John B Fairfax Family Young Australian Journalist of the Year Awards – Australia

Since 2008, these hotly contested awards for Australian journalists have identified and celebrated the rising stars of the new generation, opening doors for young talent and kick-starting careers.

Today’s young journalists are more dynamic and must work harder than ever before. They are multi-skilled and adept across platforms, drawing on interactive tools and technologies to tell their stories and capture the attention of audiences.

Celebrating and encouraging the excellence of their work is critical to fostering a robust new generation of journalists. Award-winners are chosen on the basis of journalistic excellence in the fundamental tenets of the craft including newsworthiness, balance, accuracy, ethics and public impact as well as their ability to present distin ctive and original journalism that pushes the boundaries of the profession.

The John B Fairfax family has pledged to support the Walkley Foundation’s awards and professional development opportunities for young Australian journalists over the next 10 years with a gift of $1 million.

Walkley Foundation Chief Executive, Louisa Graham, announced the contribution at the Walkley Foundation’s Mid-Year Celebration of Journalism in Sydney.

Categories 

• Shortform Journalism
  • 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, including perserverance, 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 not more than three related reports on the same subject.
• Longform Feature or Special
  • 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 are based on a single piece of work.
• Coverage of Community & Regional Affairs
  • 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. 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. Entrants can choose to submit a single piece of work or three pieces of work showcasing a body of work.
• Visual Storytelling
  • 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 slideshow, or up to three pieces showcasing a body of work.
• Public Service Journalism
  • This award aims to celebrate journalism’s role in informing citizens as part of the democratic system. It is about journalism that aims to make a difference, with tangible public benefit to the community. Entrants can submit a single piece of work or up to three pieces of related work. Journalism which this award encourages can include:
    • Good civic journalism which gives a voice to the voiceless in the 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
• 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 choose to submit a single piece of work or three pieces of work showcasing a body of work.
• The Walkley Young Australian Journalist of the Year Award
  • This award recognises outstanding achievement by a young reporter aged 28 and under. The award winner will receive an amazing opportunity to intern with the media partners in the USA. Category winners will automatically go in the running for this overall prize.

Eligibility Criteria

• Entries are open to all Australian journalists who were aged 28 years or under when the work entered was produced.
  • If an entrant has turned 29 since the submitted work was produced they must state this in their Entry Statement.
• Unless stated otherwise in the category description, all entrants must be either:
  • Australian citizens, permanent residents of Australia, or journalists residing in Australia working for an Australian media outlet on an appropriate visa; or
  • Australian citizens working for international news outlets whose work is available to an Australian audience.
• Entry is open to journalists employed full-time, part-time or freelance.
• Entries must have been published or broadcast through Australian media outlets between April 27, 2023 and April 15, 2024.
• Entry is open to Australian journalists who have self-published during the entry period.
• The Young Journalist of the Year categories are open to individual entrants only.
• All entrants must certify that their submission adheres to the MEAA Journalist Code of Ethics.

For more information, visit The Walkley Foundation.