More than 600 journalists and media folk flocked to the Plaza Ballroom of Brisbane’s Convention and Exhibition Centre for the annual Walkley Awards on Friday night, with the ABC scooping up eight awards in total.
The ABC also had the most finalists of any media outlet, with 28 finalists across 14 categories.
The event, hosted by Sky News’ David Speers, were held in Brisbane with the support of Tourism and Events Queensland, and honoured a mammoth spate of media figures with Awards for Excellence in Journalism in 34 categories.
Freelance photographer Andrew Quilty (pictured above) won the Gold Walkley Award for his body of work, “The Man on the Operating Table”.
After an errant US airstrike destroyed the Médecins Sans Frontières hospital in Kunduz, Afghanistan, in October 2015, killing 42 people, freelance photojournalist Andrew Quilty was the first journalist to reach the scene. He found bodies still in the rubble; with fighting still going on in the vicinity, it had been too dangerous to remove them.
He discovered one man lying on an operating table who was later identified as Baynazar Mohammad Nazar, a 43-year-old Afghan civilian.
But following the release of this image, that stood out as this year’s Nikon-Walkley Photo of the Year, Quilty made the dangerous journey back to Kunduz to meet Baynazar’s family, and his winning News Photography body of work is a tribute to this man’s life and family.
Bruce Petty was awarded the Walkley for Outstanding Contribution to Journalism, recognising a 55-year career of drawing political cartoons as well a career in animation and film directing that has also won him an Oscar.
Rebecca Wilson was posthumously awarded the Walkley Award for Journalistic Leadership, with the award accepted by her son Tom Sacre.
Commenting on the Walkley judging process, Advisory Board Chair Kate McClymont said, “The judging process is what gives the Walkley Awards its credibility. The judges are senior journalists — people who know the skill, quick wit, depth of research and analysis, resourcefulness and even physical courage that it takes to create the best journalism.”
The full list of winners is published here and in the December print issue of The Walkley Magazine.
2016 Walkley Awards Category Winners:
Print/Text News Report
Grant McArthur, Herald Sun, “Bacchus Marsh Baby Deaths”
Social Equity Journalism
Ben Schneiders, Royce Millar and Nick Toscano, The Age, The Sydney Morning Heraldand The Canberra Times, Fairfax Media, “Sold Out: Australia’s biggest wages scandal”
Multimedia Storytelling
SBS Online Team, SBS Australia, “My Grandmother’s Lingo”
Nikon-Walkley Photo of the Year
Andrew Quilty, Foreign Policy, “The Man on the Operating Table”
Headline Journalism
Matthew Quagliotto, The Daily Telegraph, “Thirst Degree Murder”, “Law & Snorter”, “Tyred & Demotional”
Coverage of Indigenous Affairs
Dan Box, Eric George and Stephen Fitzpatrick, The Australian, “Bowraville”
Coverage of Community and Regional Affairs
Newcastle Herald Staff Reporters, Newcastle Herald, “The Foam and the Fury”
Sports Journalism
Adrian Proszenko, The Sydney Morning Herald, “Parramatta Eels salary cap scandal”
Sport Photography
Cameron Spencer, Getty Images, “The Defining Moment”
Radio/Audio News and Current Affairs
Sophie McNeill and Fouad Abu Gosh, PM and AM, ABC Radio, “Voices from Besieged Syria”
Radio/Audio Documentary, Feature, Podcast or Special
Dan Box and Eric George, The Australian, “Bowraville Podcast”
Print/Text Feature Writing Long (Over 4000 Words)
Jess Hill, The Monthly, “Suffer the Children: Trouble in the Family Court”
Scoop of the Year
Nick Tabakoff, The Daily Telegraph, “The Parramatta Eels NRL scandal”
Cartoon
Mark Knight, Herald Sun, “Subway”, “Census night in the Senate”, “Reg Grundy RIP”
Artwork
David Rowe, The Australian Financial Review and The Sun Herald, “New clothes”, “Malcolm X and Ali”, “White ribbon”
Coverage of a Major News Event or Issue
Sky News Team, Sky News, “2016 Election Coverage”
Print/Text Feature Writing Short (Under 4000 Words)
Ben Doherty, Guardian Australia, “Crushed by the unblinking regime: the life and tragic death of Fazel Chegeni”
Nikon-Walkley News Photography
Andrew Quilty, Foreign Policy, “The Man on The Operating Table”
Business Journalism
Adele Ferguson, Klaus Toft and Mario Christodoulou, Fairfax Newspapers and ABC TV Four Corners, “Money For Nothing”
Nikon-Walkley Feature/Photographic Essay
David Maurice Smith, Guardian Australia, The Sydney Morning Herald, The Globe and Mail and Mother Jones Magazine, “Refugee Crisis in the Balkans”
International Journalism
Sophie McNeill, Aaron Hollett, Mark Corcoran and Matt Walker, Foreign Correspondent, ABC TV, “Yemen: The War on Children”
Camerawork
Andy Taylor, 60 Minutes, Nine Network, “Predator”
TV/AV News Reporting
Chris O’Keefe, Nine News, Nine Network, “Bankstown Hospital”
TV/AV Daily Current Affairs
Anne Connolly, Suzanne Smith and Lesley Robinson, 7.30, ABC TV, “Anglican Church Paedophile Ring”
TV/AV Weekly Current Affairs
Linton Besser, Louie Eroglu, Jaya Balendra and Elise Worthington, Four Corners, ABC TV, “State of Fear”
Investigative Journalism
Adele Ferguson, Klaus Toft and Mario Christodoulou, Fairfax Newspapers and ABC TV Four Corners, “Money For Nothing”
Interview
Caro Meldrum-Hanna, Four Corners, ABC TV, “Jackson and Lawler”
Commentary, Analysis, Opinion and Critique
Greg Jericho, Guardian Australia, “Politics, the planet and the personal”
Walkley Documentary Award
Sarah Ferguson, Nial Fulton and Ivan O’Mahoney, In Films and ABC TV, Hitting Home
Walkley Book Award
Stan Grant, Talking to My Country, HarperCollins Publishers
Nikon-Walkley Press Photographer of the Year
Alex Coppel, Herald Sun
Journalistic Leadership
Outstanding Contribution to Journalism
Gold Walkley
Andrew Quilty, Foreign Policy, “The Man on the Operating Table”
2016 Walkley Awards Board Judges
Kate McClymont, (chair), The Sydney Morning Herald
Angelos Frangopoulos, (deputy chair) Australian News Channel
Michael Amendolia, photographer
Dennis Atkins, The Courier-Mail
Michael Beach, The Sunday Times
Anne Davies
Marina Go
Claire Harvey, The Sunday Telegraph
Fran Kelly, ABC Radio National
Jonathan Richards, Google Creative Lab
John Stanley, 2UE
Cameron Stewart, The Australian
Sandra Sully, TEN Eyewitness News
Lisa Wilkinson, Nine Network
