NIGHT OF NIGHTS WINNERS – THE KENNEDY AWARDS
Once again, the ballroom of the Royal Randwick Racecourse rang with applause from over 400 attendees celebrating the winners of the 2026 Kennedy Awards for Outstanding Journalism across 37 different journalistic categories.
This year’s entries were another record and revealed a terrific breadth of quality, professionalism and content variety.
“It’s been another bumper year for excellent Australian journalism, and there’s no greater honour than to receive a Kennedy for your work. The Kennedy Foundation is extremely proud of its support for those endeavours that are essential to an informed and vital democracy. It was such a great night, especially seeing the joy of the winners of our scholarship program for young aspiring journalists.” - Foundation Chairperson, Carl Dumbrell.
As our society becomes increasingly unhappy with the behaviour of some of our corporate citizens, it’s fitting that Edmund Tadros and Hannah Wootton of the Financial Review have won the coveted Journalist of the Year for their ‘KPMG Audit Leaks Scandal’.
While Scoop of the Year went to Cassie Zervos -Seven News for ‘Dezi Freeman Found’.
Another category at the heart of the values of these awards and the Kennedy Foundation is Team Player or Mentor, and this year it went to Sarah Stinson - Director of Morning Television - Seven Network.
The Foundation's award for Lifetime Achievement went to legendary Western Australian journalist, editor and publisher, Bret Christian OAM.
Important awards were won across the media spectrum.
The Daily Telegraph’s excellent reporters, Mark Moori and Josh Hanarahan, again won the Les Kennedy Award for Outstanding Crime Reporting for their ‘Bondi Terror Coverage’.
News24’s Sharri Markson walked away with two awards, Outstanding Nightly Television Current Affairs Reporting and Outstanding Television News Reporting for her work on the Bondi Terror Attack.
The ABC team of Adele Ferguson, Chris Gillett and Jade Toomey deservedly won the gong for Outstanding Consumer Affairs with ‘Australia's Childcare Crisis’ - Four Corners – ABC.
The Sydney Morning Herald won five awards, including Jane Cadzow for ‘In the Box Seat’ - Good Weekend
While The Daily Mail photographer, Banjo McLachlan, won The Power of the Lens: People’s Choice Award for ‘Documenting the Unthinkable: Coming face-to-face with the Bondi Beach terrorists.’
The work that the Kennedy Foundation is most proud of is its support of young aspiring journalists.
So, our congratulations to Student Journalist of the Year, Ava Cashmore from Monash University for her Body of Work and Young Journalist of the Year Risa Utama for “Profits before patients and wilful neglect”: the Calvary Mater Hospital scandal uncovered - NBN News
The Kennedy Foundation and its Foundation partner NRMA are proud supporters of two scholarship opportunities. Each offers a 12-week paid intensive internship with media houses Seven Network and Nine News.
This year’s winners are: 7News Scholarship - Mia Cutugno - RMIT University and 9News Scholarship- Samoda Silva - Adelaide University.
It was a huge night where only the very best would do. Our congratulations to all the winners and the finalists.
Kennedy Foundation: Anna Magnus - 0423 363 725/ David Margan-0407 637 181
2026 Kennedy Awards Winners
ALL MEDIA
2026 Kennedy Journalist of the Year
• Edmund Tadros and Hannah Wootton - KPMG audit leaks scandal - The Australian Financial Review
Indigenous Affairs Reporting
· Karla Grant, Gary Cox, Gerard Phelan and Bianca Schneller - Living Black - Deaths in Custody - NITV (CH34), SBS One (CH30), SBS On Demand
Outstanding Cartoon
· Matt Golding - Playing Trump -The Sydney Morning Herald
Outstanding Consumer Affairs
· Adele Ferguson, Chris Gillett and Jade Toomey - Australia's childcare crisis - Four Corners - ABC
Outstanding Court and Legal Affairs Reporting
· Nina Funnell and Gavin Fernando - Keep Counselling Confidential - news.com.au
Outstanding Crime Reporting
· Josh Hanrahan and Mark Morri - Bondi Terror Coverage - The Daily Telegraph; www.dailytelegraph.com.au
Outstanding Finance Reporting
· Edmund Tadros and Hannah Wootton - KPMG audit leaks scandal - The Australian Financial Review
Outstanding Foreign Correspondent
· Meghna Bali, Som Patidar and Haidarr Jones - Inside Taliban Afghanistan - ABC International, ABC TV, iView, YouTube, ABC Online
Outstanding Investigative Reporting
· Sean Rubinsztein-Dunlop and Kyle Taylor - Reawakening: Investigating the resurgence of ISIS and the Bondi attack - ABC News
Outstanding Digital News Breaking
· The Daily Telegraph Team - Live digital coverage of Bondi terror attack - The Daily Telegraph
Outstanding Political Reporting
· James O'Doherty, James Willis and Madeleine Bower - Mark of Depravity - The Daily Telegraph
Outstanding Racing Coverage
· Adam Pengilly - The dynasty, the tragedy and the triumph of one spring - Idol Horse
Outstanding Reporting on Human Rights, Social or Religious Affairs
· Alison Sandy, Marc Wright, Cassie Woodward, Jason Blandford and Katrina Blowers - Kiss & Kill - Seven Network and YouTube
Outstanding Reporting on Climate and the Environment
· Josh Robertson, Michael Slezak, Jack Fisher, Mark Doman and Angela Heathcote - The Big Leak - ABC News
Outstanding Sport Reporting
· Chris Barrett - NRL's top ref had $400k gambling problem – The Sydney Morning Herald
Outstanding Three Headlines
· Michael Ruffles – ‘Justice is served’, ‘Prince to Pariah’ and ‘The lying, the Ferrari wish and $400,000 in cash in the wardrobe’ - The Sydney Morning Herald
Scoop of the Year
· Cassie Zervos - Dezi Freeman found - 7 News
Regional Broadcast Reporting
· Risa Utama – “Profits before patients and wilful neglect”: the Calvary Mater Hospital scandal uncovered - NBN News
Student Journalist of the Year
· Ava Cashmore - Body of Work - Monash University
Young Journalist of The Year
· Risa Utama- “Profits before patients and wilful neglect”: the Calvary Mater Hospital scandal uncovered - NBN News
Outstanding Team Player or Mentor
· Sarah Stinson - Director of Morning Television - Seven Network
The Lifetime Achievement Award
· Bret Christian OAM
PRINT/TEXT
Outstanding Columnist
· John Silvester - Naked City - The Age
Outstanding Feature Writing
· Jane Cadzow - In The Box Seat - Good Weekend -The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age
Outstanding Travel Writing
· Fiona Carruthers - Ride of a Lifetime - The Australian
Outstanding Digital Innovation
· Bondi Attack Video Timeline Team - This is what 84 cameras reveal about the Bondi attack - ABC News
Regional Reporting Print and Digital
· Donna Page - Newcastle real estate boss charged with sex offences - Newcastle Herald
TELEVISION/VIDEO
Outstanding News Camera Coverage
· Nicholas Castellaro - Bondi Shooting Raw Vision - 7 Network
Outstanding Nightly Television Current Affairs Reporting
· Sharri Markson - Bondi Terror Attack - News24
Outstanding Television Current Affairs Reporting - Long Form
· Michael Usher, Gemma Williams, Phil Goyen and Ben Fogarty - Face to Face with My Children's Killer – Spotlight, Seven Network
Outstanding Television News Reporting
· Sharri Markson - Bondi Terror Attack - News24
Outstanding Documentary
· Bondi Light over Darkness Team - Bondi: Light over Darkness - Four Corners -ABC
AUDIO JOURNALISM
Outstanding Podcast
· Andy Burns and Charlotte King - Hometown Boys - ABC Regional Investigations and Background Briefing
Outstanding Radio News and Current Affairs
· Mark Levy, Ben Fordham and Will Bottom - 2GB Breaking News: Terror at Bondi Beach - 2GB,3AW, 4BC,6PR - Tapt Media
PHOTOGRAPHY
Outstanding News Photography
· Edwina Pickles - Bondi Beach Terror Attack - The Sydney Morning Herald
Outstanding Portrait Photography
· Nic Walker - Body of Work - Culture: The Australian
Outstanding Sports Photography
· Darrian Traynor – Coco - Getty Images
The Power of the Lens: People’s Choice Award
· Banjo McLachlan - Documenting the Unthinkable: Coming face-to-face with the Bondi Beach terrorists - Daily Mail
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2026 Kennedy Scholarship Winners
7News
Mia Cutugno - RMIT University
9News
Samoda Silva - Adelaide University
Media Enquiries: David Margan - 0407 637 181
Kennedy Foundation: Anna Magnus - 0423 363 725