Guardian Australia has picked up seven nominations in the 68th annual Walkley awards for excellence in journalism.
Guardian Australia dominated the short feature writing and commentary and analysis categories, taking out two of the three nominations in both.
Indigenous affairs editor Lorena Allam was nominated in the commentary and analysis category for a body of work which provided an Indigenous perspective on the Indigenous voice to parliament.
Political editor Katharine Murphy was nominated in the same category for her Saturday political commentary, including a piece on how Australia has blown a decade of climate action and it’s now up to Labor and the Greens to act.
Social affairs and inequality reporter Luke Henriques-Gomes has been nominated for his coverage of the royal commission into robodebt and his articles about Colleen Taylor, the whistleblower.
Inequality reporter Stephanie Convery has been nominated for feature writing short (under 4,000 words) for her exclusive report on a man who died from severe chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), the neurodegenerative disease caused by head trauma and linked to the repeated impacts of contact sport.
The finalists for All Media: Commentary, Analysis, Opinion & Critique, supported by @ThomsonGeer, are: Lorena Allam, @guardian; John Lyons (@TheLyonsDen), @abcnews; Katharine Murphy (@murpharoo), @guardian. #walkleys pic.twitter.com/LNK7faSij3
— Walkley Foundation (@walkleys) October 12, 2023
In the same category the Queensland correspondent Ben Smee has been nominated for Ricky’s Story, his exclusive report about a 14-year-old boy who had been to jail 15 times under Queensland’s troubled youth justice system.
The finalists for Feature Writing Short (under 4000 words), supported by @smh and @theage, are: Stephanie Convery (@gingerandhoney), @guardian; @BenSmee, The Guardian; Jeremy Story Carter (@jstorycarter), @abcnews. #walkleys pic.twitter.com/mjvxPLUu5w
— Walkley Foundation (@walkleys) October 12, 2023
Reporter Christopher Knaus was nominated in the specialist and beat reporting category for a collection of articles about the Catholic church’s new tactic to fight abuse claims.
Knaus’s exclusive reports revealed the strategy used by the church to deny compensation to survivors of abuse.
Photographer Dean Sewell’s work for Oculi and Guardian Australia depicting the family of Pitjantjatjara man Yukun as they laid him to rest 90 years after his death was nominated in the news photography category.
It’s the first Walkleys since the foundation overhauled the annual awards and reinstated the international journalism category and added awards for specialist and explanatory journalism.
The CEO of the Walkley Foundation, Shona Martyn, said the importance of strong journalism is magnified by the outbreak of war, climate change and Saturday’s referendum on an Indigenous voice to parliament.
“While the 68th Walkley Awards cannot recognise stories that have developed since our closing date for entries on August 31, this year’s finalists include stellar coverage of such pressing issues and more,” Martyn said.
“Australia’s reporters, commentators, photographers, camera operators, cartoonists, podcasters, authors and documentary makers have produced extraordinary works of public interest journalism in the last 12 months.”
Guardian Australia already won two mid-year Walkley awards for excellence in journalism for reporter Fleur Connick’s series on rural water quality and contributor Anna Verney’s investigation that found a Miles Franklin-nominated novelist had plagiarised parts of his book.
Walkley award winners will be announced at a gala dinner at the ICC in Sydney on Thursday 23 November.
