The Sydney Morning Herald has dominated nominations for Australia’s premier journalism awards as two of the masthead’s photographers are awarded top prizes for their arresting imagery.
Edwina Pickles was on Thursday awarded the Nikon Photo of the Year, capturing the aftermath of the Bondi Beach terror attack, and Steven Siewert was awarded the Nikon Portrait Prize for a photo of the late pathologist Richard Scolyer. The Nikon photography prizes are administered by the Walkley Foundation on behalf of the camera company.
Fellow Herald photographer Sam Mooy is a Walkley Award finalist in the Nikon-Walkley Press Photographer of the Year category, and for the feature/photographic essay award for his coverage of the death of Kumanjayi Little Baby and subsequent riots in Alice Springs.
Pickles is a finalist in the same category for her Bondi terror attack coverage, as is freelance Herald contributor Flavio Brancaleone, also a finalist for photographer of the year alongside Mooy.
The Herald has finalists across 10 categories in the 71st Walkley Awards. Winners will be announced on November 19.
Herald editor Jordan Baker said the masthead’s many finalists in this year’s Walkley Awards reflect the skill and commitment of its journalists, and the breadth of storytelling it offers its readers.
“Among those celebrated are our writers, our investigative journalists and our visual stories team, who bring stories to life for our subscribers in such creative and groundbreaking ways,” Baker said.
“I particularly congratulate the Herald’s photographic team, led by Danielle Smith, which has eight nominations.
“This year’s Walkley finalists reflect a year of turmoil in Australia and around the world, captured by journalists and photographers who, in some instances, have put their own lives at risk,” Walkley Foundation chief executive Shona Martyn said.
Separately, the Herald’s health editor Kate Aubusson was on Wednesday awarded a National Press Club Excellence in Health Journalism award in the Health Innovation category for her series on the race to create a treatment for Sasha Lipworth’s ultra-rare disease.
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