Back from holidays with good news to share

It may sound a bit lame, but as much as I love taking a holiday, I enjoy returning to work even more.

Heading back to the office on Monday after three weeks away was a great reminder of how much I love the Herald and the brilliant people who work here. On Thursday, I got another reminder when the finalists were revealed for the 69th Walkley Awards for Excellence in Journalism.

In total, staff from the Herald and its sister publication The Age represent 20 nominations across 16 categories, more than any other news organisation in the country. I’m so proud of all our finalists and I want to share the news with you directly because your support for what we do makes this all possible.

• Investigative reporter Carrie Fellner is a finalist in three categories for her work covering the unfolding environmental and health crisis of the impacts of “forever chemicals” known as PFAS. She is a finalist alongside Michael Evans, Matt Davidson and Matthew Absalom-Wong in the print/text news report category and the specialist/beat reporting category for an investigation titled “The factory that contaminated the world”, and in the documentary category alongside Katrina McGowan, Janine Hosking and Mat Cornwell for the iKandy Films and Stan film How To Poison a Planet.
• Herald photographer Kate Geraghty was named winner of the photo of the year prize for a powerful image captured while on assignment in Israel following the October 7 massacre. The prize is chosen from all the images entered for the Walkley photographic categories. The judges said Geraghty’s photo of Palestinian mourners being stopped by an Israeli official at the Al Aqsa mosque felt so emblematic of a frozen moment in the stand-off between two states that it was the only choice.

• Geraghty’s work in the Middle East also secured a nod in the news photograph category alongside Flavio Brancaleone, who is a finalist for an image taken after the Bondi Junction attack. The Herald’s chief photographer, Nick Moir, is a finalist in the photographer of the year category and the sports photography category. Christopher Hopkins was named winner of the portrait prize award for an image captured for Good Weekend.
• Nick McKenzie and the broader Herald team responsible for the major Building Bad investigation into the CFMEU over recent months are finalists in the prestigious investigative journalism field, as well as the television current affairs and coverage of a major news event or issue categories. McKenzie is also a finalist in the documentary category for Ben Roberts-Smith – Truth on Trial. McKenzie, senior writer Michael Bachelard and 60 Minutes producer Amelia Ballinger are also in the running for the scoop of the year and current affairs categories for revealing a cache of messages from then-Home Affairs secretary Michael Pezzullo. Pezzullo was later sacked over the affair.
• Arts writer Linda Morris and investigative reporter Eryk Bagshaw were nominated in two categories for their work exposing mining billionaire Gina Rinehart’s campaign to have a portrait removed from the National Gallery of Australia. I’m particularly thrilled for Linda, who is one of Australia’s most dogged arts reporters.
• Sport reporter Tom Decent is a finalist in the sport reporting category for his bombshell revelation that then-Wallabies coach Eddie Jones was secretly interviewed by Japanese rugby officials to take over as the country’s head coach just days before Australia’s disastrous Rugby World Cup campaign. Jones repeatedly denied the story but as readers know, he was appointed coach of the Brave Blossoms 90 days later.
• Senior economics correspondent Shane Wright and the Herald’s Visual Stories Team are finalists in the digital media innovation category for their work analysing decades of federal budget speeches.
• Cartoonists Cathy Wilcox and Matt Golding secured nods in the cartoon of the year category.
• Columnist David Leser is a finalist in the commentary, analysis and opinion category for three pieces under the title “The war in Gaza: Not in my Jewish name”.
• Three interactive pieces about Olympic records by Herald reporters, editors, developers and designers are nominated in the explanatory journalism category.

The awards will be held in Sydney next month, and I wish all our finalists the best of luck.

Thanks again for supporting our quality journalism.

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