WIDELY-published freelance writer Catherine Marshall has won the top award for travel writing at the Presentation Night last Friday of the prestigious NRMA Kennedy Awards for Excellence Journalism, staged by the Kennedy Foundation.
She accepted the award in front of about 600 media people and friends at a glittering dinner at the Australian Turf Club’s Grand Ballroom at Royal Randwick Racecourse – the seventh occasion for the awards named after legendary Sydney police roundsman, the late Les Kennedy.
Kennedy awards. Saskia, Catherine, Tracey
Marshall took the honours with a fascinating piece published in the “Sydney Morning Herald” and “The Age” about her rail journey across Siberia. Her by-line is seen frequently in the Fairfax “Traveller” sections, in Susan Kurosawa’s travel section in “The Weekend Australian” and various glossy magazines.
The top award of “Journalist of the Year” – carrying a $25,000 prize, the richest prize in Australian journalism – was won by “The Daily Telegraph’s” political editor in Canberra Sharri Markson, largely for her stories exposing then Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce’s affair with his staffer, Vikki Campion.
More than 550 entries in 32 competitive categories of writing were judged to finally sort out winners for the 2018 NRMA Kennedy Awards – the number of entries easily a record for industry involvement since the awards were founded in 2012.
Kennedy Foundation Chairman, Mr Simon Dulhunty, said the deserving winners had come out on top in an absolutely fiercely competitive news year, which included more than 100 finalists from interstate and all major metropolitan newspapers and television and radio networks; international journalists and photographers as well as artists and photographers from regional newspapers and radio networks throughout NSW, including the Hunter, western NSW and northern rivers areas as well as the Riverina.
“In a bumper news year the standard of submissions was exceptional in every category. As in previous years, in some categories it took judges long hours to finally sort out the winners from absolutely talented fields, some of which had more than 50 entries,” Mr Dulhunty said.
“From investigative journalism to news breaking, superb feature writing, incredible pictorial entries and wonderful art work, a class field emerged to take out the coveted Spirax Trophies.”
Mr Dulhunty said the trustees of the Kennedy Foundation deeply appreciated the continued support of its generous sponsors – NRMA, Stonemasons and Landscapers (since 1970), ACCO Brands, Twitter, AGL, Seven News, Nine News, A Current Affair, Vodafone, Fairfax Media, News Corp Australia and The Daily Telegraph, Hillbrick Bicycles, ANZ Stadium, Network Ten, The Sydney Morning Herald, Salty Dingo Media, Balter Beer, City of Parramatta, Racing NSW, Godfrey Wines, NRMA Insurance, The Australian Turf Club, Paradigm Resources, Hunter Burton Capital, Briscoe Hotels Group.
“Our sponsors make the Kennedy Awards happen and we welcome their continued support,” Mr Dulhunty said.
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