paul lyneham award

Katharine Murphy of the Age wins 2008 Award!  Click here for press release.

Paul Lyneham was one of the finest journalists of his generation, with a distinguished career as a foreign correspondent and as a Canberra-based political analyst in radio, television and newspapers.

Born in Melbourne, he was a cadet journalist on The Australian and The Canberra Times. He joined the ABC in 1969 and spent the first half of the 1970s based in London. His coverage included Northern Ireland, the Ethiopian Famine and the Paris Peace Talks that formally ended the Vietnam War.

Then followed five years with Four Corners, making documentaries; in 1979 his report on the Utah Coal Company in Queensland was awarded a Logie.

In the early 1980s he returned to London to cover the Falklands War for the Seven Network; and later commuted between Canberra and the Philippines reporting on the plight of an Australian Catholic priest, Father Brian Gore, who had been wrongfully accused of murder. In Canberra he covered federal politics for the ABC’s 7.30 Report and then the Nine Network for almost sixteen years.

The Paul Lyneham Award For Excellence in Journalism for members of the Press Gallery has been set up as a memorial to Paul who died of cancer in November 2000. Its aim is to honour excellence in journalism with a $5000 annual prize. A perpetual trophy, designed by cartoonist Bruce Petty and inscribed with the name of each year’s winner, will be permanently displayed at the National Press Club.

 PAUL LYNEHAM AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE IN JOURNALISM FOR MEMBERS OF THE PRESS GALLERY.

2002  MATT PRICE                THE AUSTRALIAN
2003  TONY WALKER             AUSTRALIAN FINANCIAL REVIEW
2004  LAURA TINGLE             AUSTRALIAN FINANCIAL REVIEW
2005  PAUL DALEY                THE BULLETIN
2006  MARK RILEY                SEVEN NETWORK
2007  LENORE TAYLOR          AUSTRALIAN FINANCIAL REVIEW
2008  KATHARINE MURPHY    THE AGE