Kate McClymont wins two Walkley Awards for Don Burke investigation

A joint investigation by The Sydney Morning Herald and ABC has taken out both the print and TV current affairs awards at the prestigious Walkley Awards for Excellence in Journalism in Brisbane on Thursday night.

Herald investigative journalist Kate McClymont and contributors Tracey Spicer, Lorna Knowles and Alison Branley won the first award of the night in the Print/Text Journalism News Report category for the explosive investigation into multiple allegations of sexual harassment and bullying by Australian TV icon Don Burke, which broke in November last year.

Kate McClymont received multiple nominations for her work on the Don Burke investigation.Credit: James Alcock

Later in the evening, the team on the Fairfax Media and ABC joint investigation into Don Burke also won the Walkley Award in the TV/Video Current Affairs Short category.

The awards are McClymont's sixth and seventh Walkleys, including the Gold Walkley she won with Herald colleague Ann Davies in 2002.

Herald editor Lisa Davies described McClymont as "a legend of the journalism industry, but first and foremost an incredibly dogged newsbreaker.

"Her pursuit of the truth never stops, and her hard work on this and every investigation she undertakes is a privilege to witness, and be associated with."

The Walkley Book Award went to Herald journalist Helen Pitt for her book The House, which tells the story of the Sydney Opera House and the controversies surrounding its design and construction.

Kylar Loussikian, who is now the Herald's CBD columnist, was named a winner in the Scoop of the Year category for his work on the "Bundle of Joyce" story for The Daily Telegraph.

Fairfax Media's regional reporting was also rewarded, with The Maitland Mercury's Belinda-Jane Davis taking out the Coverage of Community and Regional affairs award for her drought campaign, The Big Dry.

The Illawarra Mercury's Sylvia Liber was recognised last month with two Nikon-Walkley awards for her photography: the Community/Regional Prize for her underwater portrait 'Sea of Emotions' and the Portrait Prize for 'Trapped in the Wrong Body'.

The 2018 Gold Walkley went to Hedley Thomas and Slade Gibson for The Australian's investigative podcast, Teacher's Pet.

Meanwhile, Executive Style won the award for best innovation/brand extension of the year at the Australian Magazine Awards on Thursday night for its quarterly insert into The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age. The 10-year-old digital brand launched into print last year and impressed judges for its bold design, quality writing and glossy photography. “ES’s inaugural year has been a resounding success, and the future of the publication looks extremely bright,” the judges said.