Leading journalists earn Kennedy nominations

The Australian’s finest journalists have been nominated for the prestigious Kennedy Awards, which celebrate excellence in journalism.

The Australian’s Hedley Thomas. Picture: Portia Large

The Australian’s finest journalists have been nominated for the prestigious Kennedy Awards, which celebrate excellence in journalism.

Two-time Gold Walkley winner Hedley Thomas alongside Slade Gibson and The Australian Podcast Team were nominated for the Outstanding Podcast award and the Outstanding Digital Innovation award for their work on hit podcast Bronwyn.

The team across both awards includes Claire Harvey, Kristen Amiet, Josh Burton, Bianca Farmakis, Brighette Ryan, Liam Mendes, Matthew Condon, David Murray, Madi Walsh, Sean Callinan and Steven Grice.

The podcast examines the disappearance of a young mother from her home in Lennox Head, near Byron Bay on the NSW north coast, in May 1993.

Senior reporter Paul Garvey and political reporter Rhiannon Down were nominated in three categories – Outstanding Court and Legal Affairs Reporting, Outstanding Investigative Reporting and Outstanding Political Reporting – for their series of stories on the Direction 99 Debacle.

Liam Mendes was nominated for Outstanding Crime Reporting for his series on the youth crime crisis in the Northern Territory.

Legal affairs correspondent Ellie Dudley is up for Young Journalist of the Year for “The judges’ war with the DPP” which followed a number of complaints made by NSW District Court judges about processes governing rape complaints.

NSW political reporter Alexi Demetriadi’s series on NSW hate-speech laws has earned him a nomination for Outstanding Reporting on Human Rights, Social or Religious Affairs.

Revelations that the NT school system is failing students earned Caroline Graham, Kylie Stevenson and Tilda Colling a nomination for the Indigenous Affairs Reporting category.

Fiona Harari is nominated for Outstanding Travel Writing for her piece in The Weekend ­Australian Magazine on her in-laws’ wartime experiences, and the obliteration of a branch of her family that shadowed each trip to Budapest.

Southeast Asia correspondent Amanda Hodge is nominated for Outstanding Foreign Correspondent and workplace editor Ewin Hannan has been recognised for Outstanding Political Reporting for his coverage of John Setka’s ­battle with the AFL for employing former union watchdog Stephen McBurney as head of umpiring.

Freelancer Rohan Thomson is nominated for Outstanding Portrait Photography for his images of AMA federal president Steve Robson for The Weekend Australian Magazine.