The Walkley Foundataion an Alliance Initiative

2010 Media Super Student Journalist of the Year winner announced!

Tracey Lien from the University of Technology, Sydney, has won the Media Super Student Journalist of the Year Award for 2010 for her work, "The Rise and Fallout of Red Ant".

Tracey Lien’s winning print article tracks the inside story of inter-business transactions that led the company’s sudden demise. Judges said Tracey has taken what could have been just another tale of corporate collapse into compelling reading.

“Her gritty determination with fact-checking, interviewing and leg-work to uncover the maze behind the Red Ant Enterprises shows real commitment to obtaining an accurate account of the company’s demise."

The announcement was made at the Walkley Young Australian Journalist of the Year Awards in Sydney on June 23.

For more information, please see the press release.

Award Details

If you are studying journalism, communications or media, the Media Super Student Journalism Awards are your chance to showcase your talent and receive recognition for your university work.

The 2010 Media Super Student Journalist of the Year Awards have now been judged, finalists and winners have been announced! The Award offers all tertiary students studying journalism, communications and media-related degrees the opportunity to showcase their talent and earn attention from the industry.

Entries are accepted in the categories of print, radio, online and television. The award is available to students who have not previously worked full-time in the industry, for work that has been created between July 1, 2009 and May 3, 2010, and can include journalism that has been produced for assessment or work that has been published.

Three finalists and one winner have been selected by a panel of three judges, on the basis of journalistic excellence.

The winner was announced at the 2010 Young Australian Journalist of the Year Awards in Sydney on June 23. The winner will also be invited to the Walkley Awards in December.

Gerard Noonan, chair of Media Super, former editor of the Australian Financial Review and Walkley winner, says the dramatic changes sweeping through the media worldwide make it all the more important that talented, feisty and challenging young journalists are elbowing their way into the new communications landscape.

"As a sponsor of the award, Media Super is delighted to celebrate the very best in journalism by younger practitioners,” he says.

This year’s competition closed at 5pm on Monday, May 17, 2010.

For more information on the award email students@alliance.org.au

The 2010 finalists

• Lauren Day, Thin Ice, University of Technology Sydney (Television)
• Ann Jones, Chile Emergency Measures, Western Australia Academy of Performing Arts – Edith Cowan University (Radio)
• Tracey Lien, The Rise and Fallout of Red Ant, University of Technology Sydney (Print)

For more information about the 2010 award and finalists work, download the press release.

Thanks to our panel of judges: Bernard Bowen, news director, ABC QLD; Alison Aprhys, freelance journalist and photographer; and Robin Jacklin, former deputy news editor for the ABC in Melbourne.

The 2009 winner & finalists

The 2009 Media Super Student Journalist of the Year is:

• Nic Christensen, "The Chinese Businesman Bankrolling Australian Politics", University of Technology, Sydney. Read more here.

The winning piece was a print entry. Nic spent four months investigating Australia’s foreign-based political donation system and key donor, Dr Chau Chak Wing.

Congratulations as well to the two other finalists:

• Michelle Wilding, "Parents Liable for Drop in Childcare Escape", University of Western Sydney
• Gabrielle Young, "Mandatory Sentencing", Curtin University

For more information about the 2009 award, download the press release.

Thanks to our panel of judges: 
Don Lange, NSW news editor for ABC; mX editor Melissa Stevens; and Yaara Bou Melhem, videojournalist for SBS TV and the Walkleys’ 2009 Young Australian Television Journalist of the Year.

The 2008 winner & finalists

The 2008 Media Super Student Journalist of the Year is:

• John Connell, "The Desert Talks Too", University of Technology, Sydney

The winning piece was a radio entry dealing with the issues surrounding the Northern Territory Intervention and was the culmination of several months of research, interviews and meetings.

Congratulations as well to the two other finalists:

• Matthew Knott, "Silent Suffering of the New Lepers", University of Technology, Sydney
• Stephanie Dalzell, "Hodern Pipes Hoard Sewerage", University of Technology, Sydney

• Simon Nichols, "How To Pick Up Girls", University of Technology, Sydney

For more information about the 2008 Award, download the press release.

Entries were judged by a panel of journalists; Triple J Hack reporter and 2008 Young Australian Journalist of the Year Radio Category Winner, Michael Atkin, The Sydney Morning Herald's environment reporter, Ben Cubby, and Agence France-Presse reporter, Amy Coopes. The Walkleys would like to thank these judges for donating their time and expertise to the awards.