Celebrate excellence in Western Australian journalism with us at the 2023 WA Media Awards!

All winners, including the Journalist of the Year, will be announced at a cocktail event at the Anzac Club in Perth on Saturday, October 7 at 7pm. Drinks and canapes provided. Read below for all the finalists.

ALL MEDIA (including online publications)

Business, Economics or Finance Report  supported by MEAA

• Peter Milne – WAtoday – “Alcoa’s reputation car crash: water supply at risk, denuded forests and a toxic pipeline”
• Daniel Mercer – ABC – “Power failure: the foreign loan and WA’s energy woes”
• Matthew Mckenzie – Business News – “The battle of the billionaires”

Columnist – The Matt Price Prize  supported by Steedman Stagg Lawyers

• Paige Taylor – The Australian – “The voice and the land rights giant”
• Peter Milne – WAtoday – “Digging into the spin from the big end of town”
• Kate Emery – Seven West Media/The West Australian – “Body of Work”

Culture and Arts Report – The A.H. Kornweibel Arts Prize  supported by MEAA

• Victoria Laurie and Bo Wong – Freelance – “A Big Thing”
• Mark A. Naglazas – WAtoday – “Why taxpayers are forking out millions for a mega-rich rock band to perform in Perth”
• Erin Parke – ABC News – “Mystery Settlement”

Freelance Journalist  supported by MEAA

• Victoria Laurie – “Victoria Laurie freelance stories”
• Brendan Foster – “Body of work”

Health / Medical Report  supported by Australian Medical Association (WA)

• David Weber – ABC – “Hospital Detention”
• Caitlyn Rintoul – Seven West Media – “Triple shift horror: Unveiling systemic strain in WA hospitals”
• Jessica Page – Seven West Media – “Life and Death Pressure”

Legal Affairs Report  supported by MEAA

• John Flint – Seven West Media – “Sheer Negligence”
• Alex Chance, Liz Hayes, Gareth Harvey and Sonia Serrao – Nine Network – ”The Man in the Hole”
• Tim Clarke – Seven West Media – “Barry Thomas Cable”

New Journalist or Cadet – The Eaves-Prior-Day Prize supported by Cannings Purple

• Cason Ho – ABC News – “Multimedia Journalism”
• Cameron Carr – ABC – “Body of Work”

Outstanding Journalism Student Award  supported by Nine

• Seamus Harrison – Curtin University
• Gera Kazakov – Curtin University
• Angela Ho – Curtin University/Seesaw Magazine

Political Report – The Beck Prize  supported by Seven West Media

• Hamish Hastie – WAtoday – “Breaking through the spin on WA’s biggest dud property deal”
• Paige Taylor and Paul Garvey – The Australian – “McGowan Exits”
• Gary Adshead – Nine News/WAtoday.com.au/6PR Radio – “Labor hits trouble”

Regional and Community: Three News Stories/Features outside a 70km radius of Perth  supported by Public Transport Authority of Western Australia

• Briana Fiore – ABC – Mark Wales – “The True Survivor, Suicide and the Catholic Church & Aged Care Non-Compliance Reports”
• Amelia Searson and Alice Angeloni – ABC – “Stolen Generation survivor’s desperate search for his family”
• Erin Parke – ABC News – “Kimberley floods”

Science and Environmental Report  supported by ABC

• Victoria Laurie – Freelance – “A Kimberley Cornucopia – Biodiversity discovery on Kimberley Islands”
• Thomas Robinson and Amelia Searson – ABC – “The future of Wittenoom”
• Peter Milne – WAtoday – “Revealing the true scale of Alcoas’ footprint on WA’s jarrah forests”

Social Equity Report  supported by Equal Opportunity Commission

• Nicolas Perpitch and Rebecca Turner – ABC – “Father Damian’s dark playbook”
• Rebecca Le May – The West Australian – “Aboriginal women demand WA Government pay back stolen wages”
• Ted O’Connor – ABC – “Halls Creek”

Sports Report – The Gilmour-Christian Prize  supported by Network Ten

• Ryan Daniels – Seven West Media – “Daniel Venables – A Brutal Blow”
• Briana Fiore and Anthony Pancia – ABC – “The Fights of our Lives – A Boxing Story”
• Craig O’Donoghue – The West Australian – “Perth Wildcat Bryce Cotton banned from being Australian citizen”

The Arthur Lovekin Award  supported by The University of Western Australia

• John Flint, The West Australian, “The Half-Built Home Epidemic
• Josh Zimmerman, The West Australian, “Aboriginal Heritage Laws Fiasco”
• Matthew McKenzie, Business News, “The Bubble – Construction Crisis”

TEXT FORMATS

Best Headline (ten words or less)  supported by Media Stable

• Jakeb Waddell – The West Australian/Seven West Media – “The West Australian Sports Editor’s back page headlines”
• Michael Palmer – Seven West Media – “Crime Doesn’t Pay”
• The West Australian – “The West Australian Backbench”

Feature: The Hugh Schmitt Prize  supported by MEAA

• Ros Thomas – Freelance – “Lost and Found”
• Alicia Bridges – ABC Perth – “Fight to block pro-suicide website linked to Australian deaths”
• Erin Parke – ABC News – “Chasing Waterfalls”

News Coverage  supported by The West Australian

• Peter Milne – WAtoday – “Tackling the rogue miner in WA’s jarrah forest”
• Nicolas Perpitch and Rebecca Turner – ABC – “Father Damian’s dark playbook”

Suburban: Three News Stories/Features within a 70km radius of Perth  supported by Public Transport Authority

• Indigo Lemay-Conway – Seven West Media – “Tragic toddler drowning, op shop shock and dumpster diving councillor”
• Christopher Tan – Seven West Media – “Perth’s most vulnerable community trapped in heartbreaking cycle, bots stepping in to solve driver test shortages, council blindsided by controversial drug and rehab centre Shalom House”
• Ben Dickinson – Post Newspapers – “Democracy at stake”

PHOTOGRAPHY

Community/Regional Photography  supported by Department of Premier and Cabinet

• Amelia Searson – ABC – “Legends of the Pilbara”
• Andrew Seabourne – ABC – “ABC Kimberley”
• Andrew Ritchie – Seven West Media – “Body of Work”

Feature Photograph / Photographic Essay  supported by Media Super

• Ross Swanborough – Seven West Media – “Pure jubilation”
• Kelsey Reid – The West Australian – “Voices of the Kimberley”
• Kenith Png – ABC News – Background Briefing – “Prisoner of the state”

News Photograph  supported by MEAA

• Simon Hydzik – Seven West Media – “Kimberley Floods – The First Trucks”
• Ian Munro – Seven West Media – “Banksia Hill”
• Kelsey Reid – The West Australian – “Remarkable”

RADIO / AUDIO JOURNALISM

Audio Feature: Based on a Single Story  supported by Media Super

• Kirsti Melville – ABC Radio National – “A Promise Frayed | When Oscar was promised the world”
• Rebecca Trigger and Ash Davis – ABC – “Grim Prospects: Why did police fail to act on an outback double homicide?”
• Sinead Mangan, Adriano Sardi and Edwina Farley – ABC – “Pink Diamond Heist”

Audio News Story  supported by Media Super

• Emily Smith and Andrew Chounding – ABC – “What Voice?”
• Isabel Moussalli – ABC – “Truck drivers speak out about hidden dangers”
• Elsa Silberstein – ABC Audio on Demand – “Leaving country for dialysis”

Multimedia Feature  supported by MEAA

• Rhiannon Shine – ABC – “Egg Freezing”
• Rebecca Trigger and Ash Davis – ABC – “Grim Prospects: Why did the WA Police fail to act on a double homicide in the outback”
• Jessica Hayes, Hannah Murphy and Andrew Seabourne – ABC Kimberley – “43 years a murderer”

Multimedia News  supported by MEAA

• Nicolas Perptich and Rebecca Turner – ABC – “Father Damian’s dark playbook”
• Cason Ho – ABC News – “Multimedia journalism”
• Heather McNeill – 9 News Perth/WAtoday – “Emerging from WA’s COVID-19 bubble”

TELEVISION / VIDEO JOURNALISM

Camerawork  supported by Seven Network

• Trent Nind – Seven West Media – “Pursuit of a Predator”
• Simon Hydzik – 7NEWS – “Body of Work – 737 Crash, Kimberley Floods and PM Visit Laverton”
• Carl Nelson – Network Ten – “Cyclone Ilsa”

News Reporting  supported by MEAA

• Rebecca Johns – 9 News Perth – “DEFIB Outcry to Overhaul”
• Nicolas Perpitch and Rebecca Turner – ABC – ‘Father Damian’s dark playbook”
• Anne-Maree Leonard – Network 10 – “Justice for Cassius”

Video Feature  supported by MEAA

• Rhiannon Shine – ABC – “Body of work”
• Erin Parke – ABC News – “Fitzroy Floods”
• Jessica Hayes, Hannah Murphy and Andrew Seabourne – ABC News, Network Sunday Special – “43 years a murderer”