Walkleys

The winners of the 2005 Walkley Awards will be announced in Sydney this evening. The awards presentation is being telecast on SBS 10-11.30 pm in all states.

Quill awards

Applications are now open for the Melbourne Press Club Quill Awards. Applications close on Tuesday 31 January 2006 for work done in calendar year 2005 in 25 categories and for prize money totalling $20,000.

Victorian award winner

The Victorian Sensis/MPC Award for Student Journalism will be announced at a Melbourne Press Club lunch today, 1 December 2005.

German grant closing

Anyone wanting to research a story or program in Germany should apply for the German Grant for Journalism 2006. Applications close tomorrow Friday 2 December 2005. The grant from the German Embassy is for a two week’s trip to Germany, including an interpreter/guide.

Free media seminar

The IFJ/Walkley/MEAA Free Media in a Democratic Society seminar is on in Sydney today and tomorrow, 30 November and 1 December 2005.

Sports media awards

The Australian Sports Commission Media Awards will be announced at a dinner in Canberra tonight from the list of finalists.

Terror laws impact forum

The NSW Writers’ Centre has a forum in Sydney on the impact of the new terror laws on writers, journalists, publishers tonight Tuesday 29 November, 6 - 8pm at Rozelle.

JEA conference

The Journalism Education Association’s conference starts today and finishes on Friday 2 December. The program is in the left menu under Registration - Timetable 2005. The General Meeting is on Thursday 1 December and the Ossie Awards are announced that evening.

Bell Awards

Australian Business and Speciality Publishers - a magazine industry group - announced their Bell Awards last Friday. There’s nothing on the website yet.

Winners of SA Youth Media Awards 2005

• Best television news report, feature interview or documentary - Caroline Kelly of Channel 7 for ‘Model Drugs’ telecast 22 August, 2005.
• Best radio news report, feature interview or documentary - Lauren Kandelaars of Radio Adelaide for ‘Living with the Black Dog’ broadcast between 25 and 29 July, 2005.
• Best news report in metropolitan/suburban press or publication - Cara Jenkin of The Advertiser for ‘Drugs, gangs and teen sex for sale’ published 31 January, 2005.
• Best news report in regional press or publication - Abbie Tiller of The Plains Producer for ‘Social Classes’ published on 31 August, 2005.
• Best feature in a regional press or publication - Anna Vlach and Haley Cahalan of the Stock Journal for ‘The Big Transition’ published on 16 September, 2005.
• Best photograph printed in print or digital media - Tricia Johnson of The Advertiser for ‘Last look at a land of hope and opportunity’ published 31 December, 2004.
• Best representation of Reconciliation in any medium was won by photographer Tait Schmaal of The Advertiser for ‘Tiny Smiles’ published 27 May, 2005.
• Best feature in metropolitan/suburban press or publication - Leisha Petrys of The Sunday Mail for ‘Terrible reality in a tangle of steel’ published 1 May 2005.

Churchill Fellowships

Applications are now being accepted for the 2006 Churchill Fellowships. There are almost 100 Fellowships available this year including eight additional Fellowships specially focussed on ‘Issues of Concern to Younger Australians.’ Journalists are encouraged to apply for the Fellowships which close on 28 February 2006.

CHOGM 2005 Malta

The Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Malta 25 - 27 November is being webcast by streaming video on the www.chogm2005.mt website - click on LIVE STREAMING at the bottom of the right menu. PROGRAMME at the top of the menu has a pdf of ceremonies and press conferences which are likely to be webcast. The full schedule of webcasts is restricted by a registration. Malta time is ten hours behind Sydney.

If you need details, have questions, or want local comment contact Pieter Wessels, chairman of the Commonwealth Journalists Association in Australia.

NEMBC Conference

The National Ethnic and Multicultural Broadcasters’ Council annual conference titled Multicultural Community Broadcasting: Empowering & Connecting Communities begins in Geelong today and ends on Sunday 27 Nov 2005

Media Traditions conference

The two-day Australian Media Traditions Conference: Politics Media History starts today at Old Parliament House, Canberra. The program has a strong thread of political reporting.

Bioethics seminar

Writer, broadcaster and former Labor politician Dr Barry Jones will present a seminar entitled Tackling complex issues in an age of ‘wedge politics’, ‘spin’ and ‘the new normal’ at the University of Sydney at 5 pm today.

TVS starts transmission

Community broadcasting station Television Sydney starts transmission today on Channel 31 UHF 548.25MHz at less strength than SBS and from the Gore Hill tower. Free to air sets will need tuning. TVS is not on the cable services.

Men’s Rights media awards

The national lobby group Men’s Rights Agency announced today - International Men’s Day - the winners of its newly created awards. They are:
Press - Luke Slattery of The Weekend Australian
Print - John Hirst
Radio - Mike Jeffreys of 2CC Canberra
TV - Jonathan Holmes of Four Corners
Community Service - Dads on the Air (2GLF 89.3 FM Sydney) and The Outback City Express a free monthly newspaper in Queensland.
The Toady Anti-awards go to Dr Michael Flood of and Sex Discrimination Commissioner Pru Goward.

Youth Media Awards SA

The 2005 HomeStart Finance Youth Media Awards will be announced in Adelaide tonight - see presser.

Sports awards finalists

The Australian Sports Commission (ASC) today announced the finalists in the annual ASC Media Awards. Winners will be announced at a presentation dinner at the Australian Institute of Sport in Canberra on Wednesday 30 November 2005.

CBAA conference

The Community Broadcasting Association of Australia (CBAA) national conference begins in Fremantle today and finishes on Sunday.

News Awards

The winners of the first News Awards for News Limited staff announced in Adelaide last night are:
SIR KEITH MURDOCH AWARD: Hedley Thomas (The Courier Mail)
NEWSPAPER OF THE YEAR: The Australian
YOUNG JOURNALIST OF THE YEAR: Liam Houlihan (Herald Sun).
ARTIST OF THE YEAR: Eric Lobbecke (The Daily Telegraph).
DESIGNER OF THE YEAR: Jos Valdman (The Daily Telegraph).
ONLINE JOURNALIST OF THE YEAR: The Daily Telegraph's team of Claire Gould, Jenny Dillon, Drew Gibson and Stephen Birch.
EDITORIAL INNOVATION: Michael Carroll (Townsville Bulletin).
SPORTS JOURNALIST OF THE YEAR: Mike Sheahan (Herald Sun).
SUB-EDITOR OF THE YEAR: Ian Gunn (The Australian).
BUSINESS JOURNALIST OF THE YEAR: Marshall Hall (Gold Coast Bulletin).
PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR: David Caird (Herald Sun)
SPECIALIST WRITER OF THE YEAR: Matt Price (The Australian)
FEATURES JOURNALIST OF THE YEAR: Mike Safe (The Weekend Australian Magazine)

TV’s future

The Free TV Australia (formerly CTVA formerly FACTS) panel discussion in Sydney at 4 pm this afternoon with Sam Chisholm (Nine Network), David Leckie (Seven Network), and Grant Blackley (Network Ten) discussing the future of television in Australia is sold out.

WSIS#2 opens

The UN's much vaunted World Summit for the Information Society starts in Tunis, Tunisia today and goes until the 18th November 2005. The program and a live webcast here.

Masters lunch

The ubiquitous/investigative reporter Chris Masters speaks at the Rural Media South Australia lunch in Adelaide tomorrow.

Seminar registration

Today is the last day for cheap registration for the IFJ/Walkley FoundationMEAA/Myer Foundation Free Media in a Democratic Society seminar in Sydney 30 Nov/1 Dec 2005.

First News Ltd News Awards

News Ltd’s first News Awards for journalism open to all editorial staff – journalists, photographers, artists and designers – on all news newspapers, inserted magazines and news websites in Australia and the South Pacific will be announced in Adelaide this evening. There are13 categories with a total of AU$ 65,000 in prize money. At this stage I cannot find anything on the web.

Boyer Lectures start

The first Boyer Lecture by the Archbishop of Sydney Dr Peter Jensen can be heard live online at 5 pm today on ABC Radio National. Extracts will go up on the Boyer web page at the end of each lecture (6.55pm, Sunday Nov 13, 20, 27, Dec 4, 11, 18). Podcasts of the program will be available from the same page shortly afterwards. The podcasts will be complimentary for six weeks, after which they can be purchased at the ABC Shop.

Terrorism laws seminar - report

UTS’s Australian Centre for Independent Journalism (ACIJ) two hour seminar on the new terrorism laws in Sydney yesterday was introduced by Peter Manning who told the 50 odd participants the panel of three would concentrate on what the laws mean to reporting and quality of journalism.
Chris Nash spoke first saying none of the 80 pieces of relevant legislation in all Australian jurisdictions recognised the media’s role, or journalists. He contrasted this with the UK where Lord Carlisle’s annual reports on the Terrorism Act recognise the media’s important role in democracy. Nash said draconian didn’t quite capture the spirit of the Australian legislation which struck right at the heart of journalists and their sources. It targeted journalists and communities in Australian society - such as the anti-war movement - whose only voice was through the media. The newly amended ASIO act meant journalists could be monitored, eavesdropped, and brought in for questioning without being able to tell anyone about it. He said any well-informed journalists would become the object of ASIO forced questioning and as informants, no-one would trust journalists. Most journalists would run a mile to avoid becoming an ASIO informant. This would leave the communities they normally report isolated from the media. He said the new legislation was a fatal shot at the role of the media in democracy. It reduced journalists effectively to agents of the police.
Liz Jackson spoke eloquently of the difficulties of working under the existing legislation in her Four Corners days. She cited questioning warrants where people questioned on security matters must not tell anyone they have been questioned, under threat of jail. She spoke of the difficulty reporters have interviewing such people, and spoke of how similar restrictions under the new preventative detention and control order measures would be equally limiting.
Ian Baker QC spoke in legal and historical detail of the new rules on sedition, and how it was no longer necessary to prove intent, that words alone sufficed provided someone interpreted them as sedition. This could include criticism of government and the constitution. He said the law was now so degraded that people, including journalists, could be interrogated in secret by secret agents. He ended saying “We are on the edge of our own 21st century form of fascism.”
Discussion started with queries about where the use of Police Media Unit footage left reporters and subs? Peter Manning urged Alina Bain of Free TV Australia - an organisational name he had to explain - to lobby the government on the effects of the legislation. She said FreeTV had already prepared submissions - like the ABC and SBS and News, Fairfax etc. Wendy Bacon suggested the chilling effect of the new legislation would really take root, with reporters self-censoring, and matters not getting reported. She suggested networks and media houses prepare guidelines for reporters. Chris Nash said it was the smaller media - such as community, environment and religious reporters - who would be targeted by the security services, not the mainstream media.

The first draft of the bill is still available as a PDF from the ACT Chief Minister’s site.
Links to existing legislation
Parliamentary Library Digest of the Anti-terrorism Bill 2005 dated 3 November here.

My apology for the 18 hour delay in posting this report - Telstra was 'upgrading' my ADSL exchange.

News Xchange blog

Richard Sambrook has blogged a headline-ish report on this 10/11 November conference in Amsterdam. It is well worth reading.

ACS awards - QLD

The Australian Cinematographers Society Awards for Queensland will be announced in Brisbane tonight - including news and current affairs work.

Remembrance Day

Today is Remembrance Day - not Armistice Day - with ceremonies at most war memorials at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month.

Terrorism laws seminar

UTS’s Australian Centre for Independent Journalism (ACIJ) is hosting a seminar tomorrow morning, Friday 11 November 2005, to discuss the effect the new anti-terrorism laws will have on journalism in Australia. Liz Jackson of MediaWatch, Ian Baker QC, Chris Nash, and Peter Manning are speaking. Building 10, Level 6, Room 430, University of Technology, Sydney - enter at Wattle Street lifts, Broadway. 8 am start and ends about 10 am.

Gold Ladles awards

At South Australia’s biennial Tasting Australia festival last week the top media awards went to UK food, travel writer, and photographer Alastair Hendy who took out two gold Ladles. Also awarded a gold ladle for Best Food Journalist was Australian writer, John Newton. Other individual journalism awards went to UK writer Andrew Jefford for Best Drink Journalist and Australian John Lethlean for Best Restaurant Critic. Details here.

Health journalism awards

The pharmaceutical industry’s Excellence in Health Journalism Awards will be presented at the National Press Club in Canberra today by Professor Peter Doherty, who will speak on "The beginners guide to winning the Nobel Prize."

ACMA conference

The inaugural Broadcasting Conference of the federal government’s Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) is on in Canberra tomorrow Wednesday 9 November 2005, and Thursday.

Downer at press club

Alexander Downer, Minister of Foreign Affairs, is speaking at the National Press Club today.
Details here.

ACS awards - SA, WA, NT

The Australian Cinematographers Society’s state awards come out at a dinner in Adelaide tonight.

Medical writers meet

The 22nd Australasian Medical Writers Association annual two-day conference Bones of Contention gets under way in Canberra today.

Cartoonists meet

The Australian Cartoonists’ Association conference starts in the Blue Mountains today and finishes on Sunday. The Stanley Awards and a new award The Lindsays will be announced on Saturday night.

9/12/2005: The winners are here.

Ramadan ends

Eid al-Fitr - the breaking of the fast for Muslims - is today Thursday 3 November 2005 (calculation method) or tomorrow Friday 4 November 2005 (observation method) as the crescent moon has not been seen in Australia.

Highfield at U3A

John Highfield is speaking on My Years at the ABC and as a Foreign Correspondent at the University of the Third Age (U3A) in Sydney tomorrow. Should be an interesting talk, and some interesting questions.

Note: The U3A is now offering courses online.

PJR new edition

The new edition Vol 11 No 2 September 2005 of Pacific Journalism Review is out. It’s mostly media ethics with other articles and reviews of Australian interest.