A new national award recognising the achievements of a pioneering female Australian journalist will be the centrepiece of the 30th anniversary Quill Awards celebration in March.
The new award, for international reporting, is named after Jana Wendt, one of Australia’s most respected journalists, whose significant career was built on a deep understanding of national and international issues, combined with an astute and insightful interviewing style. She worked for Australia’s three commercial television networks and SBS, frequently travelling overseas to report on international stories with global audiences.
Melbourne Press Club president Michael Bachelard said: “This award is a significant update to the Quills. Journalism conducted outside Australia’s borders is crucial to our understanding of the world, and I’m delighted that the Melbourne Press Club has elected to name it after one of Australia’s best-known journalists, Jana Wendt.’’
“I hope this award encourages our newsrooms to look beyond the immediate horizon and rewards the journalists who do this important work.’’
The Jana Wendt Award for International Reporting joins the Melbourne Press Club’s other national awards – the Graham Perkin Australian Journalist of The Year award and the Harry Gordon Australian Sports Journalist of The Year award.
The new award will be supported for the next three years by Qantas Group.
Qantas International CEO Cam Wallace said great journalism was central to Australia’s place in the world and in communicating a deeper understanding of what was happening around the globe.
Jana Wendt expressed her gratitude at being associated with the new award.
“I am delighted that the Quills have chosen to establish a special award recognising the work of journalists reporting from beyond Australia’s borders,’’ she said.
“A foreign story makes high demands of the storyteller—and not only because the task is to bring to life the unfamiliar for a home audience. The work can be both thrilling and enervating. The practical job of navigating foreign environments and bureaucracies demands patience, vigilance, and savvy. For reporters in conflict zones, the risks are acute. But the journalist’s core challenge, always, is to deepen our understanding of the world.
“I am very grateful, and humbled, that the Melbourne Press Club has granted me the honour of association with this significant new award.’’
The announcement of the new award also marks the formal opening of the Quill Awards, with the presentation ceremony for the 30th anniversary event to be at Melbourne’s Crown Palladium on Friday, March 21.
The Press Club consulted members and its board to identify a journalist with a reputation for international reporting whose name would grace the award, and Jana emerged as the leading candidate. Jana is already a member of the Australian Media Hall of Fame.
Cam Wallace said that with Qantas operating flights to 34 international destinations on every inhabited continent, there were few major global events that did not impact the business in some way.
“Whether its conflict in Ukraine or the Middle East impacting global aviation, knowing what is happening in the world around us is key to our ability to safely connect Australia to the world,’’ he said.
“Great journalism is central to that. It gives us a deeper understanding of what’s happening around us, and Australia’s place in the world. That’s why we’re very proud to be the inaugural sponsor of the Jana Wendt Award for International Reporting to help recognise and celebrate the best of Australian journalism.”
This award carries an $8,000 prize.
