Journalist resigns from Walkley awards board after critic wins reporting prize

A journalist resigned from the Walkley awards judging board after the Walkley Foundation awarded a prize to reporting that criticized his podcast. The resignation came after the foundation dismissed complaints about the podcast and then awarded a mid-year Walkley prize for freelance journalist of the year to the reporter whose articles examined the podcast.

The articles reported that the podcast interviewed the parents of an abuse survivor while they were in jail. The survivor said the interviews devastated her because her father had received a 48-year sentence.

Podcast and complaints The podcast series, titled Shadow of Doubt, suggested the criminal case could be a miscarriage of justice. Complaints submitted after the articles alleged the podcast accessed the survivor's counselling and psychiatric treatment notes.

The foundation told complainants it was not in a position to make editorial assessments about the journalism of individual judges and took no further action. The journalist who resigned said the prize decision was indefensible and submitted his resignation in a letter dated June 26.

Survivor statements The survivor told the reporter that her privacy was shattered after the podcast accessed notes subpoenaed during the trial. The newspaper that published the podcast has defended the access as public interest journalism. The foundation confirmed the resignation but did not elaborate on the decision.

The survivor broke her silence about the podcast almost four months before the resignation.