Lowy Institute for International Policy | Lowy Institute Media Award
About the Lowy Institute Media Award The annual Lowy Institute Media
Award recognises Australian journalists who have deepened the
knowledge, or shaped the discussion, of international policy issues in
our country. One of the long-standing objectives of the Lowy Institute
is to deepen and enrich the discussion of international policy in
Australia. We pursue that aim in a variety of ways: through our
research, our events and conferences, and our engagement with
policymakers, business people, academia, media and the broader
community. We recognise that a lively and sophisticated discussion of
the key global issues affecting Australia’s future requires a broad
range of contributors. One of the most important of these is the
Australian media. At a time when the media industry is going through
a period of great change and uncertainty, we believe it is vital that
Australian journalists continue to report and comment on events in the
world that impact on Australia. It is for this reason that we have
decided to establish this media award. The Lowy Institute Media Award
will be given to an Australian journalist or journalistic team who
either through a single piece of reporting or commentary, or through a
series of reports, has deepened the knowledge, or shaped the
discussion, of international policy issues in Australia in the course
of the last year. A panel of eminent judges will nominate candidates
whose work over the last twelve months they feel best meets the award
criteria, specifically: Topicality – the importance of the issue
or issues to Australia’s engagement with the world. Influence –
the degree to which the journalist or journalistic team’s work
informed or shaped public discussion of international policy.
Originality – the extent to which the work brought attention to a
new international issue or idea, or re-examined an existing issue from
a new perspective. Quality – a high standard of writing or
broadcast. 2015 Lowy Institute Media Award Paul Maley. The
2015 Lowy Institute Media Award ceremony. From left to right:
Michael Fullilove, Jane Anderson, Paul Maley, Elizabeth Bryan and
Robert Thomson. 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.
2014 Lowy Institute Media Award Hayden Cooper. Photo by Mathew Marsic
The 2014 Lowy Institute Media Award ceremony. From left to right:
Michael Fullilove, Malcolm Turnbull, Kate Torney (on behalf of Hayden
Cooper) and Andrew Greste. 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 given 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. 2013 Lowy Institute Media Award
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.