest accolades include the Venice TV Award, Wincott Award, One World Media Award, 4 Walkley Awards, 6 New York Festival Gold Medals , 3 Human Rights Press Awards, 4 Drum Online Media Awards, 3 Overseas Press Club of America citations and the Sigma Award.