ABOUT THE AWARD

The Graham Perkin Australian Journalist of the Year award recognises the most outstanding individual working in all media. It commemorates Graham Perkin, a legendary editor of The Age, who was at the forefront of modernising Australian journalism.

The winner will receive a $10,000 prize sponsored by The Age.

WHO IS ELIGIBLE?

The 50th Graham Perkin Australian Journalist of the Year is open to any Australian journalist whose work was published or broadcast in 2025. This includes reporters, feature writers, photographers, cartoonists, artists, camera operators, commentators or bloggers. It also includes editors/directors nominated for outstanding leadership and/or campaigning. The award is open to all media. Nominees may enter themselves or be nominated by their editors or colleagues. Journalists may nominate people from other news organisations. 

JUDGING CRITERIA

The independent judges are asked to look for journalism that is memorable, excellent and has impact. They are asked to reward work that is consistent with the journalism practised by Graham Perkin. They recognise the impact of a big breaking story or revelation but they also give weight to consistent achievement of a high standard.

It can be awarded for a single report or a series or a body of work. But volume alone will not win the award unless it has the prime qualities of being consistently excellent and memorable.

HOW TO ENTER 

Entries should include a statement of no more than 1,000 words summarising the work and achievements of the entrant and include a maximum of five examples of their work. For print and online journalism, PDFs of the work examples should be attached, or links to the online articles. For broadcast journalism, links should be provided to video or audio files. These links must be publicly available and downloadable without payment or subscription.

Enter now

Enquiries: entries@melbournepressclub.com or (03) 8080 3610.