Tracey Shelton


Tracey Shelton is an Australian journalist for the news site GlobalPost. In 2012, her photographs of a Syrian tank attack on rebel fighters in Aleppo gained significant attention from mainstream and social media. She also covered the Libyan Civil War and obtained exclusive footage of Muammar Gaddafi's death which led to a UN enquiry. Shelton has won many international accolades for her work including a George Polk Award, an Overseas Press Club honour and an award of excellence from POYi.

Education

In 2012, Shelton completed a master's degree from the University of Bolton's International Multimedia Photojournalism program based in China.

Journalism career

Shelton began her career in 2005 and began working in Cambodia, freelancing and later working for The Phnom Penh Post, Post Khmer and Seven Days magazine. She was on assignment in Iraq when she moved to Libya to cover the civil war. She was tied and brutally beaten in her hotel room in Benghazi during a robbery and attempted kidnapping, from which she escaped by jumping to another balcony. She later obtained exclusive video of the death of Muammar Gaddafi.
In September 2012, Shelton was reporting on rebel fighters near the front lines in Aleppo. Shortly after a warning that a Syrian tank was near, Shelton filmed a shell impact as it exploded nearby, killing three of the four rebels at the position. Images and accounts of the encounter and Shelton's reporting style were widely redistributed by traditional news sites as well as social media. In her account of the incident, Shelton said, "I was covered in the dust and debris; it started really coming down. So I ran back a bit, and we stood back behind this cloud and were waiting for these guys, the guys to come running through.... and no one came."
Shelton was presented with the George Polk Award for Video Reporting by Carl Bernstein for a series of video reports on Aleppo Syria throughout 2012. Bernstein remarked that Shelton had communicated "the human tragedy of the conflict in Syria in a way that is impossible to ignore or forget. Through powerful video, viscerally engaging images and authoritative writing, she gave voice and face to those most affected by the civil war."
Shelton is currently based in Australia at the ABC's Asia Pacific Newsroom.