2023 Walkley Awards: A Celebration of Australian Journalism Excellence
Sydney was the stage for the esteemed 2023 Walkley Awards last evening, where the crème de la crème of Australian journalism gathered to celebrate excellence in the field. The event saw a host of winners from renowned networks like Nine, ABC, and SBS, highlighting the diversity and depth of talent in the industry.
Foreign Correspondent, The Feed, SBS World News, ABC News, and Dark Emu were among the notable TV winners. The night’s highest honor, the Gold Walkley, was bestowed upon Neil Chenoweth and Edmund Tadros from The Financial Review for their exceptional journalistic contributions.
Recognizing long-standing commitments to journalism, Karla Grant from Living Black, Kate McClymont of The Sydney Morning Herald, and Caroline Wilson from The Age / Footy Classified received accolades for their Outstanding Contribution to Journalism.
The Media Freedom Award was presented to Nick McKenzie and Chris Masters for their investigative work on Ben Roberts-Smith. McKenzie also clinched an award in the Television / Video: Current Affairs Long category for his work on 60 Minutes.
In a category dedicated to commentary, analysis, opinion, and critique, ABC’s John Lyons was honored for his body of work.
“The awards and honors presented tonight shine a spotlight on the strength of Australian journalism, from journalists working on the frontline today and from those who started their careers 40 years ago. The work that is honored tonight is world class. Australian news consumers are well served by journalists of this calibre. Our news organisations should be rightly proud,”
said Shona Martyn, chief executive of the Walkley Foundation.
TV and related category winners included:
- All Media: Commentary, Analysis, Opinion And Critique – John Lyons, ABC; Lorena Allam, Guardian Australia; Katharine Murphy, Guardian Australia.
- All Media: Explanatory Journalism – Matt Bevan, Yasmin Parry, Andrew George and Andrew Harrison, ABC.
- All Media: Coverage Of Indigenous Affairs – Ben Abbatangelo, Anthony Hawwa, Andy Marriott and Casey Vigushin, Network 10, The Project.
- All Media: Coverage Of Community & Regional Affairs – Tallulah Bieundurry, Hannah Murphy, Erin Parke and Andrew Seabourne, ABC.
- All Media: Sports Journalism – David Mark, ABC 7.30 and ABC News.
- Digital Media: Innovation Journalism – ABC News Video Lab and the Indigenous Affairs Team, ABC.
- All Media: Scoop Of The Year – Liam Bartlett, Steve Jackson and Mark Llewellyn, Channel 7, Spotlight.
- All Media: Coverage Of A Major News Event Or Issue – The Australian Financial Review Team, The Australian Financial Review.
- Television/Video: Camerawork – Matt Davis, ABC, Foreign Correspondent and ABC News.
- Television/Video: News Reporting – Colin Cosier and Ben Lewis, SBS World News.
- Television/Video: Current Affairs Short (Under 20 Minutes) – Amelia Ballinger and Nick McKenzie, Nine, 60 Minutes.
- Television/Video: Current Affairs Long (Over 20 Minutes) – Nick McKenzie, Amelia Ballinger and Joel Tozer, Nine, 60 Minutes.
- All Media: International – Anthony Galloway and Kate Geraghty, The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age.
- All Media: Investigative Journalism – Neil Chenoweth and Edmund Tadros, The Australian Financial Review.
The Walkley Documentary Award Finalists included Darren Dale, Belinda Mravicic, Jacob Hickey and Allan Clarke for The Dark Emu Story, Isabel Darling and Tom Zubrycki for The Carnival, and Rachel Perkins, Darren Dale and Jacob Hickey for The Australian Wars.
The Walkley Judging Board comprised a distinguished panel, including Chair Michael Brissenden, Deputy Chair Cameron Stewart, and members from across major Australian news organizations.
This year’s Walkleys not only celebrated the exceptional talent within Australian journalism but also underscored the critical role of the press in shaping public discourse and safeguarding democracy.
