Kate McClymont and Nick McKenzie nominated for journalist of the year award

The Sydney Morning Herald’s Kate McClymont has been nominated for the Graham Perkin Australian journalist of the year award for her coverage of allegations against broadcaster Alan Jones.

The nomination is part of the Melbourne Press Club’s Quill Awards for which work by journalists, photographers, artists and designers at the Herald and The Age generated 44 shortlisted entries across 22 categories.

Herald journalist Kate McClymont.Credit: Wolter Peeters

The Age’s Nick McKenzie has also been nominated in the journalist of the year category for a portfolio of work that included his revelations of failures and alleged corruption in the immigration system and coverage of the Ben Roberts-Smith trial. His work included collaborations with Nine’s 60 Minutes. Including the Perkin nomination, McKenzie is a finalist in four categories.

“The nomination of both Kate McClymont and Nick McKenzie as the Graham Perkin journalist of the year is a tribute to their outstanding work on major investigations over the past year,” Herald editor Bevan Shields said.

“Kate’s work on allegations against broadcaster Alan Jones and Nick’s body of work on Ben Roberts-Smith and alleged corruption in the immigration system are outstanding examples of public interest journalism.”

Journalist Nick McKenzie.Credit: Nine

Herald sports reporter Tom Decent has been nominated for the Harry Gordon sports journalist of the year award alongside The Age’s Michael Gleeson and Jake Niall.

Judges recognised The Age and Herald’s journalism across numerous categories.

Charlotte Grieve is nominated twice for the Grant Hattam Quill for investigative journalism, once for her series on issues in immigration detention and again, with Amelia Adams from 60 Minutes, for an exposé on podiatric surgery. Grieve is also a finalist for her reporting on disability issues.

McKenzie is also a finalist in the category with Chris Masters for their work on the Ben Roberts-Smith trial.

Michael Bachelard is shortlisted in the feature writing category for his Good Weekend feature Talking Trans as are Melissa Fyfe and Jacqueline Maley for Rethinking Rape, which also ran in Good Weekend.

Natassia Chrysanthos is a finalist in the reporting on disability category for her work on the NDIS. Also nominated for journalist of the year are The Australian Financial Review’s Ed Tadros and Neil Chenoweth.

For the best coverage of an issue, The Age’s crime team was recognised for their work on Melbourne’s new underworld war, while Clay Lucas and Sophie Aubrey were also shortlisted in this category for their investigation into the Maribyrnong River flood disaster. Lucas and Aubrey’s work was also recognised in the best news reporting in writing category.

In the artwork category, Matthew Absalom-Wong, Richard Giliberto and Jim Pavlidis were all nominated. For cartoons, Matt Golding, Megan Herbert and Pavlidis were short-listed as finalists.

The Age’s top shelf sports coverage saw Gleeson and Konrad Marshall recognised in the sports feature category, Daniel Brettig and Ben Schneiders in the sports news category and Carla Jaeger, Marnie Vinall and Greg Baum for their coverage of women in sport.

Jaeger’s work on Netball Australia also garnered her a nomination at the young journalist of the year. The Age’s Visual Stories Team was shortlisted for their interactive explaining of the offside trap during the FIFA Women’s World Cup.

The Age is also a finalist in the breaking news coverage category for its coverage of the resignation of former premier Daniel Andrews.

The business award category is dominated by journalists from The Age and the Herald with Sarah Danckert, Samantha Selinger-Morris, Ruby Schwartz and Tammy Mills nominated for their podcast on the collapse of the world’s biggest Ponzi scheme, alongside a series of exclusives on foreign bribery by McKenzie and David Swan’s work on TikTok’s privacy breaches.

Leading the tally for The Age’s photographic team is Eddie Jim with three nominations, two for features photography and one for sport. Also shortlisted are Justin McManus for best features photography as well as Penny Stephens and Marta Pascual Juanola in the sport and news categories respectively.

Jackson Graham and Sherryn Groch are each shortlisted for the science, medical and health reporting award.

Penny Stephens is nominated in the sport photograph category for this portrait of Afghan soccer players Fatima and Adiba Ganji.Credit: Penny Stephens

A number of awards highlight the collaboration between The Age and Nine’s broadcast journalism. McKenzie, Natalie Clancy and Erin Pearson are finalists in the Indigenous affairs reporting category for their work National Disgrace for The Age and 60 Minutes. Paul Sakkal is a finalist with A Current Affair’s Sam Cucchiara for Senator Six-Pack in the TV feature category.

“This list of nominations is a ringing endorsement of The Age’s relentless pursuit of public interest journalism and commitment to providing a truly Victorian perspective on news, sport and life in this state,” The Age editor Patrick Elligett said.

Read the full list of nominees here.

Get the day’s breaking news, entertainment ideas and a long read to enjoy. Sign up to receive our Evening Edition newsletter.