Three social justice journalism projects 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: the Northern Territory’s justice system, a national analysis of the youth justice system’s impact on Aboriginal youth, and Bougainville ‘s political, economic and diplomatic challenges 30 years after the civil war.

The 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 projects chosen as Michael Gordon Fellows are:

• Ruby Schwartz, The Age/Sydney Morning Herald: the legal crisis threatening to upend the Northern Territory’s justice system,

• Mike Bowers and Ben Doherty, Guardian Australia: Bougainville 30 years after the civil war,

• Jack Latimore, Scribner Australia: a narrative approach to a national exploration of how the youth justice system so often fails Aboriginal youth.

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. A strong list of applicants sought funding this year, underlining yet again the important role the Fellowships play in telling complex stories. 

Melbourne Press Club CEO Nick Richardson said the Fellowships’ unique role in supporting journalists and photographers to find time to explore important social justice issues was only becoming more valuable.

"We hear from mainstream media that these stories wouldn’t be told without the support the Fellowships provide: the time, the money and the affirmation that goes with securing the Fellowship helps deliver these compelling pieces of journalism," he said.

"The Melbourne Press Club is privileged to have custody of honouring Michael Gordon’s outstanding journalism with these Fellowships. The calibre of applicants – and the sustained quality of the journalism the successful applicants produce – is a huge endorsement of the program’s goals," he said.

Nick thanked the Fellowship supporters, the National Press Club, Robyn Carter and family and Nine for their on-going commitment.

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

The Michael Gordon Fellowships are generously supported by:

We are also grateful for the support of Robyn Carter.