Nick McKenzie named Journalist of the Year – The Age has dominated tonight’s prestigious 30th Melbourne Press Club Quill Awards, collecting a record 14 awards including the Gold Quill and Journalist of the Year. It is the best result for The Age since the Quills began in 1995.
The masthead led the charge by Nine’s journalists and editorial teams, with the strength and breadth of journalism at The Age, The Australian Financial Review, Good Weekend, 9News, 60 Minutes and 3AW collecting 18 awards across multiple categories.
The acclaimed Graham Perkin Australian Journalist of the Year Award was presented to Nick McKenzie – the only journalist to win the Perkin three times in the 49-year-history of the award – for his exceptional body of work exposing the endemic corruption within the CFMEU. The investigation ran across The Age, The Australian Financial Review, 60 Minutes and The Sydney Morning Herald.
Alongside Ben Schneiders and David Marin-Guzman, McKenzie (The Age and The Australian Financial Review), also won the prestigious Gold Quill for their investigative series Building Bad. Judges praised it as “public interest journalism at its finest”, recognising the team’s courage and determination in exposing corruption within Australia’s construction industry. The investigation also won the News Report in Writing Quill and the Grant Hattam Quill for Investigative Journalism.
The full list of awards and highly commended follows:
Nine’s Award Winners
- Graham Perkin Australian Journalist of the Year Award – Nick McKenzie (The Age)
- Gold Quill – Nick McKenzie, Ben Schneiders, and David Marin-Guzman (The Age and The Australian Financial Review) for Building Bad
- Grant Hattam Quill for Investigative Journalism – The ‘Building Bad’ Team (60 Minutes, The Age and The Australian Financial Review) Building Bad
- News Report in Writing – Nick McKenzie, Ben Schneiders and David Marin-Guzman (The Age and The Australian Financial Review) Building Bad
- Feature Writing – Michael Bachelard, Nick McKenzie, Ruby Schwartz, and the Visual Stories Team (Good Weekend) for Road to Ruin
- Scoop of the Year – John Silvester (The Age) for How Police tracked the Easey Street suspect
- Keith Dunstan Quill for Commentary – Waleed Aly (The Age)
- Radio Current Affairs – Heidi Murphy (3AW) for Long Shift
- Coverage of Women in Sport – Hannah Kennelly (The Age and The Mansfield Courier) There’s nowhere for them to go: When girls are booted out of football
- Sports Feature –Melissa Fyfe (Good Weekend)for Reining Queen
- Excellence in Indigenous Affairs Reporting – The Age Investigations and Visual Stories Teams, (The Age) for Carbon ‘sharks’: How private companies are cashing in on ancient practices
- TV/Video News – Christine Ahern (9News Melbourne) for The Yarra Valley Grammar ‘Unrapeable’ Scandal
- TV Camera Work (Creative) – Ryan Mason (9News Melbourne) for Marathon Man
- TV Camera Work (Shot of the Year) – Peter Washington (9News Melbourne) for Sam Murphy Phone Find
- Podcasting – Michael Bachelard and Ruby Schwartz (The Age) for Trial by Water
- News Photograph – Christopher Hopkins (The Age) for Riot
- Artwork – Marija Ercegovac (The Age) for Seeing Red
- Cartoon – Badiuaco (The Age) for Albo’s Choice
Highly Commended
- Breaking News Team (The Age) – Best Breaking News or Live Coverage for Easey Street
- Gillian Lantouris (9News Melbourne) – Scoop of the Year for Mick Murphy: Exclusive interview with Samantha Murphy’s widower
- Jason Conduit and Gillian Lantouris (9News Melbourne) – TV Video News for Mick Murphy: Exclusive interview with Samantha Murphy’s widower
- John Silvester (The Age) – Keith Dunstan Quill for Commentary for Inside the Justice System
- Carla Jaeger (The Age) – Young Journalist of the Year
- Tom Morris (9News Melbourne) – Sports News for Christian Petracca Stories
- Visual Stories Team (The Age) – Sports Feature for Faster, higher, stronger: How the Paris 1924 champions would go against today’s Olympians
- Aisha Dow, The Age Visual Stories Team and Julia Carr-Catzel (The Age) – Best Coverage of an Issue for Scam Investigation
- Nino Bucci (The Age) – Grant Hattam Quill for Investigative Journalism
- Visual Stories Team (The Age) – Innovation in Journalism for Faster, higher, stronger series
- Visual Stories Team and Shane Wright (The Age) – Innovation in Journalism for AI Language Models – Budget Speeches Analysis
- Abbir Dib (The Age) – Multicultural Affairs and Media for Every morning I check WhatsApp to make sure my Teta in Lebanon is still alive
- Benjamin Preiss (The Age) – Multicultural Affairs and Media for More than one community, this was an attack on Melbourne’s multicultural fabric
- Sarah Danckert and Carla Jaeger (The Age) – Business/News Feature for Cash for the boys: How underworld figures pulled the strings at ASX-listed company
- Jason Conduit and Ross Barker (9News Melbourne – TV Camera Work Shot of the Year for The Derrimut Fire Aerials
- Megan Herbert (The Age) – Cartoon for How to Cook Australia’s energy transition
- Justin McManus (The Age) – Features Photograph for Dyurrite Dreaming
Patrick Elligett, Editor of The Age, said,
“No newsroom in the country has consistently generated such a high standard of impactful, public interest journalism as The Age has over many years now.”
“Our winners and finalists deserve every bit of recognition, as do the producers, editors and newsroom staff who work tirelessly behind the scenes and the subscribers who support their work.
“This result also cements Nick McKenzie’s place as one of the greatest journalists of all time.”
Hugh Nailon, Director of 9News Melbourne, said,
“With a remarkable number of wins across multiple categories, Nine’s journalists have once again set the standard for excellence at the Quill Awards.”
“Their outstanding work highlights the depth, impact, and fearless commitment to quality journalism that informs and shapes our communities. Nine is proud to celebrate these achievements and the dedication of our teams across publishing, radio, and television.”
Stephen Beers, 3AW Station Manager, said,
“This is an exceptional effort by Heidi Murphy and her team – radio at its finest. The story unfolded live on air in just hours, setting the agenda and dominating the news cycle for days.”
This year’s Quill Awards showcased the incredible talent and dedication of Nine’s journalists, with wins spanning investigative reporting, commentary, photography, and live broadcasting.
From exposing corruption to breaking major stories and delivering powerful storytelling, their work continues to shape the news agenda and serve the public interest. These awards are a testament to Nine’s unwavering commitment to journalistic excellence and trustworthy local news and current affairs.
Media Release – Nine
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Nick McKenzie named Journalist of the Year
