The Centre for Advancing Journalism’s flagship publication The Citizen has been named the best student journalism publication in the country at the annual national Journalism Education and Research Association of Australia conference.
Six student reporters from the University of Melbourne’s Master of Journalism and Master of International Journalism programs also picked up honours for work produced in their studies, most of it published or pending publication in The Citizen and on the award-winning podcast Uncurated.
The Citizen was recognised for its special reporting series on invasive species, ‘Gone Feral,’ co-published with Cosmos Online, as well as its regional reporting project ‘Building Ballarat,’ co-published with The Courier.
Judge Misha Ketchell, editor of The Conversation said:
“Compelling ideas and polished execution made The Citizen a standout this year. Coverage of the campus Gaza protests was sharp and informative and steered clear of advocacy. The Building Ballarat series was a good example of constructive journalism outside the university’s backyard. The Gone Feral articles were terrific environmental journalism and the Uncurated podcast put a cherry on the top of a very impressive body of work.”
Student awards in order of appearance:
Coco Veldkamp’s story, Building for tomorrow: The case for sustainable, smaller, smarter homes, won best text-based story, 750 words or less.
Brendan Kearns (now a cadet at News Corp Australia) and Molly Frew won best long-form audio story for their Uncurated episode on Atomic Testing at Maralinga and Emu Field.
James Worsfold’s video report on Vulnerable Australian species at risk from looming avian influenza won best long-form video story.
Danna Shi’s pictures in Not defined by size: ballet dancers defy stereotypes won best photo essay.
Georgie Preston’s story, Planning, and planting, for humans and animals in a more crowded, warmer future, was awarded for best climate change reporting.
Ashleigh Wyss won the Our Watch best-practice reporting of violence against women and non-binary people award for her story As calls for help escalate, motels not the answer for families fleeing violence, crisis workers say.
Finally, Sam Irvine’s (now a cadet at Carsguide) story on Artificial Intelligence traffic cameras in low income areas was highly commended for best investigative journalism article.
The full list of winners from journalism education programs around Australia and the region, as well as comments from the judges, can be viewed here.
