Walkley Award Winners! News’ Samantha Maiden Takes Top Gong For Her Brittany Higgins Report

Walkley Award Winners! News’ Samantha Maiden Takes Top Gong For Her Brittany Higgins Report

Samantha Maiden has won the Gold Walkley, Australian journalism’s highest honour, for her reporting for news.com.au on “Open secret: The Brittany Higgins story”.

The judges said “Samantha Maiden broke the story of Brittany Higgins’ allegation of sexual assault in Parliament House and pursued it fiercely for weeks. Her powerful reporting revealed significant new angles that built a disturbing picture of the mistreatment of women in Australian politics and fuelled a national discussion about gender relations that dominated public affairs in 2021.”

Alex Coppel was named the Nikon-Walkley Press Photographer of the Year for a body of work spanning  sport, breaking news, features and daily life, all loosely linked by the shadow that the COVID-19 pandemic cast over world events. Kate Holden’s The Winter Road (Black Inc.) won the Walkley Book Award. The Walkley Documentary Award went to Firestarter – The Story of Bangarra, from Ivan O’Mahoney, Wayne Blair and Nel Minchin for In Films and ABC.

The award for Outstanding Contribution to Journalism went to one of Australia’s most recognisable journalists and interviewers, George Negus. Known for his charisma, his peerless and fearless approach, and his signature moustache, Negus has reported through decades of technological, political and social change for news organisations including, ABC, SBS, Channel Nine, Network 10, The Australian and The Australian Financial Review.

The 66th Walkley Awards for Excellence in Journalism were presented in 30 categories, announced on Friday in Sydney.

The full list of winners are below:

PRINT/TEXT NEWS REPORT
Award Partner Media Super
Kate McClymontThe Sydney Morning Herald, “The Lady Vanishes: Melissa Caddick and the missing millions”

PUBLIC SERVICE JOURNALISM
Award Partner Sydney Airport
Naaman ZhouGuardian Australia, “Australia’s delivery deaths: the riders who never made it and the families left behind”, “’They don’t have brakes, the tyres are gone’: food delivery companies accused of bike safety failures” and “Uber Eats riders earning as little as $5 for deliveries crossing multiple NSW suburbs

INNOVATION
Award Partner Google News Initiative
Kylie Boltin, Ella Rubeli, Ravi Vasavan and Emma AndersonSBS, “Ravi and Emma

HEADLINE, CAPTION OR HOOK
Award Partner ACM
Duska SulicichThe Age, “Michael rolled, the vote assured, Hallelujah!”, “It’s all a bit cray-cray” and “The Art of the Steal”

FEATURE WRITING LONG (OVER 4000 WORDS)
Award Partner Facebook
Andrew QuiltyThe Monthly, “The Worst Form of Defence: New revelations of Australian war crimes in Afghanistan

FEATURE WRITING SHORT (UNDER 4000 WORDS)
Award Partner The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age
Tom PattersonThe Australian, “Searching for a lost soul

COVERAGE OF INDIGENOUS AFFAIRS
Award Partner PwC Indigenous Consulting
Karla Grant, Julie Nimmo, Michael Carey, Mark Bannerman and the Living Black TeamLiving Black, NITV, “Taken”, “Missing Pieces” and “Heritage Victory

COVERAGE OF COMMUNITY OR REGIONAL AFFAIRS
Award Partner BHP
Andrew MessengerNorthern Daily Leader, “‘You feel so powerless’: little room for kids in rural mental health”, “Banksia Mental Health Unit: children’s services ruled not ‘economies of scale’ in plan for new mental health unit” and “Tamworth Banksia Mental Health modelling says New England North West won’t need more general-purpose beds until 2031

CARTOON
Award Partner Epson
David PopeThe Canberra Times, “Rollout de Vax”

SPORTS JOURNALISM
Michael WarnerHerald Sun, “‘Do Better’: The Secret Collingwood Racism Report

SPORT PHOTOGRAPHY
Alex Coppel, Herald Sun, The Daily Telegraph, The Courier-Mail and The Advertiser, “The Games that Had to Happen”

RADIO/AUDIO NEWS AND CURRENT AFFAIRS
Award Partner ABC
Sally Sara and Victoria PengilleyRN Breakfast and The World Today, ABC, “Afghanistan Interviews

RADIO/AUDIO FEATURE
Award Partner Telum Media
Angus Grigg and Lap PhanThe Australian Financial Review, “The Sure Thing

PRODUCTION
Rhiona-Jade Armont and the 101 East team, Al Jazeera English, “This is Myanmar’s State of Fear

SCOOP OF THE YEAR
Award Partner Nine News
Ellen WhinnettThe Daily Telegraph, Herald Sun, The Advertiser and The Courier-Mail, “The AN0M Files”

COVERAGE OF A MAJOR NEWS EVENT OR ISSUE
Award Partner Sky News Australia
Samantha Maiden and the news.com.au team, news.com.au, “Open Secret: The Brittany Higgins story”

NEWS PHOTOGRAPHY
Brook Mitchell, The Sydney Morning Herald, “Sydney Anti-Lockdown Protest”

BUSINESS JOURNALISM
Award Partner ING
Caitlyn RintoulThe West Australian, “Police investigating alleged sexual assault at BHP’s South Flank mine near Newman”, “WA mining giants unite for apology to female mine workers and back calls for sex assault inquiry” and “Mine site sexual harassment inquiry: Submission shows BHP sacked dozens of WA workers

FEATURE/PHOTOGRAPHIC ESSAY
Award Partner Canva
Dean Sewell, The Sun-Herald, “Of Mice and Men”

TELEVISION/VIDEO: CAMERAWORK
Andy Taylor, ABC TV, “Exposed – The Ghost Train Fire

TELEVISION/VIDEO NEWS REPORTING
Award Partner Seven
Peter Fegan and Rebeka PowellNine News 6pm, Nine, “The Investigation of Andrew Laming”

TELEVISION/VIDEO CURRENT AFFAIRS SHORT (LESS THAN 20 MINUTES)
Award Partner SBS
Christine AhernA Current Affair, Nine, “Epping Disgrace

TELEVISION/VIDEO CURRENT AFFAIRS LONG (MORE THAN 20 MINUTES)
Award Partner TEN News First and The Project
Nick McKenzie and Joel Tozer60 Minutes, Nine, “Nazis Next Door

INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALISM
Award Partner AGL
Nick McKenzie and Joel Tozer60 Minutes and The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald, Nine, “Nazis Next Door”, “Inside Racism HQ: How home-grown neo-Nazis are plotting a white revolution” and “From kickboxing to Adolf Hitler: the neo-Nazi plan to recruit angry young men

COMMENTARY, ANALYSIS, OPINION AND CRITIQUE
Award Partner Thomson Geer Lawyers
Katharine MurphyGuardian Australia, “Brittany Higgins’ shocking story must be a turning point. Women in politics have had enough”, “Canberra’s pale, stale and male tribe is missing the moment – as it did with Julia Gillard’s misogyny speech” and “Scott Morrison’s efforts to engage with women are more ‘me’ than mea culpa

WALKLEY DOCUMENTARY AWARD
Award Partner NSW Government
Firestarter – The Story of BangarraIvan O’Mahoney, Wayne Blair and Nel Minchin, In Films, ABC

WALKLEY BOOK AWARD
Award Partner Banki Haddock Fiora
Kate HoldenThe Winter Road, Black Inc.

NIKON-WALKLEY PRESS PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR
Award Partner Nikon
Alex Coppel, Herald Sun, The Daily Telegraph and The Courier-Mail 

OUTSTANDING CONTRIBUTION TO JOURNALISM
Award Partner News Corp Australia
George Negus

GOLD WALKLEY
Samantha Maiden
news.com.au, “Open secret: The Brittany Higgins story”




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