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The Walkley Awards for Excellence in Journalism

Winners of the 69th Walkley Awards were announced on 19 November, 2024. See all the winners here.

The ‘Building Bad‘ investigation won the 2024 Gold Walkley, Australian journalism’s highest honour, for reports broken by a team of journalists across The Age, the Sydney Morning Herald, The Australian Financial Review and 60 Minutes.

See all the 2024 Walkley Awards finalists here, announced 10 October, 2024.

The Walkley Awards for Excellence in Journalism are presented annually in Australia to recognise and reward the best in the craft. Finalists are selected by eminent journalists and photographers and overall winners judged by the Walkley Judging Board.

See all the Walkley Awards categories.

The awards cover all media and have grown organically over the years, expanding to encompass the changing nature of the media industry and innovation in journalism. More than 1400 entries are received each year across 30 categories. The Walkleys also recognise excellence in longform journalism through the Walkley Book and Documentary awards. The Gold Walkley is the most prestigious award, chosen from all category winners.

The Walkley Awards exist to recognise “creative and courageous acts of journalism that seek out the truth and give new insight to an issue”. They reward excellence, independence, innovation and originality in storytelling and distinctive reporting. This can be through research and investigations, well-crafted and innovative presentations, news-breaking single stories and engaging, entertaining and/or informative reporting.

In 2024 all entries must have been published in Australia between 1 September, 2023 and 19 August, 2024.

  • Eligibility for the Walkley Awards is based on independent acts of journalism, free from any commercial or corporate interests. All entries must be factually based.

The Walkley Awards entry fee is $200. MEAA members still get the best deal, with free entry as part of their membership.

Read the Terms & Conditions and FAQs before submitting your entry.

If you have any questions please contact Margie Smithurst, margie.smithurst@walkleys.com

To find out when we announce finalists and winners, sign up for our weekly newsletter.

The 69th Walkley Awards winners

2024 Gold Walkley Award

'Building Bad Team'

2024 Walkley Awards

Gold Walkley

2024 Outstanding Contribution to Journalism

Robert Gottliebsen AM

2024 Walkley Awards

Outstanding Contribution to Journalism

2024 Nikon-Walkley Press Photographer of the Year

Nick Moir

2024 Walkley Awards

Nikon-Walkley Press Photographer of the Year

2024 Walkley Book Award

Andrew Fowler

2024 Walkley Awards

Walkley Book Award

2024 Walkley Documentary Award

Katrina McGowan, Janine Hosking, Mat Cornwell and Carrie Fellner

2024 Walkley Awards

Walkley Documentary Award

2024 All Media: Investigative Journalism

Chris Reason

2024 Walkley Awards

All Media: Investigative Journalism

2024 All Media: International Journalism

Dateline Team

2024 Walkley Awards

All Media: International Journalism

2024 Television/Video: Current Affairs Long (Over 20 Minutes)

'Building Bad Team'

2024 Walkley Awards

Television/Video: Current Affairs Long (Over 20 Minutes)

2024 Television/Video: Current Affairs Short (Under 20 Minutes)

Nick McKenzie, Amelia Ballinger and Michael Bachelard

2024 Walkley Awards

Television/Video: Current Affairs Short (Under 20 Minutes)

2024 Television/Video: News Reporting

Ben Lewis

2024 Walkley Awards

Television/Video: News Reporting

2024 Television/Video: Camerawork

Matthew Davis

2024 Walkley Awards

Television/Video: Camerawork

2024 Feature/Photographic Essay

Diego Fedele

2024 Walkley Awards

Feature/Photographic Essay

2024 All Media: Business Journalism

Linton Besser and Ninah Kopel

2024 Walkley Awards

All Media: Business Journalism

2024 All Media: Specialist and Beat Reporting

Linda Morris and Eryk Bagshaw

2024 Walkley Awards

All Media: Specialist and Beat Reporting

2024 News Photography

David Gray

2024 Walkley Awards

News Photography

2024 All Media: Coverage of a Major News Event or Issue

Chris Reason and Simon Hydzik

2024 Walkley Awards

All Media: Coverage of a Major News Event or Issue

2024 All Media: Scoop of the Year

Nick McKenzie, Michael Bachelard and Amelia Ballinger

2024 Walkley Awards

All Media: Scoop of the Year

2024 Digital Media: Innovation Journalism

Guardian Australia team

2024 Walkley Awards

Digital Media: Innovation Journalism

2024 Audio Long (Over 20 Minutes)

Paul Farrell and the Background Briefing Team

2024 Walkley Awards

Audio Long (Over 20 Minutes)

2024 Audio Short (Under 20 Minutes)

Ayla Darling and Hannah Palmer

2024 Walkley Awards

Audio Short (Under 20 Minutes)

2024 Sport Photography

Quinn Rooney

2024 Walkley Awards

Sport Photography

2024 All Media: Sports Journalism

Michael Warner

2024 Walkley Awards

All Media: Sports Journalism

2024 All Media: Coverage of Community & Regional Affairs

Matthew Kelly

2024 Walkley Awards

All Media: Coverage of Community & Regional Affairs

2024 All Media: Coverage of Indigenous Affairs

Caroline Graham, Kylie Stevenson and Tilda Colling

2024 Walkley Awards

All Media: Coverage of Indigenous Affairs

2024 All Media: Explanatory Journalism

Faster, higher, stronger team

2024 Walkley Awards

All Media: Explanatory Journalism

2024 All Media: Commentary, Analysis, Opinion and Critique

David Leser

2024 Walkley Awards

All Media: Commentary, Analysis, Opinion and Critique

2024 Feature Writing Long (Over 4000 Words)

Sarah Krasnostein

2024 Walkley Awards

Feature Writing Long (Over 4000 Words)

2024 Feature Writing Short (Under 4000 Words)

Ben Walter

2024 Walkley Awards

Feature Writing Short (Under 4000 Words)

2024 Print/Text News Report

Carrie Fellner, Matt Davidson, Matthew Absalom-Wong and Michael Evans

2024 Walkley Awards

Print/Text News Report

2024 All Media: Cartoon of the Year

Cathy Wilcox

2024 Walkley Awards

All Media: Cartoon of the Year

Entry Information

All entries must have been published/broadcast in Australia between 1 September, 2023 and 19 August, 2024

General criteria in assessing entries include:

  • How the story was initiated and followed (with particular credit given for instigating or finding a story)
  • Newsworthiness, including exclusivity
  • Creativity and innovation
  • Research and investigation
  • Balance, accuracy and ethics
  • Consideration of the resources available
  • Consideration of production pressures, deadlines and time constraints
  • Demonstration of best use of the format/s in which the work was published or broadcast, including clever choices in storytelling through multimedia
  • Excellence in written or verbal communication and/or technical and production skill
  • Public impact or benefit, including audience engagement and serving specific communities

The Walkley Awards for Excellence in Photojournalism recognise visual journalists producing still photography for any platform. Criteria include storytelling, courage, public impact, creativity, innovative use of technology, technical ability and resourcefulness and can include soundslides and photofilm. Only photos taken between 1 Sept, 2023 to 19 Aug, 2024 are eligible for entry. Each entry must contain at least one published picture.

Outstanding Contribution to Journalism: Each year, the Walkley Board of Directors recognise the achievements of a person or group that has demonstrated an outstanding commitment to the highest standards of journalism – truth, rigour, integrity and fairness – over their career or period of operation. Entries have now closed.

If you have any questions or need help please contact walkleys@walkleys.com.

For finalists and winners announcements and all the latest Walkley News, sign up for our weekly newsletter.