The Four Corners team of Caro Meldrum–Hanna, Sam Clark and Max Murch have won Australian journalism’s top honour – the Gold Walkley Award – for their courageous and extraordinary expose “Making a Killing,” which proved things were rotten in the greyhound racing industry in Australia.
The Four Corners team forensically analysed hundreds of hours of covert vision to piece together a picture of the extent of greyhound trainers’ involvement in the cruel and illegal practice of live baiting. They obtained remarkable interviews, including candid admissions from racing industry insiders.
The Walkley judges said: “’Making a Killing’ exposes greyhound racing’s ugly secret. It took bravery, tenacity and months of planning in three states to produce a jaw-dropping report that has shaken not just the greyhound code but the entire racing industry.”
At the end of her acceptance speech onstage at Crown last night, Caro Meldrum-Hanna said: “Grey hound racing – I’d get rid of it.”
Trevor Sykes was awarded the Walkley for Outstanding Contribution to Journalism, recognising his 50-year career as an insightful and relentless investigative financial journalist.
The Nikon-Walkley Press Photographer of the Year Award went to News Corp Australia’s Gary Ramage for his superb ability to cover the regular news beat as well as in-depth reporting. Ramage also took out Nikon-Walkley Photo of the Year.
Debi Marshall was lauded with the Walkley Award for Journalism Leadership for her ongoing courage and determination to get to the truth despite risks to her personal safety. The judges said nowhere was this more evident than during her investigation into the Family Court Murders.
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 60th Walkley Awards for Excellence in Journalism were presented in 34 categories.
More than 700 journalists and media identities gathered at Melbourne’s Crown Palladium for the gala event hosted by Sky News’ David Speers.
Category winners:
PRINT/TEXT NEWS REPORT
Award partner Media Super
Michael Bachelard and Armando Cordoba, The Age, “The White Jihadist”
SOCIAL EQUITY JOURNALISM
Award partner Seven Network
Margaret Simons and Dave Tacon, The Monthly, “Fallen Angels: The children left behind by Australian sex tourists”
MULTIMEDIA STORYTELLING
Award partner News Corp Australia
Huw Parkinson, Insiders, ABC TV, “Bronwyn Bishop’s Arrested Development”, “Star Wars: Fixed” and “The Breakfast Clubbing Season”
NIKON-WALKLEY PHOTO OF THE YEAR
Award partner Nikon
Gary Ramage, News Corp Australia, “Ice Nation”
HEADLINE JOURNALISM
Sean Keeley, The Courier-Mail, “Jihad me at hello”, “Fillip for republicans” and “Voyage of the crammed”
COVERAGE OF INDIGENOUS AFFAIRS
Award partner NITV
Stan Grant, Guardian Australia, “Stan Grant Columns”
COVERAGE OF COMMUNITY AND REGIONAL AFFAIRS
Award partner Australia Post
Emma Field, The Weekly Times, “Foreign worker exploitation exposed”
SPORTS JOURNALISM
Chris Garry, Sunday Mail and The Courier-Mail, “When a Game Becomes Life and Death”
SPORT PHOTOGRAPHY
Award partner Nikon
Phil Hillyard, The Daily Telegraph, “One Moment in Time”
RADIO/AUDIO NEWS AND CURRENT AFFAIRS JOURNALISM
Award partner ABC
Mark Willacy and Mark Solomons, PM, ABC Radio, “Hopeland”
RADIO/AUDIO DOCUMENTARY, FEATURE, PODCAST OR SPECIAL
Award partner QUT
Hagar Cohen, Background Briefing, ABC Radio National, “Left in Harm’s Way”
PRINT/TEXT FEATURE WRITING LONG (OVER 4000 WORDS)
David Kilcullen, Quarterly Essay No. 58, “Blood Year: Terror and the Islamic State”
SCOOP OF THE YEAR
Award partner Nine Network
Annika Smethurst, Herald Sun, “Bronwyn Bishop’s Chopper Scandal”
CARTOON
David Pope, The Canberra Times, “Charlie Hebdo”
ARTWORK
Safdar Ahmed, GetUp! – The Shipping News, “Villawood: Notes from an Immigration Detention Centre”
COVERAGE OF A MAJOR NEWS EVENT OR ISSUE
Seven News Team, Seven News, “Lindt Cafe Siege”
PRINT/TEXT FEATURE WRITING SHORT (UNDER 4000 WORDS)
Award partner Fairfax
Trent Dalton, The Weekend Australian Magazine, “The Ghosts of Murray Street”
NIKON-WALKLEY NEWS PHOTOGRAPHY
Award partner Nikon
Rob Griffith, The Associated Press, “Sydney Lindt Cafe Siege”
BUSINESS JOURNALISM
Award partner ING Direct
Adele Ferguson, Sarah Danckert and Klaus Toft, Four Corners, ABC TV and Fairfax Media, “7-Eleven: The Price of Convenience”
NIKON-WALKLEY FEATURE/ PHOTOGRAPHIC ESSAY
Award partner Nikon
Ingetje Tadros, The Sydney Morning Herald, “Kennedy Hill”
INTERNATIONAL JOURNALISM
Award partner University of Queensland
Jewel Topsfield, Sarah Whyte, David Wroe, Amilia Rosa and Karuni Rompies, Fairfax Media, “People Smuggler Cash Payments”
CAMERAWORK
Award partner Australian Super
Louie Eroglu, ABC News and Four Corners, ABC TV, “The Killing Season” and “The Great Cricket Coup”
TV/AV NEWS REPORTING
Chris Reason, Seven News, Seven Network, “Lindt Cafe Siege”
TV/AV DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS
Award partner SBS
Matt Brown, Suzanne Dredge and Mathew Marsic, 7.30, ABC TV, “Enslaved by Aussie Jihadis”
TV/AV WEEKLY CURRENT AFFAIRS
Tara Brown and Rebecca Le Tourneau, 60 Minutes, Nine Network, “Catching a Monster”
INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALISM
Award partner Bayer
Caro Meldrum-Hanna, Sam Clark and Max Murch, Four Corners, ABC TV, “Making a Killing”
INTERVIEW
David Speers, Sky News Australia, “The Fixer”
COMMENTARY, ANALYSIS, OPINION AND CRITIQUE
Peter Hartcher, The Sydney Morning Herald, “Come and get me”, “PM rolled by his own ministers” and “Abbott’s gamble with no safety net”
WALKLEY DOCUMENTARY AWARD
Award partner Linc Energy
Michael Ware, Justine A. Rosenthal, Patrick McDonald, Bill Guttentag and Jane Moran,
Only The Dead, Penance Films and Wolfhound Pictures
WALKLEY BOOK AWARD
Chip Le Grand, The Straight Dope, Melbourne University Press
NIKON-WALKLEY PRESS PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR
Award partner Nikon
Gary Ramage, News Corp Australia
JOURNALISTIC LEADERSHIP
Award partner Qantas
Debi Marshall
OUTSTANDING CONTRIBUTION TO JOURNALISM
Award partner SKY News
Trevor Sykes
GOLD WALKLEY
Award partner MEAA
Caro Meldrum-Hanna, Sam Clark and Max Murch, Four Corners, ABC TV, “Making a Killing”
2015 WALKLEY AWARDS BOARD JUDGES
Kate McClymont, investigative reporter, Fairfax Media (chair)
Angelos Frangopoulos, chief executive officer, Australian News Channel (deputy chair)
Jill Baker, editor, Herald Sun (Weekend Edition)
Anne Davies, investigative editor, The Sydney Morning Herald
Marina Go, general manager, Hearst Brands
Claire Harvey, deputy editor, The Sunday Telegraph*
Fran Kelly, presenter, ABC Radio National, Breakfast
Nick Moir, staff photographer, The Sydney Morning Herald
Jonathan Richards, creative lead, Google Creative Lab
John Stanley, weekend breakfast presenter, Radio 2UE
Sandra Sully, presenter, Network Ten
Hedley Thomas, national chief correspondent, The Australian
Lisa Wilkinson, co-host, Today, Nine Network