The Lowy Institute Media Award

The winners of the 2023 Lowy Institute Media Award were Kate Geraghty and Anthony Galloway for their work reporting on the conflict in Ukraine across two series of articles for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age.

The other finalists were:

• Stephen Rice of The Australian for a series of reports about Cambodian political influence in Australia;
• Andrew Tillett for his reporting on defence procurement and operations in his role as Foreign Affairs and Defence correspondent for the Australian Financial Review; and
• Natalie Whiting for her work as Papua New Guinea correspondent for ABC Newscovering issues including environmental threats, international security, social and community safety, and domestic politics.

On this year’s judging panel were broadcaster and journalist Fran Kelly, Australia correspondent for The Washington Post Michael Miller, former journalist and Australian British Chamber of Commerce CEO Ticky Fullerton and Lowy Institute Board member Mark Ryan, as well as Dr Michael Fullilove.

Rio Tinto sponsored the 2023 Lowy Institute Media Award Dinner.

The winner of the 2022 Lowy Institute Media Award was the podcast series “An Impossible Choice”, produced for Guardian Australia's Pacific Project by Kate Lyons, Lagipoiva Cherelle Jackson, Jessica Bineth, Laura Brierley Newton and Jon Tjhia.

The other finalists were:

• Kate Geraghty and Anthony Galloway from The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age for The Battleground, a compelling series of photojournalism and first-hand reporting from Ukraine amid Russia’s invasion.
• Yalda Hakim, Gus Palmer, Matthew Carney and Deborah Richards for Return of the Taliban, a co-production between ABC-TV’s Foreign Correspondent and BBC-TV’s Our World. Featuring interviews conducted in the weeks ahead of the fall of Kabul, the program documents the coming return of the Taliban to power in Afghanistan.
• Kate Lyons, Lagipoiva Cherelle Jackson, Jessica Bineth, Laura Brierley Newton and John Tjhia for the podcast series An Impossible Choice, produced for Guardian Australia’s Pacific Project. It features the voices of Pacific Islanders whose lives and livelihoods are directly threatened by climate change.
• Kirsty Needham of Reuters News for a series of news-breaking articles about security and diplomacy in the Pacific Islands region.
• Hans van Leeuwen from the Australian Financial Review for a series of articles reporting on and analysing the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Rio Tinto sponsored the 2022 Lowy Institute Media Award Dinner.

The winner of the 2021 Lowy Institute Media Award was Amanda Hodge, the Southeast Asia Correspondent for The Australian for a series of stories covering Myanmar, India, Indonesia and Afghanistan. She was awarded a cash prize of $20,000 as well as the Lowy Institute Media Award trophy, created by Dinosaur Designs.

The other finalists were:

• Adam Harvey, Lucy Carter, Lesley Robinson and Cherine Yazbeck from ABC Four Corners for the episode 'Shock Wave', reporting on the aftermath of the Beirut Port blast.
• Guardian Australia team for 'Pacific Plunder', a feature on resource and extractive industries and their impact on the Pacific Islands region.
• ABC Digital Story Innovations team for a series of online and interactive digital features on border clashes between India and China, a Chinese dam project in the Himalayas, a flood caused by the collapse of a glacier in the Indian Himayalas and a four-decade survey of the extent of ice coverage at the North Pole.

Due to travel restrictions caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, the Institute did not hold a Media Award Dinner, but instead hosted an online presentation featuring the 2021 Lowy Institute Media Lecture, given by Yalda Hakim.

The Media Lecture was presented with the support of Rio Tinto as sponsor.

The winners of the 2020 Media Award were Sophie McNeill, Echo Hui and Jeanavive McGregor for their ABC Four Corners episodes ‘Rebellion’ and ‘Tell the World’, about Hong Kong’s fight for democracy and China’s treatment of its Uyghur population.

They were awarded a cash prize of $20,000 as well as the Lowy Institute Media Award trophy, created by Dinosaur Designs.

The other finalists were:

• Angus Grigg and Jemima Whyte – nominated for a series of articles in The Australian Financial Review on the Horizon Oil corruption allegations in Papua New Guinea.
• Kate Lyons – nominated for her work as Pacific Editor for Guardian Australia.
• Hans van Leeuwen – nominated for his work as Europe Correspondent for The Australian Financial Review.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Institute did not hold a Media Award Dinner in 2020. Instead, the Institute broadcast an online video presentation featuring the finalists and their work, plus an in-conversation between Executive Director Dr Michael Fullilove and The Hon Peter Costello, Chairman of Nine Entertainment Co and former Treasurer of Australia.

We are pleased to recognise Rio Tinto’s sponsorship of the 2020 Lowy Institute Media Award Presentation.

The winners of the 2019 Media Award were Nick McKenzie and Sashka Koloff for their Four Corners episode ‘Interference’ - a joint investigation with ABC, The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age. The episode looks at China's covert political influence campaign in Australia.

They were awarded a cash prize of $20,000 as well as the Lowy Institute Media Award trophy, created by Dinosaur Designs.

The other finalists were:

• Matthew Carney – nominated for “Leave No Dark Corner” – an episode on ABC’s Foreign Correspondent about China’s social credit system;
• Kate Geraghty – nominated for a selection of photography in The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age; and
• Angus Grigg, Lisa Murray, Jonathan Shapiro and Edmund Tadros – nominated for a series of articles on the security firm Paladin in the Australian Financial Review.

The 2019 Media Lecturer was Ita Buttrose AC OBE, Chair of the ABC.

We are pleased to recognise Rio Tinto’s sponsorship of the 2019 Lowy Institute Media Award Dinner.

The winner of the 2018 Media Award was Evan Williams, who won the award for his SBS Dateline episode ‘Myanmar’s Killing Fields’, which documents the mass exodus of Rohingya Muslims from Myanmar. Williams was awarded a cash prize of $20,000 as well as the Lowy Institute Media Award trophy, created by Dinosaur Designs.

Along with Williams, the finalists for the 2018 Lowy Institute Media Award were as follows:

• Michael Bachelard and Fairfax team including Kate Geraghty, Felicity Lewis, Nick Miller, Lindsay Murdoch, Kirsty Needham and David Wroe – nominated for a series of articles in The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age on China’s Belt and Road Initiative.
• Jo Chandler – nominated for her article ‘PNG’s Resource Curse’ in The Monthly.
• Nick McKenzie – nominated for a series of articles in The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age on Chinese foreign influence in Australia, with contributions from Richard Baker, David Crowe, Angus Grigg, Fergus Hunter, James Massola, Nick O’Malley and Alexandra Smith.
• Cameron Stewart – nominated for his coverage in The Australian of President Trump’s White House.
• Mark Willacy – nominated for his ABC Foreign Correspondent episode ‘The Dome’.

The keynote speaker was Susan Glasser, columnist for The New Yorker and a global affairs analyst for CNN. After her lecture, Glasser was joined by her husband Peter Baker, Chief Washington Correspondent for The New York Times, for a Q&A session with Lowy Institute Executive Director Dr Michael Fullilove. Presenting the award was veteran ABC Pacific Correspondent, Sean Dorney.

We are pleased to recognise UBS and Rio Tinto’s sponsorship of the 2018 Lowy Institute Media Award Dinner.

The winner of the 2017 Media Award was Matt Brown, Middle East Correspondent for the ABC, who won the award for his coverage of the military campaign to against Islamic State in Iraq, and in particular the battle to recapture Mosul. Brown was awarded a cash prize of $20,000 as well as the Lowy Institute Media Award trophy, created by Dinosaur Designs.

Along with Brown, the finalists for the 2017 Lowy Institute Media Award were as follows:

• Four Corners/Fairfax for the joint investigation into the Chinese Communist Party’s political and social influence in Australia.
• The Guardian Australia, for ‘The Nauru Files’.
• Sophie McNeill of the ABC, for ‘Yemen: The War on Children’ on Foreign Correspondent (Cameraman: Aaron Hollet); and for coverage of the siege of Aleppo.
• Cameron Stewart of The Australian, for his coverage of the DCNS Scorpene leaks; and for his coverage of the Australia–US relationship in the era of Trump.
• Eric Tlozek of the ABC, for ‘PNG: A Bloody Boycott’ on Foreign Correspondent; and for coverage of the PNG election.
  
  

New York Times columnist Bret Stephens delivered the keynote speech at the 2017 Lowy Institute Media Award dinner.

Read New York Times columnist Bret Stephens’s keynote speech, on the dying art of disagreement, delivered at the 2017 Lowy Institute Media Award dinner on 23 September 2017.

The 2016 Lowy Institute Media Award was won by Jewel Topsfield for her reporting on Indonesia and the bilateral relationship with Australia in the aftermath of the execution of several Australians in Indonesia and the cash-for-turnbacks allegations.

Topsfield, the Indonesia correspondent for Fairfax Media, was awarded a $20,000 cash prize as well as a Lowy Institute Media Award trophy, created by Dinosaur Designs. The other finalists were:

• Amanda Hodge, South East Asia Correspondent Jakarta – The Australian
• Nick McKenzie, Richard Baker, Michael Bachelard and Daniel Quinlan – The Age Investigations team in conjunction with the Huffington Post
• Eric Tlozek, Papua New Guinea Correspondent – ABC
• Philip Wen, China Correspondent – Fairfax Media

The keynote address on the night of the Award was delivered by ABC Managing Director Michelle Guthrie.

We are pleased to recognise IAG's sponsorship of the 2016 Lowy Institute Media Award Dinner.

The 2015 Lowy Institute Media Award was won by Paul Maley for his coverage of Australian foreign fighters. 

Maley, who is National Security Editor at The Australian, was awarded a $20,000 cash prize as well as a Lowy Institute Media Award trophy, created by Dinosaur Designs.

Other finalists were:

• Foreign Correspondent, ‘Into the Hot Zone’, ABC News

Foreign Correspondent sent one of the last media crews to the centre of the Ebola outbreak in Sierra Leone before strict border controls went into effect, and helped deepen our understanding of the severity of this crisis.

• Rowan Callick, The Australian

Rowan Callick’s writing on Australia’s economic and trade relationships with Asia reflected his deep knowledge of these issues. In particular, his insightful work on the free trade agreement reached with China helped to explain this new development in one of Australia’s most important bilateral relationships.​

• Lindsay Murdoch, Fairfax Media

Lindsay Murdoch’s coverage of the baby Gammy controversy touched on the intersection of Asian and Australian culture and told a broader story about our role in the region. It had a meaningful policy impact in Thailand and Australia.

• Peter Stefanovic, Nine News

Peter Stefanovic’s coverage of the conflicts in Northern Iraq and Gaza was immediate, compelling and important reporting for an Australian audience.
 

The keynote address was delivered by Robert Thomson, chief executive of News Corp. Thomson has served as editor-in-chief of Dow Jones, managing editor of the Wall Street Journal and editor of The Times. He has held several posts at the Financial Times, including Editor of the US edition, Editor of the Weekend FT and Assistant Editor. He has also been a correspondent himself in Tokyo and in Beijing. Thomson began his career as a journalist in 1979 with The Herald.

We are pleased to recognise IAG's sponsorship of the 2015 Lowy Institute Media Award Dinner.

On 12 August, the 2014 Lowy Institute Media Award was given to Hayden Cooper for his ABC Foreign Correspondent report on the trial of Australian Al Jazeera journalist Peter Greste.

The keynote address at the award ceremony was delivered by The Hon Malcolm Turnbull MP.

Other finalists selected by the judges were Amanda Hodge (News Corp, The Australian) for her coverage of the Indian elections and Indian sexual violence, Christopher Joye (Fairfax, Australian Financial Review) for his coverage of intelligence and spying issues, Michael Bachelard (Fairfax, Sydney Morning Herald) for his coverage of the Indonesian elections and Michael Edwards for his coverage of the polio epidemic in Pakistan (ABC, Foreign Correspondent).

The judging panel for the 2014 Lowy Institute Media Award winner included: former Australian minister and Ambassador Amanda Vanstone, Gold Walkley Award winning investigative journalist and author Chris Masters, former ABC foreign correspondent Jane Hutcheon, Lowy Institute Board Director Mark Ryan and Lowy Institute Executive Director Dr Michael Fullilove. Media Award trophy kindly donated by Dinosaur Designs. 

On 26 September 2013, the inaugural Lowy Institute Media Award was given to Fairfax's John Garnaut by a panel of eminent judges including multi award-winning journalists Jana Wendt and Max Uechtritz, Lowy Institute Board Director Mark Ryan, former Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer and Lowy Institute Executive Director Dr Michael Fullilove.

The keynote address for the ceremony was delivered by Nick Warner AP PSM, Director-General of the Australian Secret Intelligence Service. Warner made a speech in tribute to his late father, distinguished war correspondent Denis Warner OBE CMG. The Lowy Institute intends to honour past Australian foreign correspondents such as Denis Warner at each year’s Award ceremony. The Media Award trophy kindly donated by Dinosaur Designs. 

The other finalists for the 2013 award were Jo Chandler from The Global Mail, Rowan Callick from The Australian and Trevor Bormann from the ABC.