Nine News has top journalism prize revoked after former Liberal MP Andrew Laming’s defamation case

A Nine News report about the former Liberal MP Dr Andrew Laming has had the top journalism prize it won withdrawn following a defamation case against the broadcaster.

Australia’s top journalism prize awarded last year for a report on former liberal MP Dr Andrew Laming has now been revoked following a defamation case against the broadcaster.

The Walkley Foundation revealed today that Nine News reporters Peter Fegan and Rebeka Powell have had their award for Television/Video News Reporting withdrawn after Laming won a defamation case against Nine in September this year.

The series of three TV news reports known as “The Investigation of Andrew Laming” won the prestigious award in February 2022 after airing in March 2021.

The third report of the series centred around accusations that Dr Laming had taken upskirt photos of a woman in her workplace without her consent.

Former MP Andrew Laming leaves the Federal Court in Sydney after the resolution of his defamation hearing against Nine. He has received an apology from Nine News over allegations aired in a TV story last year. Picture: John Feder/The Australian.

Dr Laming initiated defamation proceedings against Nine relating to the accusations in the third episode, which Nine settled on confidential terms and issued a formal apology specifically limited to the details in the photograph involved in the third episode.

The Walkley Foundation revealed today that after meeting to assess materials from interested parties and independent legal advice, the directors came to the decision to withdraw the award.

“The Directors appreciate that parties settle defamation proceedings for any number of reasons. The Federal Court proceeding settling on confidential terms and the limited apology by Nine was not decisive by itself to justify the withdrawal of the Award, but in all the circumstances the Board resolved the award could not be maintained in respect of the third report,” the statement from the Walkley Foundation said.

“The first two reports in this series contained allegations that were very serious and raised important issues of public interest, but the award could not be maintained solely upon those allegations.”

The foundation said the award would not be given to any other finalists as the judging board didn’t select a runner up at the time.

Darren Wick, Nine’s Director of News and Current Affairs, said Nine stands by the journalists involved and called the decision from the Walkley Foundation “extremely disappointing”, saying it sets a “concerning precedent”.

“The current state of defamation law in Australia poses a significant threat to public interest journalism. Decisions about the settlement of legal proceedings are not always a reflection of the journalistic merits of a story. These reports were important examinations of the conduct of a politician, which contributed to a broader social discourse about what standards the community expects from its elected leaders,” Mr Wick said.