The Walkley Foundation - The Walkley Foundation

Our platinum partner

Why supporting Australian journalism is so important

Encouraging excellence

The Walkley Awards are the pinnacle of achievement for any Australian journalist. With a rich 70-year history, the Walkley Awards now include 30 categories across all platforms, peer-judged with a two-tier process. No matter their era, Walkley Award-winning stories have always chronicled Australia’s history, people and events.

The Walkley Foundation also runs and administers honours that benchmark excellence for freelance journalists, women’s leadership in media, industrial reporting, arts journalism and criticism, and more.

Encouraging excellence

The Walkley Awards are the pinnacle of achievement for any Australian journalist. With a rich 70-year history, the Walkley Awards now include 30 categories across all platforms, peer-judged with a two-tier process. No matter their era, Walkley Award-winning stories have always chronicled Australia’s history, people and events.

The Walkley Foundation also runs and administers honours that benchmark excellence for freelance journalists, women’s leadership in media, industrial reporting, arts journalism and criticism, and more.

Our history

The first Walkley Awards were presented in 1956 by Sir William Gaston Walkley. The Walkley Foundation for Excellence in Journalism was established to carry on his legacy through the annual Walkley Awards, a celebration of the best Australian Journalism.

Our history

The first Walkley Awards were presented in 1956 by Sir William Gaston Walkley. The Walkley Foundation for Excellence in Journalism was established to carry on his legacy through the annual Walkley Awards, a celebration of the best Australian Journalism.

Professional Development

The Walkley Foundation provides professional development programs for journalists from across the industry. We want to help journalists of all experience levels and backgrounds to develop their skills, build contacts and have access to new opportunities that will support them as they hone their craft.

Professional Development

The Walkley Foundation provides professional development programs for journalists from across the industry. We want to help journalists of all experience levels and backgrounds to develop their skills, build contacts and have access to new opportunities that will support them as they hone their craft.

Support and Value journalism

The Walkley Foundation supports Australian journalism through offering scholarships, fellowships, mentoring, training and grants. We’re also building a digital archive of seven decades of Walkley-winning journalism as a resource for journalists, students, and the public. Bringing the first draft of history to life!

We’ve got an important role to play in helping all Australians understand why great journalism makes life better, safer and fairer for all of us. We’re spreading the word by giving the best journalists a platform at public events and festivals, through The Walkley Magazine, our newsletter and our podcast.

How we do it

The Walkley Foundation is a not-for-profit organisation and relies on support from corporate organisations, tertiary institutions, government, foundations and individuals to develop a wide range of programs including providing scholarships, offering grants and developing tools for increased digital media literacy.

If you would like to join us in building a news ecosystem that is thorough, far-reaching and trusted for today and for future Australians, consider partnering with us or making a donation today.

"It’s a great privilege to acknowledge and celebrate the best of Australian journalism. It is a hugely rewarding profession, and there aren’t too many jobs that can make democracy stronger, society fairer and lives richer. Speaking truth to power we must. Only by shining a light do things change."

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