The NT Independent has won Best News Coverage at the 2022 NT Media Awards for the second year in a row.

The awards, organised by the Media and Entertainment Arts Alliance, the Walkley Foundation and the Darwin Press Club, were judged by a panel of journalists and editors from major media outlets across the country.

Editor Christopher Walsh won the Best News Coverage (print/text) award, beating out stiff competition in The Australian and the ABC for his series on the Department of Chief Minister’s procurement scandal that was not properly investigated by the ICAC.

“Christopher Walsh’s skills as an investigative journalist and his determination to hold the Government to account are both well demonstrated in ‘Watching the Watchdog’,” the judges said.

“The judges would like to acknowledge that he works with limited resources and is actively blocked from access to the Northern Territory Government, which makes the work he produces all the more impressive.”

It’s the third overall award for the NT Independent that started publishing in March 2020, and follows last year’s Best News Coverage and Best Crime Reporting gongs.

The NT Independent was also nominated this year for Best Crime Reporting, but lost to a conglomerate made up of several Sky News and The Australian journalists.

Walsh referenced the Fyles Government’s ongoing ban on the NT Independent when accepting the Best News Coverage award, saying “how many more of these do we have to win before we get an invitation to a government press conference?”

The ongoing ban has been widely condemned by journalist groups across the world.

For the second year in a row, no Labor ministers attended the event. Opposition CLP Leader Lia Finocchiaro was in attendance but Darwin Mayor Kon Vatskalis was also a no-show.

The nominations were dominated by ABC Darwin and Alice Springs, with Hugo Rickard-Bell taking out Young Journalist of the Year and Alice Springs-based reporter Samantha Jonscher winning Journalist of the Year.

FULL LIST OF WINNERS OF THE 2022 NT MEDIA AWARDS:

PRINT/TEXT

Best News Coverage Supported by Media Super

• Christopher Walsh, NT Independent, “Watching the watchdog: Dept of Chief Minister procurement scandal revealed”

Best Feature Writing Supported by ABC

•  Matt Garrick, ABC, “Healing a Scarred Land“

Best Magazine or Lift Out Supported by Judith Neilson Institute

•  Off the Leash, Off the Leash Magazine

TELEVISION/RADIO

Best News Coverage Supported by Nine

• Jesse Thompson, ABC, “The trouble in the Top End homes”

Best Current Affairs or Feature Supported by Judith Neilson Institute

•  Jane Bardon and Chris Dengate, ABC, “The Gap”

Excellence in Radio Broadcasting Supported by Media Super

•  Lauren Roberts and Natasha Mitchell, ABC, “Medicine Listen Up!”

ALL MEDIA

Best Online Coverage Supported by City of Darwin

•  Samantha Jonscher, ABC, “Singleton Station water licence”

Best Sports Journalism Supported by Judith Neilson Institute

•  Myles Houlbrook-Walk, ABC, “Body of Work”

Best Crime/Court Reporting Supported by Hutton McCarthy

• Kristin Shorten, Matt Cunningham, Lia Tsamoglou and Claire Harvey, The Australian and Sky News, “Yuendumu: The Trial”

Pete Davies Memorial Campaigning Journalism Award Supported by NT News

• (A)manda Parkinson and Zizi Averill, NT News, “Spit Hood Scandal: The cops still using them on kids”

Indigenous Affairs Reporting Supported by Northern Land Council

•  Lauren Roberts and Emma Vincent, ABC, “Birthing on Yolngu Country”

Visual Storytelling Supported by MEAA

•  Che Chorley and Steve Vivian, ABC, “Out of Sight”

Marchbanks Young Journalist of the Year 2022 Supported by MEAA

•   Hugo Rickard-Bell, ABC, “Body of Work”

Journalist/Photojournalist of the Year 2022 Supported by MEAA

•  Samantha Jonscher, ABC, “Singleton Station water licence”

Judges’ comments: Samantha Jonscher’s in-depth reporting on water rights in central Australia was empowering, enlightening and informative, shining a light on the fight over water use in the Northern Territory. Her extensive coverage, including original photography, has given a voice to traditional owners in remote communities, providing the public with a better understanding of complex issues relating to water, land rights, and climate change.