Four new projects of social justice journalism will be undertaken in the coming year after the Melbourne Press Club announced the latest recipients of the Michael Gordon Journalism Fellowships.

This round’s successful projects cover a range of issues, from the environment, to sport, with a strong focus on Indigenous Australians.

Our national fellowships program supports social justice journalism by funding projects newsrooms might not have the resources to cover. The Fellowships commemorate Michael Gordon, the respected former political editor of The Age newspaper who died suddenly in February 2018.

The four projects chosen as 2023-24 Michael Gordon Fellows are:

• Charlotte Grieve and Simone Fox Koob, The Age/The Sydney Morning Herald – Carbon on Country: the carbon industry and Indigenous communities.
• Justin McManus, The Age – Jarrdimba Bayamuku: Strengthening the Children Program, in the Northern Territory
• Holly Nott, AAP – Solomon Islands: spotlight on regional democracy (election coverage 2024)
• Kasey Symons and Alison Smirnoff, Siren Sport and ABC Sport – How former Diamond Finnan-White is changing the game for Indigenous netballers.

The selection panel was former ABC and Sky News journalist Jim Middleton, Guardian Australia Indigenous affairs editor Lorena Allam, and former Fairfax Books managing editor Robyn Carter.

Melbourne Press Club CEO Nick Richardson said the Fellowships provided a unique contribution to Australian journalism, and the strong field of applicants from across the country showed how important it was to support social justice journalism.

"The Melbourne Press Club is proud to help Australian journalists pursue important projects and shine a spotlight on issues that resonate across the country and our region," he said.

"We thank our supporters, Copyright Agency Fund, the National Press Club, Robyn Carter and Family and Nine for enabling this program to support the telling of important stories."

"We thank everyone who applied and extend our congratulations to this year’s Michael Gordon Fellowship recipients."