Best Non-Fiction Book - Winner

Chris Masters, Jonestown, Allen & Unwin

Released in October 2006, Jonestown is the result of a four-year investigation into one of Australia’s most intriguing characters – talkback broadcaster Alan Jones.

Chris Masters’ fascination with Jones began with a Four Corners report in 2002.

The "power and myth" of Jones, his propensity to cavort and cajole with the top end of town while still ostensibly remaining the voice of the average Aussie battler, prove the central paradox of Masters’ entertaining and intriguing study.

A passion for investigating power and its abuse is a constant in Masters’ 40-year career.

This quality, and his dogged determination to for truth and accountability, have marked out Masters as arguably our best investigative journalist.

Masters began his career with the ABC in 1966 and he’s now the longest-serving reporter on Four Corners, having joined the program in 1983.

His reports "The Big League" and the "Moonlight State" both led to groundbreaking royal commissions whose effects still resonate throughout the nation. Masters is also adjunct professor in journalism at RMIT University in Melbourne.

This is Masters’ fourth Walkley win, including his Gold Walkley in 1985 for his Four Corners report on the sinking of the Rainbow Warrior.

Judges’ comments

A finely written, well rounded portrait of the Sydney broadcaster and a clear standout among this year’s entries. Masters deftly cuts across criticism that he had an axe to grind, balancing a rigorous study of the role and pervasive influence of radio talkback on government and policy makers – and the potential for media corruption – with a richly detailed and human picture. Undertaking this particular subject and managing to get the resulting book published against considerable opposition reveals a courage in Masters that is inspiring to fellow and aspiring authors.