The Walkley Foundation an Alliance Initiative

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Laurie Oakes, Nine Network, “Labor leaks”

Laurie Oakes knows a good leak when he hears one. The Nine Network’s federal political editor heard two whispers during the 2010 election campaign – and sent them echoing around Australia. The first leak, put direct by Oakes to Julia Gillard during a National Press Club address, was the claim that she had reneged on a deal with Kevin Rudd over any leadership challenge. The second leak involved details of her apparent opposition in cabinet to paid parental leave and an increase in the aged pension. Both stories were reported nationally, crediting Oakes. His stories became significant issues in the election debate – not just the leaks themselves, but the question over who was the source. Laurie Oakes is one of Australia’s foremost political commentators and authors. He has had a distinguished career in journalism spanning more than 40 years and is renowned for his probing interviews and scoops. His commentary and news-breaking ability have earned him the respect of both his peers and politicians, and in 1998 he won the Walkley Award for Journalistic Leadership. As well as reporting on federal politics as political editor for Nine News, for more than 20 years Oakes wrote an influential political column in The Bulletin. Since The Bulletin ceased publication, he has penned a weekly column in Brisbane’s Courier-Mail and other News Limited tabloids around Australia. Judges’ commentsThe question Laurie Oakes put to Julia Gillard was inescapable – it was like a half-nelson. Showing the depth of sources at his disposal, the Canberra veteran trumped everybody and totally derailed the election campaign.

Read "How we cheated flames of death"

Read "How a plastic key chain saved our lives after fire hit hell house"

Read "No phoenix of hope rising from these ashes"

Read "Dear Kevin, please cut the red tape" (Part 2)

John Blades, ABC Radio National, 360 documentaries, “The too hard basket”

Disabled people are rarely touched in a loving way or thought of as sexually desirable, yet they have the same need for a sex life as everyone else. This is the oddly confronting subject explored in “The too hard basket” by John Blades, who was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS) in 1982 and who cannot move his body from the neck down. In the documentary, Blades tells his own story of his loss of independence, depression and decades of celibacy – and then of how he read about a sex worker who specialises in disabled clients. Blades talks to two sex workers who have disabled clients about the importance of touch to every human being, their experiences with people who are having sex for perhaps the first time, and the healing nature of their work. John Blades has been presenting and producing programs about experimental music on community station 2MBS-FM for 28 years. He has also made programs about film and music for ABC Radio National. He has a Masters degree in civil engineering and a passion for outsider art and cinema. He spreads the word about life with MS through talks and articles. Judges’ comments Remarkable journalism that tells us an enormous amount about a subject that is usually disregarded, even taboo in mainstream media, and tells us the story from the inside, with sensitivity and unblinking honesty.

Read "Collateral Damage" (Page 2) (Page 3) (Page 4)

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Andrew Meares, smh.com.au and nationaltimes.com.au, “Phonearoids@mearesy: looking back at moving forward”

See "Feeling the strain"

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Lisa Wiltse, Getty Images, “Potosi”

See "Batten Down the Boogie Boards"

Warwick McFadyen, The Age, “Heads and tales”

When gangland killer Carl Williams was given a gold-coffin send-off by his family, friends and associates, Warwick McFadyen couldn’t resist blurring the line between “gilt” and “guilt”. The other headlines in his winning entry were inspired by Harry Kewell’s red card for a handball in the World Cup, and by a story on the difficulties young people face getting into the housing market. McFadyen started at the Newcastle Herald before moving to Melbourne. Aside from a short stint in Canberra and a longer period living in Ireland, he has been at The Age since 1987. His work there flows between writing and production. He has been a Walkley finalist three times. This is his second Walkley Award.

Judges’ comments
Warwick McFadyen’s three headings are an outstanding example of his craft. Whether it be a front-page splash, a heart-wrenching moment in sport or column commentary, he has shown a concise and accurate understanding of each story and the context in which it unfolded. A very high standard of work produced against the backdrop of daily deadline pressures.

“From second fiddle to fecund Siddle”
“Benji Martian”
“The curious case of Jenson Button, the man whose salary is stuck in reverse” 

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Martin Butler and Bentley Dean, ABC TV, Contact

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Nicole Hasham and Laurel-Lee Roderick, The Illawarra Mercury, “Fund collapse ruins families”

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Adrian Proszenko, The Sun-Herald, “Melbourne Storm rorts salary cap”

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Michael Dodge, heraldsun.com.au, “Seizing the moment”

 

 

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Mary Ann Jolley and Andrew Geoghegan, ABC TV, Foreign Correspondent, “Fly away children”

Mary Ann Jolley and Andrew Geoghegan were on another assignment, staying in a hotel in Addis Ababa, when they noticed it was full of Western families and their newly adopted Ethiopian children. There was something confronting about the international adoptions happening en masse in Ethiopia. They felt it warranted scrutiny. A few inquiries to local and international human rights organisations revealed serious concerns about the lack of oversight of the industry and alarming stories about the way children were procured by adoption agencies.

But it proved a challenging story to film, requiring much planning and ingenuity. No international human rights organisation would go on the record, for fear the government would banish it from the country. Former agency employees and parents who had given up their children were terrified of airing their grievances, scared of reprisals from corrupt agency and government officials. And most American families who had been lied to about their adopted child’s background and/or medical condition, refused to be interviewed because they were worried they would have their child taken away or jeopardise their chances of adopting again. Mary Ann Jolley has worked as a producer and reporter on ABC’s Foreign Correspondent since 2001 and has filmed stories in some of the world’s most closed countries, including Saudi Arabia, North Korea, Libya, Sudan and Zimbabwe.

Andrew Geoghegan has been the ABC’s Africa correspondent since October 2006. He has covered the continent’s major stories, going undercover into Zimbabwe to investigate the political and humanitarian crisis, reporting in Somalia on the dangerous work undertaken by aid agencies, and travelling with the commander of the world’s largest peacekeeping force into the heart of the Darfur conflict. Both Geoghegan and Jolley have been recognised for their work, with several prestigious international awards. Together they won a Walkley in 2009 for Television Current Affairs.

Judges’ comments
This groundbreaking investigation into the Ethiopian adoption industry was a complex story told very well, with considerable effort made to treat the subject even-handedly. The story had a significant impact, leading to an investigation into the adoption industry in the United States and immediate changes being made to the US Embassy’s adoption visa processing system. Following the program here in Australia, our government suspended its Ethiopian adoption program and ordered a review.

 

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Stephen Long, ABC Radio, PM, “A Super Scandal”
 

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Listen to "A drink and a chat help victims connect"

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Kristina Kukolja, SBS, World View, “Echoes of Srebrenica”

Anita Barraud went beyond the beaten track for this extensive primer on Indonesia’s transition to democracy after more than 30 years of dictatorship under military strongman Soeharto. She spoke to politicians, artists, analysts and activists not only in the cities, but in remote regions of West Timor and Aceh.

Her exploration of such complex issues as decentralisation, corruption, and Muslim identity after the Bali and Jakarta bombings was anchored with excellent radio production techniques including natural sound and descriptive writing. In a co-production with the BBC World Service, journalist/producer Barraud worked with support from BBC producer Neil Trevithick

Anita Barraud has worked for more than 20 years as a broadcaster with Radio National, making feature programs, reporting and producing across a range of specialist areas including European politics and arts, education, business, law, science and social justice issues. For 10 years she was a reporter on Asia and Pacific current affairs. She currently produces The Law Report and All in the Mind.

Judges’ comments

An outstanding use of the medium. The extensive use of natural sound, compiled with Anita’s skill in painting word pictures, gave the program a rich texture. She took on a number of guiding roles to tell the story – a history teacher, a tour guide, a political analyst. She delivered a very well-informed program. Her programs reflected the immense diversity of Indonesian culture and politics in the lead-up to the elections.

Listen to "Indonesian Journeys"

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Annabel Crabb, Quarterly Essay, “Stop at Nothing: The Life and Adventures of Malcolm Turnbull”  

This beautifully written and highly detailed character sketch of opposition leader Malcolm Turnbull combined new revelations with insights gleaned from his history in politics and business. As an examination of Turnbull’s character traits – audacity, fearlessness and impatience – the piece arrived at an extraordinary time and foreshadowed the events and leadership tensions that embroiled Turnbull in the months that followed its publication.

The OzCar affair – or “Utegate” – broke shortly after, crippling Turnbull in the opinion polls and demonstrating his preparedness to take risks in the pursuit of success, and his fondness for intrigue and adventure. Annabel Crabb researched and wrote the piece over several months with the consent of her editor at The Sydney Morning Herald. She spent hours with Turnbull for interviews and background discussions, and also spoke to dozens of Liberal Party politicians, present and past, businesspeople, lawyers, campaigners, bureaucrats and others who had encountered Turnbull in various of his earlier guises.

Annabel Crabb has been a political columnist and sketchwriter for The Sydney Morning Herald. She joined the federal parliamentary press gallery in 1999 and has reported on federal politics ever since, with one absence during which she served in London as the correspondent for Fairfax’s Sunday titles. This is her first Walkley Award.

Judges’ comments

Annabel Crabb’s Quarterly Essay on Malcolm Turnbull was newsworthy, incisive and funny. Her portrayal of Turnbull’s personality eventually proved to be freakily accurate as he struggled to handle the “Utegate” affair. Annabel’s carefully crafted essay also showcases her considerable gift for writing.

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Lenore Taylor, The Sydney Morning Herald, “ET S off the agenda until late next term”

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Mark Knight, The Herald Sun, “Moving forward”

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Eric Lobbecke, The Australian, “Rudd’s dangerous climate retreat”

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Stephen Fitzpatrick, The Australian, “Sri Lankan asylum seeker stand-off”

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Patrick Carlyon, Herald Sun, “Where the Hell is Everyone?”  

In the wake of the Black Saturday fires the entire town of Marysville had vanished. The exact death toll was unclear – and so was why so many locals had been caught unaware. Patrick Carlyon went to evacuation centres and spoke to survivors in his attempt to reconstruct the events before, during and after the Marysville catastrophe.

Inspired by John Hersey’s 1946 book Hiroshima, Carlyon focused on four victims for the spine of the piece, and found power in describing the sheer ordinariness of their lives before the flames. Continually asking through the writing process, “What was it like to be there?”, Carlyon re-created the themes of confusion and broken-down communication that marked the tragedy.

Patrick Carlyon has been a features writer at the Herald Sun since 2008. Previously, he worked at The Bulletin, where he covered several Olympic Games. Patrick has also contributed profiles and colour stories to many other magazines, including Good Weekend and Gourmet Traveller.

Judges’ comments

A strong, comprehensive, compelling read. There’s an elegance to his writing that goes beyond normal newspaper feature writing. Patrick Carlyon has a good forensic detail that gives strength to the story’s eloquence. It gives the reader a direct connection with those caught up in the disaster, planting them right in the middle of it all. He has a beautiful turn of phrase.

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Brett Costello, The Daily Telegraph, “Jessica”

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Duncan Hughes, The Australian Financial Review, “ASIC Knew About Storm for Months”  

The collapse of Townsville-based Storm Financial on January 11 was the moment the global financial crisis became personal. Overnight, thousands of Australians lost their life savings and faced losing their homes. But no-one wanted to take responsibility – not the banks, not Storm founder Emmanuel Cassimatis, or the advisers.

Duncan Hughes spent weeks talking to Storm clients, staff and bank employees, and pulled together a picture of an investment operation careening out of control. He found evidence of the Commonwealth Bank’s implication in the billions of dollars lost, even as the bank continued to deny responsibility. Eventually filing more than 90 articles, Hughes’s coverage played a significant role in forcing the banks to admit responsibility and make settlement offers to Storm clients; every one of those clients will say that’s journalism with a real impact. ASIC inquiries are continuing.

Duncan Hughes completed a graduate cadetship at The Herald, Melbourne, in 1980 and spent three years as a general and police reporter. He has worked for London’s Daily Telegraph, the South China Morning Post and reported from New York for the Post and (UK) Sunday Business. He returned to Australia in 2004 where he initially worked for The Age before joining The Australian Financial Review.

Judges’ comments

It’s a forensic analysis of one of the biggest business stories of the last 12 months. These stories revealed new details of the involvement of the Commonwealth Bank’s massive lending to clients of Storm Financial. The story had considerable public impact, helping force the Commonwealth Bank to admit its role.

Read "ASIC knew about Storm for months" (Page 2)

Read "Banks caught in eye of Storm" (Page 2) (Page 3)

Read "How CBA stepped up for Storm Financial" (Page 2)