Walkley Awards reinstates international journalism category

The Walkley Awards have updated their categories following the largest consultative media review in their history.

The Walkley Foundation has reinstated the international journalism category and added awards for specialist and explanatory journalism.

The International category was retired, amid controversy, six years ago but is reinstated allowing the recognition of international reporting that is primarily produced overseas for Australian audiences.

Michael Brissenden, chair of the Walkley Judging Board said, “It wasn’t quite unanimous but it nearly was. Almost every editor and every working journalist from big organisations to freelancers wanted to know if we were going to reinstate the international award,” Brissenden says. “When it was removed at the last review there was a huge outcry and the outcry remains. Reporting international news on the ground through Australian eyes is often expensive and dangerous work. The judging board believes that commitment should be championed and celebrated. The Walkley Award for international reporting is back.”

Two new categories have been introduced: ‘Specialist and Beat Reporting’ and ‘Explanatory Journalism’.

The ‘Explanatory Journalism’ category has been established to recognise reporting of complex subjects using any available journalistic medium.

The ‘Specialist and Beat’ reporting category provides journalists covering a specific subject or round – such as science, health, environment, technology, transport, arts, education or crime with a dedicated awards destination for their work. This new category is not open to specialist fields covered by existing Walkley Award categories such as sport and business.

“Many organisations have views about specific subject areas they believe should be recognised,” Brissenden says. “This was discussed and considered at some length but the judging board decided against introducing additional topic categories at this time. However, we did recognise the need to acknowledge the work that specialist reporters do in their field of expertise. They are the mainstay of newsrooms across all media and the judging board felt the previous award structure did not serve them well.

“One of the most consistent areas of focus over the past few years has been in the area of so-called ‘Explainer’ journalism. Almost every organisation we spoke to detailed how important this area had become to them and how much they were investing in it. Whether it’s digital, print, television or audio it seems everyone is laying out explainers.”

The current ‘Innovation’ and ‘Production’ categories have been amalgamated into a new category called ‘Innovation Journalism’.

“‘Innovation’ in journalism is a broad term. What we do know is that the industry is changing and new ways to tell stories are constantly evolving,” Brissenden says. “Just a few years ago TikTok was unknown – now it is a powerful information platform. We don’t have a crystal ball but we do know that data journalism, social media, multimedia and other areas of digital storytelling are being enthusiastically embraced by newsrooms. We think this new category is a better reflection of where the industry is now and is flexible enough to embrace where it might go in the near future.”

Due to the rise of podcasting, there will now be two categories: Audio Short (under 20 minutes) and Audio Long (over 20 minutes). Two categories have been retired: ‘Headline, Caption and Hook’ and ‘Public Service Journalism’.

“Opinions were taken from diverse newsrooms, journalists and editors across the country. We believe the changes made to the categories as a result of this process will ensure that the Walkley Awards continue to champion the best in our journalism and recognise the changes in our industry,” said Brissenden.

As Guardian Australia notes, the Walkley Foundation is still undertaking a review of the organisation’s complaints mechanism after withdrawing an award given to Nine News reporters Peter Fegan and Rebeka Powell for an investigation into the former federal politician Andrew Laming after an internal review.

Nominations will open on July 1, 2023, with the winners to be announced in Sydney on November 23, 2023.