Title

Publication

Seven News

Year

2015

Category

All Media: Coverage of a Major News Event or Issue

When Sydney’s CBD went into lockdown as a lone gunman held 18 hostages in the Lindt Cafe, the Seven Network’s Martin Place studio was evacuated but for one cameraman and one reporter. The team managed to produce impressive rolling coverage without their everyday resources.

Their innovation, resourcefulness and endurance – presenter Melissa Doyle stayed live to air for close to nine hours, working without return vision – made for a gripping record of a dark chapter in Sydney’s history.

This was a true team effort, with every member of the Seven News team playing a part in the coverage. Senior correspondent Chris Reason and senior cameraman Greg Parker were locked down in the Newsroom, Parker shoulder-to-shoulder with a police marksman recording every second of the 16-hour siege. Meanwhile, technicians scrambled to turn a meeting room at Seven’s corporate headquarters into a makeshift newsroom, where producers and editors got to work. Other reporters and camera operators put themselves at risk throughout the day and night, outside the Lindt Cafe.

Judges’ comments:

On a day when every newsroom in Sydney was stretched to the limit, the Seven Newsteam, literally on the front line of the Lindt Cafe siege, also had to relocate their entire news operation to Melbourne. Providing marathon coverage that never faltered, the Seven team was at all times calm, ethical and brave.