Year
2016
Category
Television/Audio-Visual: News Reporting
In a tragic mix-up, a baby died and another was left with severe brain damage at Bankstown Hospital after being given nitrous oxide instead of oxygen. Chris O’Keefe quickly verified a tip-off to give a concise live cross confirming the details on Nine News. Within hours O’Keefe made contact with and interviewed the bereaved parents.
Chris O’Keefe is Nine News NSW state political reporter. He joined the Nine Network in 2012 as a junior reporter on the Gold Coast after three years as a producer with Network Ten in Sydney. He moved to Brisbane as a police reporter, winning an award for his work on the “Broadbeach Bikie Brawl” that sparked the Newman government’s ill-fated bikie laws. He returned home to Sydney for Nine News, covering mainly crime, before a keen interest in politics saw him land his current role covering the Baird Government.
Judges’ comments:
Chris O’Keefe’s coverage of gross negligence at Bankstown Hospital offers examples of great public interest news coverage. From an initial report delivered at great speed, follow-up stories added depth to the issue and human faces to the multiple horrors, putting the NSW government on the back foot and setting the agenda for the NSW media that week.