Herald Sun’s Mark Knight crowned Australia’s best cartoonist

Mark Knight has again been crowned Australia’s best cartoonist for his humorous take on Scott Morrison’s secret ministries scandal.

Mark Knight was won another Walkley Award for his cartoons. Picture: Nicole Cleary

The Herald Sun’s Mark Knight has again been crowned Australia’s best cartoonist, on Thursday night winning the top prize at the nation’s most prestigious journalism awards.

Knight claimed the Walkley Award for best cartoon for ‘Not everyone has to be Scott Morrison’, a typically humorous illustration of the former PM’s secret ministries scandal.

It was a remarkable fifth Walkley Award win for Knight, the Herald Sun’s longstanding and legendary cartoonist. Knight said it was “a great honour” to both win the award, and see the room’s reaction to his cartoon on Thursday night.

“I always judge a cartoon by the laughs it gets,” he said.

“And there was a great laugh in the room when it showed up on the screen.

“The laugh barometer put me in good stead.

“It feels great … I love what I do.”

Mark Knight’s award-winning cartoon on Scott Morrison’s secret swearing in.

Herald Sun editor Sam Weir congratulated Knight and said: “Mark is the best in the business and our readers love his unique and brilliant take on the news each day. His cartoons are pure genius. They can make you laugh and cry – sometimes in the one piece. And his premiership poster is the one every footy fan wants on their wall.’’

News Corp took home five awards from eight nominations at the gala night in Sydney, with winning entries spanning across investigative journalism, commentary, and feature writing categories.

The Walkley success caps off a remarkable year of powerful and agenda-setting journalism for the Herald Sun, Victoria’s number one media brand in print and digital.

Knight with the 2022 AFL Premiership poster, which always proves to be a favourite of footy fans. Picture: Mark Stewart

Last week, the Herald Sun scooped the key categories at the News Awards, also held in Sydney. Senior reporter Stephen Drill and deputy editor Chris Tinkler led the accolades, winning Scoop of the Year for uncovering the Tim Paine sexting scandal that rocked the Australian cricketing world, leading to Paine’s resignation as Test captain.

Senior reporter Anthony Dowsley was awarded for his world-class investigative work on accused police killer Jason Roberts, which resulted in his conviction over the Silk-Miller murders being quashed.

Jason Edwards won Photograph of the Year for his incredible shot of former Prime Minister Scott Morrison tackling a small boy to the ground during a friendly soccer game on the federal election trail.

David Caird took home the Photographer of the Year category for his impressive portfolio built over the past 12 months, including a moving image from the private funeral of Bert Newton, a longtime friend.

The Herald Sun’s chief football writer Mark Robinson was recognised for revealing his personal story of recovery after suffering two heart attacks.

Originally published as Herald Sun’s Mark Knight crowned Australia’s best cartoonist