The Walkley Foundation has announced finalists for its 2018 Mid-Year Awards.
Peer-judged and selected on the basis of journalistic excellence, the Mid-Year Awards suite includes the Young Australian Journalist of the Year Awards, as well as the Jacoby-Walkley Scholarship, the Arts Journalism Awards and the Women’s Leadership in Media, Freelancer of the Year and Industrial Reporting Awards.
The 2018 finalists, in alphabetical order, are listed below.
Walkley Young Australian Journalist of the Year Awards
These awards recognise and reward the hard work of our most outstanding young Australian journalists. They recognise the work of journalists aged 28 and under who demonstrate excellence in the fundamental tenets of the craft as well as the ability to present distinctive and original journalism that pushes the boundaries of the profession.
All media: Shortform journalism, Supported by ABC
• Daniel Conifer, AM, ABC Radio, ABC News online, ABC News, ABC TV, “Treasury documents expose negative gearing lies”
• Matilda Marozzi, ABC Radio Melbourne, ABC News online, ABC News, ABC TV, “Prestigious restaurant underpaid workers hundreds of dollars a week”
• Cassie Zervos, Herald Sun, “Investigation into illegal solariums”
All media: Longform feature or special,Supported by Fairfax Media
• Maddison Connaughton, Vice, “Seven Years of Syria”
• Bridget Judd, ABC Local Radio and ABC online, “Behind Bars: Female Offenders”
• Laura Murphy-Oates, The Feed, SBS Viceland, “Kids of Kalgoorlie”
All media: Coverage of community & regional affairs, Supported by UNSW
• Carrie Fellner, Newcastle Herald and Sydney Morning Herald, “The Sorrow on Cabbage Tree Road”
• Samara Gardner, WIN News Illawarra and WIN News Canberra, “The Tathra Inferno”
• Jamieson Murphy, The Northern Daily Leader, “Access Vikki Campion travel records denied for fear of misinterpretation”, “You’re drunk go home: women warned Barnaby before bum pinch” “Barnaby Joyce boycotts public debates and forums during campaign”
All media: Visual storytelling, Supported by Sky NEWS
• Eloise Grills, The Lifted Brow, “Articulating the Inarticulable: A review of Alice Chipkin and Jessica Tavassoli’s Eyes Too Dry: A Graphic Memoir about Heavy Feelings”
• Emily Verdouw, The Feed, SBS Viceland, “Dangerous Games?”
• Henry Zwartz, ABC News Regional, “The photo rich stories of Tasmania’s north-west”
All media: Public service journalism, Supported by News Corp Australia
• Carrie Fellner, Newcastle Herald and Sydney Morning Herald, “Deals and deception: the Awabakal investigations”
• Laura Murphy-Oates, The Feed, SBS Viceland and Dateline, SBS TV, “Young and Black” “Kids of Kalgoorlie” and “Vanished: Canada’s missing women”
• Emily Verdouw, HuffPost Australia, “Domestic Violence: Can Abusive Partners Change?”
All media: Student journalist of the year, Supported by Macleay College
• Christiane Barro, Monash University and The New Daily, “The cannabis oil ‘healers’ preying on Australia’s sick and dying” “Contaminants detected in unlicensed cannabis oil products” “‘It’s a disgrace’: Senator requests complete overhaul of medicinal cannabis regulator”
• Dylan Crawford and Lilly McKenzie, Griffith University, Brisbane Times and The Sydney Morning Herald, “Stolenwealth Games”
• Selby Stewart, Monash University, The Sunday Herald Sun and Mojo News, “Hoods on violent rampage” “Rooming-house closures not the answer, experts say” “Fred Negro’s St Kilda”
Walkley Young Australian Journalist of the Year, Supported by Jibb Foundation
Winners in each category will be announced on July 18. The winner of each category will be in the running to win the overall Walkley Young Australian Journalist of the Year Award. Thanks to support from a philanthropic grant from the Jibb Foundation, the Walkley Young Australian Journalist of the Year Award will receive a two-week trip to US newsrooms including the New York Times, Columbia Journalism Review and BuzzFeed, with return flights included.
The winners of all categories will also be matched with mentors to further boost their careers.
Jacoby-Walkley Scholarship – Longlist, Supported by Nine and AFTRS
Established in 2013 with support from media executive and award-winning TV producer Anita Jacoby, the Jacoby-Walkley scholarship includes a ten-week placement at the Nine Network in Sydney and a four-week placement at the Walkley Foundation, in the lead up to (and including) the 63rd Walkley Awards for Excellence in Journalism. The winner also receives mentoring from senior journalist members of the Walkley Advisory Board and a place in an AFTRS TV Unit course programmed by AFTRS Open.
• Benjamin Ansell, The University of Melbourne
• Amy Clements, The University of Melbourne
• Thomas de Souza, University of Notre Dame
• Eden Gillespie, UNSW
• Kamin Gock, Charles Sturt University
• Tara Hayes, UTS
• Jarrod Sansom, University of Newcastle
• Amber Schultz, Monash University
• Natalie Sekulovska, UNSW
• Rayane Tamer, UTS
Freelance Journalist of the Year Award, Supported by MEAA and Media Super
The Freelance Journalist of the Year Award recognises the unique contribution that freelance journalists make across all media platforms to the future of the industry. The winner will receive a full pass to Storyology 2018 and two tickets to the Walkley Awards Gala Dinner.
• Abdul Hekmat, The Monthly, “Refugee Stories”
• Sylvia Rowley, NITV, SBS, “Guilty of being Aboriginal” “Stolen, imprisoned, given a criminal record: Australia’s shameful treatment of the Stolen Generations revealed”“Guilty of being stolen”
• Karishma Vyas, Al Jazeera English, “Bride and Brothels: The Rohingya Trade”“Afghanistan: Asylum Denied” and “Forced Back to Cambodia”
Women’s Leadership in Media Award, Supported by PwC
This national award honours and celebrates women who are making a contribution to gender equality. It recognises outstanding journalistic contribution to the coverage of gender equality and full participation of women in society.
• Jane Caro, The Saturday Paper, ABC News online and University of Queensland Press, “Women’s Entrappings of High Office” “Women over 50 are living out two fates that show feminism is an incomplete project” “Unbreakable: Women share stories of resilience and hope”
• Jeannette Francis, The Feed, SBS Viceland, “In the age of #metoo”
• Lorna Knowles, Kate McClymont, Alison Branley, Joanne Puccini and Tracey Spicer, Fairfax Media, ABC News online and 7.30, ABC TV, “Don Burke”
Helen O’Flynn & Alan Knight Award for Best Industrial Reporting, Supported by Ai Group, Australian Super, Unions NSW, ACTU, UTS and MEAA
The Award for Best Industrial Reporting is an all-media award which recognises outstanding journalism that captures the importance of a robust industrial relations ecosystem for Australian workers and businesses, as well as its complexities.
• Emma Field and Vanessa Marsh, The Weekly TImes, The Courier-Mail, Townsville Bulletin, Bundaberg NewsMail and The Rural Weekly, “Pacific worker program death count”
• Gareth Hutchens, Greg Jericho and Miles Martignoni , Guardian Australia, “The Pay Paradox:Whatever Happened to Wage Rises in Australia?”
• Lisa Martin, Australian Associated Press, “ The Detention Centre Mould Scandal”
Arts Journalism Awards
These awards include two categories: The Walkley Arts Journalism Award and the Walkley-Pascall Award for Arts Criticism. Through the support of the Copyright Agency Cultural Fund we are thrilled to announce that in 2018 winners of both of these two awards will each receive $5000 in prize money. Both winners will also receive up to $1000 in financial support to attend Storyology.
All media: Arts Journalism, Supported by: Copyright Agency Cultural Fund
• Kate Blackmore, ABC Arts iview, “The Movement: Thomas Bradley” “The Movement: Ghenoa Gela” and “The Movement: Amrita Hepi”
• Gabriella Coslovich, Melbourne University Press, “Whiteley on Trial”
• Rosemary Neill, The Weekend Australian, “Restoring Albert Namatjira’s legacy – righting past wrongs”
All media: Walkley-Pascall Award for Arts Criticism, Supported by: Copyright Agency Cultural Fund
• Richard Cooke, The Monthly, “The Crankhandle of History”
• Jason Di Rosso, ABC News online, “Terror Nullius review: Controversial Australian film offers a radical critique of the nation”
• Delia Falconer, The Sydney Review of Books, “The Opposite of Glamour”
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Top photo: Some of the winners from the 2017 awards