Jennifer Keyte honoured with Lifetime Achievement at Quills

10 News First presenter Jennifer Keyte was last night awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Quill Awards.

Jennifer Keyte joined Eyewitness News at 10 in 1982, becoming a co-anchor at Seven at the age of just 27.  She has worked for all three commercial television networks in a career spanning more than four decades.

Earlier this month she told TV Tonight after she was appointed solo presenter in the 1980s she regularly faced questions about her “use by date” in Television.

“After that day, I think every interview I did for a decade, was ‘What’s your use by date? You were the co-anchor, you’re a young woman. How long can this last? What do you reckon?’” she said.

“Can I tell you in the last 15 years, no one has asked me that question. That ‘use-by date question’ has disappeared as we evolve as a nation. Looking to the American and British presenters, womens’ experience is valued. It’s actually accepted and trusted, and it’s a great place to be. I’m really proud that I have been part of that whole journey.”

Other winners in the Melbourne Press Club Awards include Seven News, Nine News, ABC News, 7:30, 60 Minutes, and SBS.

TV and related categories:

TV/Video News
Neary Ty, Nine News, “Glenn Archer”
Neary Ty, Nine News, “Youth Justice”
Sharnelle Vella, 7NEWS, “Porter Davis Crisis”
Cassie Zervos, 7NEWS, “School Boy Abduction” (pictured)

TV Camera Work (Creative)
Andrew Altree-Williams, 7.30, “Andy Jackson’s poetry ‘gives us a new way to see’ disability”
Andrew Altree-Williams, 7.30, “Landholders battle the prospect of new above-ground electricity lines”
Simon Winter, Australian Story, “Changing Minds”
Pete Healy, Landline, “Swamp Saviours”

TV Camera Work (Shot of the Year)
Tim Furness, Nine News, “Fitzroy garden murder”
Stephen Ramplin, A Current Affair, “Mushroom cook speaks”

TV/Video Feature
Christine Ahern and Lisa Brown, 60 Minutes, “VBA exposed”
Sam Cucchiara and Paul Sakkal, A Current Affair & The Age, “Senator Six-Pack”
Lauren Day, 7.30, “Stunned: The hidden footage the pork industry doesn’t want you to see”
Louise Milligan, Mary Fallon and Jessica Longbottom, Four Corners, “Hiding Behind Tombstones”

Scoop of the Year
John Ferguson, The Australian, “Police investigate mass poisoning in Leongatha”
Benita Kolovos and Paul Karp, Guardian Australia, “Lidia Thorpe quits Greens party to pursue black sovereignty”
Dan Oakes, ABC News, “The mushroom deaths”
Cameron Stewart, The Australian, “Red Sea Warship”

Grant Hattam Quill for Investigative Journalism
Stephen Drill and Jason Edwards, Network News, “Narcos: On the frontline”
Charlotte Grieve, The Age, “Detention secrets”
Charlotte Grieve and Amelia Adams, The Age, “Sole Destroying”
Nick McKenzie and Chris Masters, The Age, Ben Roberts-Smith Investigations

Best Breaking News or Live Coverage
7NEWS Team, “Daylesford Crash Disaster”
ABC News Victoria, “Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews Resigns”
The Age, “Daniel Andrews resigns”
Herald Sun Newsroom, “Bourke St Carnage”

Excellence in Indigenous Affairs Reporting
7am podcast, “The Fight for a Voice”
Nino Bucci, Guardian Australia, “Aboriginal pedestrian deaths in the Northern Territory”
Joseph Dunstan and Lauren Day, ABC News, “’A life without Veronica’ and ‘Victoria’s treaty journey’”
Nick McKenzie, Natalie Clancy, Erin Pearson and Sammi Taylor, 60 Minutes and The Age, “National Disgrace”

Excellence in Science, Medical and Health Reporting,
Amy Bainbridge and Angus Whitley, Bloomberg, “Black Summer’s Toxic Legacy”
Jackson Graham, The Age, “Autopsies, strokes and sleep apnoea explained”
Sherryn Groch, The Age, “Journey into the deep sea”
Izabella Staskowski, The Today Show, “Battling endometriosis”

Innovation in Journalism,
The Conversation Australia and New Zealand, “Understanding the history of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in 5 charts”
Kai Feng, Jarrod Fankhauser, Olivia Ralph and Steven Viney, ABC News, “Instant credibility”
Selling the Green Dream, ABC News, “Selling the Green Dream”
Visual Stories Team, The Age, “The offside trap”

Multicultural Affairs and Media
Casey Briggs and Ahmed Yussuf, ABC News, “African and Middle Eastern communities over-represented in COVID-19 fines in Victoria, data shows”
Suzan Delibasic, Herald Sun, “Lee Family Deportation Fight”
Kassahun Negewo and Ruchika Talwar, SBS, “Detention to determination: Former Nauru detainee is now a ticket inspector on Melbourne Metro”
Dellaram Vreeland, Guardian Australia, “After growing up Iranian in Ballarat, I know it to be a welcoming place – a hate march won’t change that”

Regional and Rural Journalism
Rachel Clayton, Charlotte King and Andy Burns, ABC News, “Suspected unlicensed dams multiplying across stressed Moorabool River”
Emma D’Agostino, Danielle Bonica and Josie Taylor, ABC Central Victoria, “A Fine Balance”
Tim Lee, Landline, “Satellite Stock Squad”
Tamara McDonald, Geelong Advertiser, body of work

Sports News,
Daniel Brettig, The Age, “Australians abused in Lord’s Long Room in Ashes Test”
Mitch Cleary, Pat Harrison and Damian Shine, 7NEWS Melbourne, “Gold Coast land Hardwick”
Scott Gullan, Herald Sun, “Peter Bol drugs scandal”
Ben Schneiders, The Age, “The tax haven, the PO box, the tropical island: Who owns Australian soccer”

Young Journalist of the Year
Chelsea Bunting, Geelong Advertiser, body of work
Carly Douglas, Herald Sun, body of work
Holly Edwards-Smith, Sky News Australia, body of work
Carla Jaeger, The Age, “Netball Australia”

Director of 9News Melbourne, Hugh Nailon, said: “Pictures are the lifeblood of TV News and Tim displayed outstanding news instincts to capture an unforgettable image that told the story as well as any words could.”

“These are the moments our newsroom strives to capture every day, bringing the audience as close to the story as possible.”

60 Minutes Executive Producer, Kirsty Thomson, said: “Christine Ahern and Lisa Brown’s investigation into the embattled Victorian building authority was a great example of forensic and determined public interest journalism. The revelations in the story led to the VBA boss resigning days after the broadcast. Everyone at 60 Minutes is very proud of the story and Christine and Lisa’s brilliant work.”

Photo: Twitter.