The 68th Walkley Awards happened below the muggy drizzle of yesterday’s late Sydney spring night on the ICC grand ballroom, and on Australian journalism’s night time of nights it was 9 that walked away with the lion’s share of the gongs, taking dwelling greater than a 3rd of the common awards.
The largest prize of the night, the Gold Walkley, went to The Australian Monetary Evaluate’s Edmund Tadros and Neil Chenoweth for his or her protection of the PwC Australia tax leaks scandal. Tadros, in accepting the award, joked that he’d been masking accounting for seven years, and whereas the scandal had, courtesy of his reporting, made it into the mainstream of public dialogue, his beat nonetheless doesn’t pique a lot curiosity at events.
Nevertheless, the lads of the hour have been two reporters who didn’t have a set award in any respect. Chris Masters and Nick McKenzie got the Walkley Honour for Media Freedom, the primary of its form, for his or her publicity of disgraced former soldier and Victoria Cross recipient Ben Roberts-Smith. A sequence of tales, six years within the making, that exposed Roberts-Smith’s warfare crimes in Afghanistan noticed Masters, McKenzie and several other newspapers sued for defamation by Roberts-Smith, who was backed by the monetary would possibly of Seven West chair Kerry Stokes.
Earlier this 12 months, Justice Anthony Besanko of the Federal Court docket discovered to a civil commonplace that Roberts-Smith had dedicated a sequence of murders and different offenses as detailed within the reviews. Roberts-Smith is interesting the choice.
McKenzie’s and Masters’ vindication was hailed as a uncommon victory for public curiosity journalism. For his or her efforts, alongside the Walkley honour was a grant introduced of their names: the Masters-McKenzie Grant for Investigative Journalism, awarding $10,000 to a recipient annually.
The pair obtained an prolonged standing ovation from all the room, bar one notable desk. Proper in entrance of them, on desk 4, sat a desk of Seven West workers, who certainly remained “firmly of their seat” in what was described by The Australian Monetary Evaluate’s Mark Di Stefano (on the neighbouring desk) as “a protest on behalf of [Roberts-Smith]”. The desk included Seven Information Sydney presenter Michael Usher. One witness advised Crikey the desk glowered at McKenzie and Masters as they accepted the acknowledgement of the Australian press: “If appears may kill from Usher and co …”
Seven West Media was contacted for remark.
Numerous speeches drew consideration to the warfare in Gaza, with MEAA media president and Walkley Basis deputy chair Karen Percy saying: “We’re in an data warfare in addition to a army one.” Host Patrick Abboud began proceedings calling for ideas for the now-53 journalists killed within the battle, and concluded the night time calling for a ceasefire.
Eight ladies have been honoured for his or her excellent contributions to journalism: the ABC’s Geraldine Doogue, SBS’ Karla Grant, The Newcastle Herald‘s Joanne McCarthy, The Sydney Morning Herald‘s Kate McClymont, former AFR editor Colleen Ryan, the ABC’s Marian Wilkinson, former AFR reporter Pamela Williams, and The Age‘s Caroline Wilson.
Elsewhere, amid a evaluate by the Walkley Basis of the awards’ sponsorship coverage, petroleum firm Ampol was notably absent from the sponsor shows. Final 12 months Ampol was the top-tier “platinum” sponsor and title accomplice (each the Walkley Awards and Ampol have been based by oil baron William Walkley). The awards have been lobbied to divest from Ampol’s sponsorship, with cartoonists calling for a boycott of this 12 months’s awards. Two-time Walkley winner and The Saturday Paper cartoonist Jon Kudelka led the boycott, joined by the AFR‘s David Rowe, Guardian Australia’s First Canine on the Moon, The Age‘s Matt Golding and others. 9 newspapers’ cartoonist Cathy Wilcox known as on the Walkleys to decide to divestment from fossil-fuel sponsorship.
A spokesperson for the Walkley Basis advised Crikey: “Ampol requested to have its branding faraway from the visible presentation through the Walkley Awards to keep away from detracting from the Gold Walkley winners’ massive second.
“The Walkley Basis honoured all current contracts with its sponsors for the 68th Walkley Awards. As beforehand introduced, the Walkley board of administrators is within the technique of reviewing its sponsorship coverage for future years which will likely be introduced as soon as accomplished.”
On the color of the night — journalists do our greatest to wash up, however the Logies this was not. Whereas a shiny floral tuxedo jacket was noticed within the crowd, on reflection your correspondent has awarded Crikey’s greatest dressed to his personal date, and won’t be taking questions concerning any obvious battle of curiosity (according to a lot of the trade on journeys to Israel).
Dinner got here courtesy of Worldwide Conference Centre’s government chef Rakesh Pillai: entrée was a miso-cured king salmon paired with a yuzu marmalade, fundamental was a roast hen, and dessert was a roasted pineapple and coconut cake.
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