All media: Shortform journalism
Supported by ABC
This award recognises the diverse skills of the journalist – not just for breaking news, but for all the other elements that make a great story under deadline pressure: tenacity, writing ability, accuracy, ethics, research, impact and great storytelling. The emphasis of this award is on solid, gripping reporting and outstanding individual (or small team) efforts in covering a news story. Entries involving scoops and/or a body of work covering one story showing tenacity will be viewed particularly well.
Entries in this category may be a single news report or up to three related reports on the same subject.
Each entry to the Mid-Year Celebration of Journalism is judged on how well it responds to:
- the category description; and
- judging criteria.
For more information on how judging works, including the judging criteria, please refer to the FAQs
The John B. Fairfax Family Young Australian Journalist of the Year Awards must comply with the following Terms & Conditions
2023 finalists:
Fleur Connick, Guardian Australia, “Rural water quality investigations” (1| 2| 3)
Claudia Farhart, SBS, “2023 Türkiye-Syria Earthquakes” (1| 2| 3)
Paul Sakkal, The Age, “Operation Daintree: Daniel Andrews under direct investigation in new IBAC probe” ( 1| 2)
All media: Longform feature or special
Supported by The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age
This award focuses on narrative and/or investigative journalism skills and covers longform print/text pieces, video or television features and documentaries, radio/audio features and documentaries, including podcasts; and large multimedia projects, including those centred on data journalism. Other elements, such as social media, may form part of the project. Judges will particularly look for work which shines a light, tells a compelling story or provides in-depth analysis and investigation.
Entries in this category must be a single piece of work
Each entry to the Mid-Year Celebration of Journalism is judged on how well it responds to:
- the category description; and
- judging criteria.
For more information on how judging works, including the judging criteria, please refer to the FAQs
The John B. Fairfax Family Young Australian Journalist of the Year Awards must comply with the following Terms & Conditions
2023 finalists:
Xanthe Gregory, ABC 7.30 and ABC News, “The Eugowra flood disaster” (1)
Joey Watson, Guardian Australia, “Inside Australia’s secretive torture survival course for elite soldiers” (1)
Daryna Zadvirna, The West Australian, “My Ukraine: Inside the Warzone” (1)
All media: Coverage of community and regional affairs
Supported by Google News Initiative
This category is open only to journalists working in the suburban or regional media and recognises their role in reporting on and informing their local communities. Regional media shall be taken to include all suburban outlets within major metro centres through to regional and remote outlets. This award recognises regional and community journalists so entrants must be based in the communities they are covering. The particular importance of stories to the community or region concerned will count as a judging criterion.
Entries can be a single piece of work or a body of work up to three pieces.
Each entry to the Mid-Year Celebration of Journalism is judged on how well it responds to:
- the category description; and
- judging criteria.
For more information on how judging works, including the judging criteria, please refer to the FAQs
The John B. Fairfax Family Young Australian Journalist of the Year Awards must comply with the following Terms & Conditions
2023 finalists:
Xanthe Gregory, ABC 7.30 and ABC News, “The Eugowra flood disaster” (1 )
Melissa Mackay, ABC News, “Unjust Justice” (1 | 2 | 3)
Hannah Walsh, ABC, “Parents receive apology from Mackay Base Hospital nine years after baby’s death” (1)
All media: Visual storytelling
Supported by News Corp Australia
This award replaces the photography and television/video journalism categories and emphasises the use of camera or graphic skills (sometimes combined with audio) to tell a story. It includes still photography, TV and video journalism and camerawork – and can include sound slides and photo film. It also covers artwork, which includes illustrations, digital photo illustrations, cartoons, or information graphics displaying creativity, innovation and style, combined with artistic technique. Criteria include storytelling, courage, public impact, creativity, innovative use of technology, technical ability and resourcefulness.
Entries can include mixed production teams. Entrants can submit a single piece of work, such as a photo-essay or slide show, or up to three pieces showcasing a body of work.
Each entry to the Mid-Year Celebration of Journalism is judged on how well it responds to:
- the category description; and
- judging criteria.
For more information on how judging works, including the judging criteria, please refer to the FAQs
The John B. Fairfax Family Young Australian Journalist of the Year Awards must comply with the following Terms & Conditions
2023 finalists:
Rhiona-Jade Armont, Dateline, SBS, “Now You See Me: The Search for Syria’s Missing” (1)
Julian Fell, ABC News, “How the seeds of the 2022 election result were sown years ago”, “Wrenching the blackbox open”, and “What’s your personal rate of inflation” (1 | 2 | 3)
Daryna Zadvirna, The West Australian, YouTube, “My Ukraine: Inside the Warzone” ( 1)
All media: Public service journalism
This award aims to celebrate journalism’s role in informing citizens as part of our democratic system. It is about journalism that aims to make a difference, with tangible public benefit to the community.
Journalism which this award encourages can include:
- Good civic journalism which gives a voice to the voiceless in our community
- Journalism which starts a public debate on an important issue
- Journalism which exposes incompetence or wrongdoing by those who should be working for the common good, especially in government or any institutions affecting the public
- Journalism which points to solutions to important issues within the community or society which it serves
Entrants can submit a single piece of work or up to three pieces of related work.
Each entry to the Mid-Year Celebration of Journalism is judged on how well it responds to:
- the category description; and
- judging criteria.
For more information on how judging works, including the judging criteria, please refer to the FAQs
The John B. Fairfax Family Young Australian Journalist of the Year Awards must comply with the following Terms & Conditions
2023 finalists:
Brooke Fryer, SBS, “Vanished: The unsolved cases of First Nations women” (1 | 2)
Lydia Lynch, The Australian, “DNA disaster” (1)
Liam Mendes, The Australian, “Alice Springs”
All media: Student journalist of the year
This award is open to undergraduate and postgraduate students. Work must have been either published or submitted for assessment.
Entrants must be full-time students with the majority of their time dedicated to studying.
The award winner and finalists are chosen on the basis of journalistic excellence, including newsworthiness, research, writing, production, incisiveness, impact, ethics, originality, innovation, and creative flair.
Entrants can submit a single piece of work or a body of work of up to three pieces.
Each entry to the Mid-Year Celebration of Journalism is judged on how well it responds to:
- the category description; and
- judging criteria.
For more information on how judging works, including the judging criteria, please refer to the FAQs
The John B. Fairfax Family Young Australian Journalist of the Year Awards must comply with the following Terms & Conditions
2022 Winner: Charlie McLean, University of Technology Sydney, VICE World News and Central News (UTS), “Australia’s Vape Laws Just Got Even Tighter. The Black Market Isn’t Worried” “Why underfunded ICAC is still best corruption watchdog: special report” and “Doctor shopping: how insurers are ‘gaming’ workers comp
2023 finalists:
Grace Baldwin, Monash University / Herald Sun, “Bailey Smith’s first interview: ‘I went days without getting out of bed’”; “Sinister cult recruiters targeting people at Melbourne landmarks”; “Nazi lark has no excuse” (1 | 2)
Angus Delaney, Swinburne University of Technology / Freelance, “Fiji dogged by strays after Covid breeding boom”; “Why the fight for marriage equality in Fiji divides LGBTQ+ activists”; “Call for Fiji to end pay gap between men and women rugby players” (1 | 2 | 3)
Grace Nakamura, University of Queensland / *PS Media Logan / Deutsche Welle, “Logan’s Last Cane Farm ‘Doomed’ By New Highway’”; “Deutsche Welle ‘Inside Europe’ podcast”; “‘Ruined’: Logan Woman’s Agony As New Flood Maps Make $2.5m Property ‘Worthless’” (1 | 2 | 3)
