The Age has dominated at the Melbourne Press Club Quill Awards for Excellence in Victorian Journalism, scooping up the most awards of any media outlet in one of its best hauls of the past 10 years.
The publication scored a dozen gongs on the night after receiving a bumper 41 nominations across more than 30 categories.
Investigative reporter Nick McKenzie (pictured), along with 60 Minutes’ Joel Tozer, took out the Graham Hattam Quill for Investigative Journalism. Credit:Mat Lynn
Nick McKenzie and Joel Tozer took out the Graham Hattam Quill for investigative journalism for their series “Neo Nazis Exposed”, with judges lauding it as the “clear winner” for the category.
“The investigation was sustained over eight months, exposing the reporter and undercover informant to serious personal risk,” the judges said.
“It revealed the existence of a sinister and extensive neo-Nazi network and led the head of ASIO to acknowledge far-right groups as a real terrorist threat.”
News.com.au’s Samantha Maiden was awarded The Graham Perkin Australian Journalist of the Year award for breaking the story of Brittany Higgins’ alleged rape in Parliament House, while the Herald Sun’s Olivia Jenkins was named Young Journalist of the Year.
The Age football columnist Caroline Wilson won the press club’s Lifetime Achievement award for her dedicated career of ground-breaking and agenda-setting sports reporting and commentary.
Caroline Wilson accepts her award at the 2022 Quills in Melbourne.Credit:Mat Lynn
National science reporter Liam Mannix took the gong for Excellence in Science, Medical and Health Reporting for his series “COVID-19: evidence-based reporting”.
In a competitive field of high-quality nominations and in a “saturated media environment”, the judges said Mannix’s reports stood out for “their meticulously researched and crafted reporting and analysis on the most important story of the decade”.
Business reporter Sarah Danckert took out the business news or feature category for her “forensic, rollicking investigation uncovering a giant casino operating from the heart of Melbourne but in the fringes of the digital world”.
Liam Mannix holding his award at the 2022 Quills in Melbourne.Credit:Mat Lynn
The judges said “Secrets at Stake.com: The Australian origins of the world’s biggest crypto casino” was an example of business journalism that was “entirely accessible and fresh” with its powerful presentation.
James Button’s series “Cancel Culture” won him the award for feature writing, with the judges remarking: “This is a zeitgeist topic, but it needed nuance, courage and great reporting skills to navigate the terrain of political correctness and identity politics and to emerge with such a powerful contribution to the national discussion.”
Good Weekend’s Konrad Marshall took out the award for the best sports feature for “All the right moves”, while The Age’s health reporter Melissa Cunningham received the written news report gong for her scoop “I feel like a criminal: Traveller says he told authorities about nebuliser”.
The Age was honoured with the Excellence in Indigenous Affairs Reporting award for “Yoorrook: A time for truth”, which the judges said was “an important and far-reaching journalism project timed to coincide with Victoria’s historic truth telling commission”.
Konrad Marshall’s piece on Patty Mills won the award for best sport profile.Credit:Paul Harris
“These sorts of projects have been missing for far too long in Australia’s media landscape,” the judges said. “The Age’s commitment to seek to try to remedy this absence, while just a first step, was clear in the effort taken across this series.”
The Sunday Age’s Tom Cowie and Rachael Dexter took out the gong for coverage of women in sport with “How one woman’s story shook the sport of powerlifting”, which shone a light on the entrenched bullying and sexist behaviour at the top of the sport.
Photographer Justin McManus was awarded the best feature photograph prize for “Time for truth”, while Richard Giliberto won the award for best artwork with his piece “Under the canopy”.
Rachael Dexter and Tom Cowie at the 2022 Quill Awards.Credit:Matt Lynn
Cartoonist Jim Pavlidis snagged the award for best cartoon, with “Net Zero, Zero Net”. The judges said his work was clean and bold, his text sparse and pithy and his subject “as topical as you can get”.
Jim Pavlidis took home the award for best cartoon with “Net Zero, Zero Net”.Credit:Jim Pavlidis
Chief sports columnist Greg Baum was a finalist for The Harry Gordon Australian Sports Journalist of the Year award behind winner Michael Warner from the Herald Sun.
Warner was also awarded The Gold Quill.
The Age team was also highly commended in several categories; among them, Mannix for the Keith Dunstan Quill for Commentary, Cunningham and Sumeyya Ilanbey for Reporting on Multicultural Affairs, Paul Sakkal and Scott Spits for the sports news award and Good Weekend’s Marshall for the business feature award.
Chris Vedelago was highly commended for the Excellence in Science, Medical and Health Reporting category, while Good Weekend’s Melissa Fyfe was highly commended for feature writing and Matt Davidson was for the cartoon category.
The Age Editor Gay Alcorn at the 2022 Quills in Melbourne.Credit:Mat Lynn
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