Walkleys for familiar FOI names

Walkleys 1965

Congratulations to all the Walkley Awards for Journalism winners, particularly to Steve Pennells who won the Gold Walkley and two other awards for his news and feature articles in The West Australian newspaper on the Rineharts.

And especially to these sharp 'freedom of information' as well as top journalism practitioners:
 
Television reporting
Michael McKinnon and colleagues Sharri Markson, Lee Jeloscek, and Adam Walters at Seven News, Seven Network for “The cabinet leak” (a NSW story from memory. Update-
stories that revealed the NSW Government went against advice from Treasury, the Energy department and even the Crown Solicitor to support ethanol blended petrol – a decision which favoured one of its biggest donors Dick Honan of Manildra. A GIPA success -McKinnon tells me it was "a leak backed up by some great NSW treasury docs." "One week after the primary story went to air on January 23, Premier Barry O’Farrell overturned the ban on regular unleaded fuel in his first major backflip."

Business Journalism
Nick McKenzie and Richard Baker, 7.30, ABC TV and The Age, Fairfax, “RBA faces questions over bribery connections” (who forged on despite this sort of FOI runaround).

Investigative Journalism
Linton Besser and Kate McClymont, The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age, “Exposed: Obeids’ secret harbour deal” (the first step in a shocking story now unfolding before the ICAC).

Television Current Affairs, Feature or Special
Geoff Thompson (who recounted  recently at the National Information Law Conference the story about the remarkable FOI backdrop to the School for Killers) and Mary Ann Jolley and Mary Fallon, Four Corners, ABC TV, “Unholy silence” 

On the related topic of transparency and reuse of data, the combined forces at the SMH and the University of Technology Sydney team that did some innovative work on the Register of Interests (don't call Senator Faulkner for a soundbite):
Best Digital Journalism
Stuart Washington, Tom Allard, Conrad Walters and UTS Team, The Sydney Morning Herald, “Sky’s the limit on political gifts

And completely off-subject, you just have to love the NT news winner of the Award for Best Three Headings to Paul Dyer, for “Eyeful tower”, “Dogs of phwoarrr!” and 

“Why I stuck a cracker up my clacker.”

As to what appeared below that headline, good taste dictates we don't go there.