NT Media Awards 2021: winners

Winners have been announced in the Northern Territory Media Awards 2021 with SKY News‘ Darwin-based Matt Cunningham taking out Journalist of the Year.

NT Press Club president Phillippa Butt congratulated all the winners. “This year’s NT Media Awards show great journalists work at all the news outlets in the Territory. A big congratulations goes to all the winners, particularly Journalist of the Year Matt Cunningham and Marchbanks Young Journalist of the Year Sarah Matthews, who took Territory stories and issues and raised them on the national stage.

“Thank you to everyone who entered the Awards. Regardless of whether you won, were a finalist or entered; we all work incredibly hard up here and these Awards have shown the standard of journalism in the Territory continues to be incredibly high.”

TV categories:

Best News Coverage
Matt Cunningham, Sky News Australia, “Holding the powerful to account”.
Judges’ comments: Matt Cunningham exposed a shocking incident between the NT’s Treaty Commissioner, Mick Dodson, and a member of the public. His thorough research, investigation and follow up pieces led to Mr Dodson’s resignation.

Best Current Affairs or Feature
Matt Garrick, ABC News,“Out of the rubble: life after the miners leave”.
Judges’ comments: Matt Garrick’s series of stories were a standout for the judges this year. The stories were balanced and it was clear that he has spent time and effort building trust and finding a variety of voices to contribute to telling both sides of the debate. It importantly included the voices of the people living in the communities and it was great to see these locals at the centre of the stories. The stories were told with creativity and edited beautifully, making them impactful. The judges recognised the amount of time and resources it would’ve taken to put these stories together and congratulate Matt on these important and insightful stories.

ALL MEDIA

Best Online Coverage
Lauren Roberts, ABC News, “Australia’s vaccine rollout”
Judges’ comments: Lauren Roberts’ vaccine explainer was a standout in the category and benefitted Territorians and the broader Australian public. Lauren took complex medical information about Covid-19 vaccines and presented the information from experts in a way that was easy to understand and digest. The use of illustrations and interactive sections brilliantly allowed readers to go straight to the answers of their most burning questions. The article helped debunk vaccine myths and common misconceptions at a highly relevant time. There were numerous strong entries in this category. The judges would like to commend Jane Bardon’s series on Glencore’s MacArthur River Mine rock dump expansion, which drew attention to a potential and concerning repeat of Rio Tinto’s destruction of an Aboriginal sacred site at Juukan Gorge.

Best Sports Journalism
Eleni Roussos, ABC 7PM, ABC News and ABC News Online.“Teenage karate sensation kicking goals in Central Australia.”
Judges’ comments: Eleni’s submission was a unique and well-told sports story for multiple platforms. The topic and choice of talent showed a willingness to network and gain trust in a remote community. The TV script in particular was well written and engaging. An informative and memorable story.

Indigenous Affairs Reporting
Matt Cunningham, Sky News Australia,“Treaty Commissioner Mick Dodson revelation”
Judges’ comments: An experienced and accomplished journalist, it’s no surprise that Matt has covered these important Indigenous issues with great professionalism. Matt scooped his competition on this story, and pursued his exclusive with strong follow-up reporting. Working as a VJ adds a degree of difficulty, which Matt seems to have mastered.

Journalist/Photojournalist of the Year 2021
Matt Cunningham, Sky News Australia
Judges’ comments: Matt has proven he is a journalist of a very high caliber; breaking stories of state & national importance, and delivering them in a compelling way. The judges’ applaud Matt’s dedication to holding the powerful to account. The judges would like to highly commend Christopher Walsh – he is clearly dedicated to telling the difficult stories that need to be told. We congratulate him on his use of contacts to break important stories.