Guardian Australia Journalists Honored at Melbourne Press Club Quill Awards
Sports writer Jonathan Horn and photographer Chris Hopkins from Guardian Australia have been recognized with prestigious awards at the 31st annual Melbourne Press Club Quill awards ceremony, held in Melbourne on Friday night. The publication received a total of eight nominations across various categories, highlighting its impactful journalism.
Winning Entries: Sports Feature and Photography
Jonathan Horn secured the award for best sports feature with his series titled Mourning Three Beloved Footballers, which delves into the deaths within AFL families. The judges praised the collection as a powerful deep dive into the connection between life, mortality, and the sport beloved by many Australians, noting its emotional depth and relevance.
Chris Hopkins won the best features photograph category for his series Kathy's Last Wish, capturing images of Kathy Rieger, a woman with metastatic cancer, caring for her adult son Steven. The judges commended the photographs for their ability to convey intimacy, love, beauty, pathos, and patience in a moving portrayal of end-of-life care.
Additional Recognitions for Guardian Australia
Several other Guardian Australia contributors received high commendations. Ellen Smith, an assistant picture editor and photographer, was highly commended in the photographic features category for her portrait of Martu man Neil Bidu in Parnpajinya, Western Australia.
In the excellence in Indigenous affairs reporting category, courts and justice reporter Nino Bucci and deputy picture editor Blake Sharp-Wiggins were highly commended for their story The Killing of Kumanjayi Walker.
Guardian Australia's Queensland correspondent, Ben Smee, was nominated in the prestigious Graham Perkin Australian journalist of the year category for his Broken Trust series, a two-year investigation into domestic violence cases that exposed police failures.
Other Award Highlights
The Herald Sun's Robyn Riley took home the top prize, the Gold Quill, along with the award for best news report in writing, for her scoop about an IVF mix-up leading to a woman unknowingly giving birth to a stranger's baby.
ABC News journalist Adele Ferguson was named the 50th Graham Perkin Australian journalist of the year for her investigative work exposing failures in Australia's childcare system.
Former ABC journalist Heather Ewart received the press club's lifetime achievement award, recognized for her outstanding career as a political reporter, overseas correspondent, and presenter.
Guardian Australia science reporter Petra Stock was nominated in the excellence in science, medical, and health reporting category for her story on animal advocates contesting a domestic violence study involving rats.
Guardian columnist Ranjana Srivastava was nominated for the Keith Dunstan Quill for commentary for her writing on palliative care, while Selina Zhang of 9News was named young journalist of the year.
The Quill awards celebrate excellence in journalism across Australia, with this year's event underscoring the diverse and impactful work produced by media professionals in fields ranging from sports and photography to investigative reporting and community issues.
