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Lawyer X reporting nabs the Gold at the 2019 Walkley Awards

Anthony Dowsley and Patrick Carlyon have taken home the coveted Gold Walkley for their reporting into the Lawyer X scandal which saw them reveal the recruitment of barrister Nicola Gobbo, or Lawyer X, by Victoria Police.

The duo also won the Walkley for Investigative Journalism and for Coverage of a Major Event or Issue. Last year saw The Teacher’s Pet podcast creator Hedley Thomas take the honours.

All the Walkley winners photographed at the 2019 Walkley Awards at the ICC on Thursday, 28 November, 2019 in Sydney, Australia. (John Donegan/1826)

News Corp Australasia chairman Michael Miller said the awards recognised journalism’s role in keeping the public informed.

“The role of the media is to shine a light on dark places, which can involve telling dangerous truths to those in power. That’s exactly what the Herald Sun has done with its Lawyer X coverage and what all of our mastheads strive to do every day.

“Anthony and Patrick’s dogged persistence, overcoming countless suppression orders to expose one of Victoria’s greatest scandals well deserves the recognition they’ve received.”

The night was largely themed around the Right To Know Coalition and the fallout of the AFP raids which took place earlier this year. Walkley Foundation chair Kerry O’Brien dedicated his speech to calling on the government for press freedom reform and better treatment of journalists, and his calls were echoed by Annika Smethurst, who’s home was raided earlier in the year, and John Lyons, who documented the raid on ABC headquarters, who both presented and pressed the importance of press freedom.

“This year, for a brief moment in the history of Australian journalism, every significant news organisation in this country put its competitive instincts and its differences to one side and united as one voice to stand against an unacceptable step down the road to authoritarianism,” said O’Brien.

“Authoritarianism unchecked can lead to fascism. Fortunately in this country we’re a long way from that yet, but a study of history amply demonstrates how fascism begins. Freedom is usually eroded gradually. It might happen over years, even decades. Its loss is not necessarily felt day by day, but we will certainly know when it’s gone.”

Other big winners on the night included Anne Connolly and her team for the reporting into aged care which led to a Royal Commission and Al Jazeera for the How to Sell a Massacre investigation which tore apart the One Nation political party. Seven’s coverage of the Sydney stabbing also swept the awards, with camera operator Paul Walker the first journalist on the scene as 20-year-old Mert Ney was apprehended by civilians.

On accepting the award, Walker said: “I’m very honoured to receive this award from my peers. It takes the seasoned professionalism of an entire news team, and especially my frontline colleague 7NEWS reporter Andrew Denney to have told this story. I’m very proud to be part of the 7NEWS team”.

‘Crown Unmasked’, a report between The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age and 60 Minutes regarding the Crown Casino also won an award on the night.

James Chessell, executive editor of The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age, said: “We’re very proud of the Herald and Age newsrooms whose excellent work was recognised by the Walkleys last night. To be even nominated is an achievement, and to have our first joint investigation with 60 Minutes recognised demonstrates the strength of our teams coming together to investigate important stories. It was an excellent night celebrating quality journalism across the media industry.”

Seven Network director of news and public affairs, Craig McPherson said: “To be nominated twice in this key television category is indicative of the consistency and strength of 7NEWS. Being Australia’s number one news service can only be achieved by having high quality people in front and behind the camera. The Sydney stabbing was a moment in time, as terrible as it was, that unfolded in front of cameraman Paul Walker and reporter Andrew Denney’s eyes. To be eyewitnesses to this harrowing crime and to then capture the chaos all on camera, expertly reporting the rampage was a masterly piece of television journalism.”

Chair of the Walkley Judging Board, Lenore Taylor, said she was more impressed than ever by the standard of the reporting.

“At a time when our profession is under threat from upended business models, legislative overreach and those who are very deliberately seeking to de-legitimise our work, it is more important than ever to promote and celebrate the very best of what we do. We all know that a Walkley Award is the measure of Australian journalistic excellence. Congratulations to all this year’s winners.”

The winners of the 64th Walkley Awards for Excellence in Journalism were presented in 30 categories in Sydney last night, with 800 journalists and media identities gathered for the event.

NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian MP paid tribute to this year’s finalists and winners.

“In the age of 24/7 media and mass consumption, institutions like the Walkley Awards are more important than ever to remind us of the importance of timely information and the public interest,” Berejiklian said.

“Every nominee has thrived in 2019, bringing their audience something unique. The words you wrote, story you presented or photographs you captured have been powerful to the viewer or reader. You have inspired, entertained and informed.”

Premier Berejiklian also announced that the 65th Walkley Awards gala dinner will be hosted in Tamworth on November 20, 2020, as part of the NSW Government’s two-year partnership with the Walkleys.

A full list of the winners can be found below:

2019 Walkley Award finalists

PRINT/TEXT NEWS REPORT
Award Partner Media Super
Michael Koziol and Jennifer Duke, The Sydney Morning Herald, “Guthrie ordered to sack top ABC reporter”, “ABC chair’s ‘bias’ email” and “Revealed: ABC boss’ secret dossier”

PUBLIC SERVICE JOURNALISM
Anne Connolly, Mary Fallon and Patricia Drum, Four Corners, ABC TV and ABC Digital, “Who Cares?”

INNOVATION
Mark Doman and ABC News Digital Team, abc.net.au, “Satellite storytelling”

HEADLINE, CAPTION OR HOOK
Award Partner Qantas
Baz McAlister, The Courier-Mail, “Time to Haul Ass”, “Give ‘Em a Finch and They’ll Take a Mine” “Halal… Is it Meals You’re Sooking For”

FEATURE WRITING LONG (OVER 4000 WORDS)
Award Partner UQ
Sam Vincent, The Monthly, “A Nagging Doubt: The Retrial of David Eastman”

FEATURE WRITING SHORT (UNDER 4000 WORDS)
Award Partner The Sydney Morning Herald & The Age
Mick Barnes, Good Weekend, The Sydney Morning Herald, “Counting down the days in God’s waiting room”

COVERAGE OF INDIGENOUS AFFAIRS
Award Partner PwC Indigenous Consulting
Lorena Allam, Guardian Australia Team and the University of Newcastle’s Colonial Frontier Massacres Project, Guardian Australia, “The Killing Times”

COVERAGE OF COMMUNITY OR REGIONAL AFFAIRS
Award Partner BHP
Donna Page and Nick Bielby, Newcastle Herald, “Dirty Deeds”

CARTOON
Pat Campbell, The Canberra Times, “Christchurch Fern”

SPORTS JOURNALISM
Malcolm Knox and Nigel Gladstone, The Sun-Herald, “Caught Out: Cricket’s Inflated Player Numbers Revealed”

SPORT PHOTOGRAPHY
Award Partner Nikon
Craig Golding, AAP, “Invictus Games 2018”

RADIO/AUDIO NEWS AND CURRENT AFFAIRS
Award Partner ABC
Adam Harvey, AM, ABC, “The Survivors of ISIS”

RADIO/AUDIO FEATURE
Kirsti Melville, Earshot, ABC Radio National, “The Ghosts of Wittenoom”

PRODUCTION
Award Partner Google News Initiative
Fadzil Hamzah, The Daily Telegraph and The Sunday Telegraph, “The Ibrahim Tapes”

SCOOP OF THE YEAR
Award Partner Nine News
Al Jazeera Investigations Unit, Al Jazeera Media Network, “How to Sell a Massacre”

COVERAGE OF A MAJOR NEWS EVENT OR ISSUE
Award Partner Facebook
Anthony Dowsley and Patrick Carlyon, Herald Sun, “Lawyer X Informer Scandal”

NEWS PHOTOGRAPHY
Award Partner Nikon
Matt Roberts, ABC, “The Second Coming of Senator Lambie”

BUSINESS JOURNALISM
Award Partner ING
Nick McKenzie, Nick Toscano and Grace Tobin, The Age, The Sydney Morning Herald and 60 Minutes, Nine, “Crown Unmasked”

FEATURE/PHOTOGRAPHIC ESSAY
Award Partner Nikon
Chris McGrath, Getty Images, “The End of the Caliphate”

TELEVISION/VIDEO: CAMERAWORK
Award Partner Australian Super
Paul Walker, Seven News, Seven Network, “Sydney Stabbing”

TELEVISION/VIDEO: NEWS REPORTING
Award Partner Seven
Seven News Sydney Team, Seven News Sydney, “Sydney Stabbing Rampage”

TELEVISION/VIDEO CURRENT AFFAIRS SHORT (LESS THAN 20 MINUTES)
Award Partner SBS
Ali Rae, Al Jazeera English “All Hail The Algorithm”

TELEVISION/VIDEO CURRENT AFFAIRS LONG (MORE THAN 20 MINUTES)
Award Partner TEN
Suzanne Dredge, Dylan Welch, David Maguire and Janine Cohen, Four Corners, ABC TV, “Orphans of ISIS”

INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALISM
Award Partner Bayer
Anthony Dowsley and Patrick Carlyon, Herald Sun, “Lawyer X Informer Scandal”

COMMENTARY, ANALYSIS, OPINION AND CRITIQUE
Award Partner Bond University
Jan Fran, The Feed, SBS VICELAND and associated social media channels, “The Frant”

WALKLEY DOCUMENTARY AWARD
The Australian Dream, Stan Grant, GoodThing Productions, Passion Pictures UK and ABC

WALKLEY BOOK AWARD
Leigh Sales, Any Ordinary Day, Penguin Random House Australia

NIKON-WALKLEY PRESS PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR
Award Partner Nikon
Chris McGrath, Getty Images

MOST OUTSTANDING CONTRIBUTION TO JOURNALISM
Award Partner News Corp Australia
Sue Spencer

GOLD WALKLEY
Anthony Dowsley and Patrick Carlyon, Herald Sun, “Lawyer X Informer Scandal”

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