Year
2017
Category
Television/Video: Current Affairs Short (Less than 20 minutes)
Through hard work and carefully cultivated relationships with contacts, Dimity Clancey gained access to the handwritten confession of one of Australia’s most notorious criminals and turned it into riveting television. Malcolm Naden was caught in 2012 after seven years on the run, and Clancey covered the search and capture for Nine News. Four years later she faced a challenge: Just how do you turn a handwritten, 25-page document into 20 minutes of television?
She had built relationships with the families of Naden’s victims – Lateesha Nolan and Kristy Scholes – and by giving them a voice made sure these women were not forgotten amid the sensationalism of Naden’s story. Clancey used the hallmarks of great tabloid TV current affairs to build an engrossing visual story, including great shooting and editing, a well-cast re-enactment, insights into the homicide detectives’ process, the manhunt and how the confession was extracted. It made for brilliant TV.
After cutting her teeth in regional television, Clancey moved to Sydney and the Nine Network in 2010. Thrown into the crime round, Clancey rapidly won respect for her determination and discretion and developed a strong list of police contacts. From the epic pursuit of Malcolm Naden, to countless natural disasters, Clancey has been on the Nine Network’s front line for major news coverage, both in Australia and around the world. In 2016, Clancey moved to A Current Affair. This is her first Walkley Award.
Judges’ comments:
This is excellent work. Beautifully realised and riveting to watch. Gaining unprecedented access to the killer’s written confession Clancey skillfully pulls together a story that includes emotional interviews with police and the two victims’ families while never resorting to sensationalism. Hearing the killer’s words delivered by an actor is as compelling as it is disturbing. Great use is made of re-enactments, drone footage and, especially, graphics of the killer’s diary. The story is a testament to great police work and the reporter’s determination to do it justice.