Nine stripped of Walkley Award over Andrew Laming report

For the first time in its 67-year history, the Walkley Foundation has rescinded one of its prestigious journalism awards following an independent review.

Andrew Laming. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Dan Peled

For the first time in its 67-year history, the Walkley Foundation has rescinded one of its prestigious journalism awards, ruling that a report into the alleged misconduct of one-time federal MP Andrew Laming was undeserving of the top industry honour.

Nine Entertainment’s Peter Fegan and Rebeka Powell won the 2021 Walkley Award in the television/video news reporting category for their reports on Dr Laming’s alleged misconduct; the pair also won a Clarion award (at the Queensland media awards) for their investigation into the MP.

One of the central allegations of Nine’s reports, which aired in March 2021, was that Dr Laming had committed the criminal act of “upskirting” – taking a sexually intrusive photograph of someone without their permission.

Journalist Rebeka Powell. Picture: LinkedIn

Reporter Peter Fegan.

That claim — that Dr Laming had “upskirted” a woman at her Brisbane workplace — was subsequently proven to be untrue. The politician, who vehemently denied the accusation, was never charged with the offence.

In September, Dr Laming settled a defamation case against Nine in the Federal Court, during which the network accepted that the “upskirting”claim in one of the reports which was included in its Walkley Award-winning entry was untrue.

The Walkley Foundation sought independent legal advice from Will Houghton KC as to whether the award should be rescinded, and Mr Houghton delivered his advice to the journalism awards body earlier this month.

However, the Walkley Foundation opted not to release its decision on the matter until after its annual gala dinner, which was held last Thursday.

In a statement on Tuesday, the Walkley Foundation said: “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 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.

“Accordingly, the Directors have resolved to withdraw the award.

“The Directors also note that defamation proceedings are not an exhaustive fact finding inquiry, or the Foundation’s chosen vehicle through which to assess journalistic merit.

“The relevant parties have been advised. The 2021 award for Television/Video News Reporting will not be presented to either of the other finalists as the Walkley Judging Board did not select a runner-up.

“The Foundation makes no further comment on the decision to withdraw the award.

“The Walkley Foundation has previously announced that it will conduct a separate process to review the organisation’s complaints mechanism utilising the skills of a panel of independent experts.”

Nine’s director of News and Current Affairs, Darren Wick, said: “This decision by the Walkley Foundation is extremely disappointing, and sets a very concerning precedent. Nine stands by the journalists involved and the importance of the work they produced, and as an organisation will not be deterred from pursuing challenging journalism that serves and informs the community.

“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.”

In a statement on behalf of the ex-politician, Dr Laming’s lawyer Rebekah Giles said: “Dr Laming welcomes the decision of the Walkley Foundation Board to withdraw its Award for Television/Video News Reporting to Nine for its coverage of the false allegations made against him in March 2021.

“The self-nominated Award gave credibility to false and damaging allegations that should never have been published.

“The Walkley Foundation judging panel were aware of Dr Laming’s legal complaints yet proceeded to grant the Award without making any enquiries of him about the substance of those complaints.

“The Walkley Foundation and other bodies should review their processes when legal claims have been made in relation to nominated publications. Dr Laming calls on the Media & Entertainment Arts Alliance to take similar action in respect of the 2021 Clarion Awards.”

The Australian understands the MEAA will announce a review into the entry and judging criteria for all state-based journalism awards on Wednesday.