Australia’s most prestigious awards for excellence in journalism have a problem. And it might be hard to solve. The Walkley Awards are sponsored by a number of organisations, amongst them Ampol. This, and a decision by the Walkley Foundation board not to recognise climate reporting in its recent review of award categories, has upset a few journalists and cartoonists.
The connection between Ampol (formerly Caltex) and the journalism awards go way back to 1956 when the company’s managing director, William Gaston Walkley, launched the journalism prizes – one thousand pounds in prize money split across 5 categories, with gongs presented by William Walkley himself until sometime in the 1970s. As the Walkley Foundation notes on its website, 1956 was a good year for big stories in Australia – Britain began nuclear weapons testing at Maralinga, Melbourne hosted the Olympics, and television dawned.
But as Belinda Noble, the founder of anti-fossil fuels lobbying group Comms Declare, noted in Mumbrella, it was more than wanting to show appreciation for good journalism that led William Walkley to kickstart the awards. The petroleum chief believed sponsoring journalism would deliver cultural power and buy political support for his company’s oil exploits.
”What the Walkley Foundation needs to realise as it reviews its sponsorship policy this year is that its entanglement with big oil exposes it as a tool of the old power structures that are fuelling global warming and frustrating climate reporting,” wrote Noble in May. The Walkley Foundation confirmed last week it was indeed reviewing its sponsorship policy as part of a review of all its policies.
It’s a message some journalists and cartoonists like Greg Jericho, Rachel Withers, Cathy Wilcox, David Pope, Fiona Katauskas, First Dog On The Moon, Matt Golding, David Rowe, Jon Kudelka and Glen LeLievre have taken up and are trying to drive home to all others entering their work for a Walkley this year. They have either withdrawn their entries or declared they won’t enter this year’s awards. Others, like Joel Werner, a producer on a science podcast, have decided to withdraw their services as judges of the awards. Maybe more will follow.
It is odd that the board did not instate a climate reporting category when global warming is such a pressing problem, and one that, unlike many of the generalist award categories, requires a degree of specialised knowledge. A solution might be for the Walkley Foundation to do an about-turn: it reinstated the international reporting category after years of criticism by many, including me. Walkley Foundation CEO, Shona Martyn, told CMT: “The Walkley Foundation has noted the concerns of some cartoonists and journalists about the sponsorship of the Walkley Awards. We respect the right of all media professionals to decide which awards they wish to enter.”
One thing is certain – journalists love winning Walkley Awards. Sitting this year out might prove painful – perhaps too painful – for some.
Monica Attard, CMT Co-Director