Samantha Maiden has been announced as the winner of the 2021 Our Watch Award, administered by the Walkley Foundation, for her series of reports for news.com.au on Brittany Higgins’ allegation that she was raped at Parliament House.
Winner: 2021 Our Watch Award
Administered by the Walkley Foundation
Samantha Maiden, news.com.au, “Young staffer Brittany Higgins says she was raped at Parliament House” “Parliament office ‘steam cleaned’ after alleged attack” and “Minister Michaelia Cash’s voicemail message to Brittany Higgins”
Maiden’s win was announced at the Walkley Foundation’s Mid-Year Celebration of Journalism in Sydney this evening.
The judges acknowledge the high standard of the finalists:
- Avani Dias, Angela McCormack, Ali Russell and Laura McAuliffe, Four Corners, Triple J Hack and ABC Online, “Tinder: A Predators’ Playground”
- Lisa Wilkinson, Angus Llewellyn and Georgia Done, The Project and The Sunday Project, Network 10, “Brittany Higgins interview”, “Brittany Higgins editorial” and “A Matter of Consent”
The judging panel comprised:
- Jenna Price, The Canberra Times and The Sydney Morning Herald
- Nour Haydar, ABC
- Maddison Connaughton, The Saturday Paper
Walkley Foundation chief executive Louisa Graham said: “This year’s Our Watch Award-winning stories go to the heart of the challenges we face as a nation. We’re proud to administer this award on behalf of Our Watch, shining a light on ethical, best-practice journalism that has a real impact on Australians.”
Samantha Maiden was awarded her trophy alongside all the winners in the Walkley Foundation’s 2021 Mid-Year Celebration of Journalism. Peer-judged and selected on the basis of journalistic excellence, the Mid-Year Celebration suite includes the Walkley Young Australian Journalist of the Year Awards, June Andrews Award for Industrial Relations Reporting, June Andrews Award for Freelance Journalist of the Year, June Andrews Award for Women’s Leadership in Media, Our Watch Award, Media Diversity Australia Award, Humanitarian Storytelling Award, June Andrews Award for Arts Journalism and The Pascall Prize for Arts Criticism.
MEDIA CONTACT
Laurelle Keough
Our Watch Manager, Media and Communications
P: 03 8692 9537/ 0425 701 801
E: laurelle.keough@ourwatch.org.au
ABOUT OUR WATCH
Our Watch is a national leader in Australia’s work to stop violence against women and their children before it starts. The organisation was created to drive nation-wide change in the structures, norms and practices that lead to violence against women and children.
BACKGROUND
Our Watch has been recognising and rewarding excellence in reporting on violence against women and children since 2013, initially through the Our Watch Awards – administered by the Walkley Foundation – and from 2019 onwards through the Our Watch Award at the Walkley Mid-Year Celebration.
The objective of Our Watch’s ongoing work with the Walkley Foundation is to improve the quality of reporting on violence against women and their children by building awareness of gender inequality as setting the underlying context for this violence.
To access guides for reporting about violence against women and their children, visit: www.ourwatch.org.au
