Clarion calls honour The Australian journalists’ excellence

Four journalists from The Australian have been among the prizewinners at the annual Queensland media awards, The Clarions.

The Australian National Crime Correspondent David Murray. Picture: Lyndon Mechielsen

Four journalists from The Australian have been honoured for their work in the past year at Queensland’s media awards, The Clarions.

National crime correspondent David Murray, audio producer and editor Chris Bosley and multimedia editor Eric George took out the radio, documentary and podcast category for The Lighthouse series investigating the disappearance of ­Belgian backpacker Theo Hayez last year.

The judges noted that “while there was a string of commendable crime-related podcasts in this year’s entries, The Lighthouse podcast was a standout”.

“With slick production and with a well-written script — driven by Murray’s investigative reporting instincts — the podcast fleshed out new details and allowed listeners to become part of the investigation into the unsolved crime,” the judges said.

Eric George. Picture: Aaron Francis

The Australian’s Queensland political reporter Sarah Elks has won the Clarion for best rural journalism for her series on coalmines.

Queensland political reporter Sarah Elks won the award for rural reporting for her expose of safety issues in Queensland’s coalmines, described as “a showcase of journalism at its finest” by the judges.

The best investigative report category in which The Australian’s Michael McKenna was a finalist, went to the ABC’s Mark Willacy for his reporting on Australia’s elite special forces named “Killing Field”.

The Nine Network’s US correspondent, Tim Arvier, was named journalist of the year, after he and his crew were detained by police at gunpoint while reporting on the Black Lives Matter protests in Minneapolis.