Key facts
- Journalist Richard Guilliatt resigned from the Walkley awards judging board.
- His resignation followed the Walkley Foundation awarding a prize to journalist Nina Funnell.
- Funnell's reporting was critical of Guilliatt's podcast, 'Shadow of Doubt'.
- Guilliatt had filed complaints against Funnell's reporting, which were dismissed by the Foundation.
- Guilliatt stated the decision to award Funnell was indefensible.
Journalist Richard Guilliatt has resigned from the Walkley awards judging board after the Walkley Foundation dismissed complaints he made about a colleague's reporting and subsequently awarded a prize to that same journalist. Guilliatt stepped down on June 26, stating the Foundation's decision to award Nina Funnell, a freelance journalist, the Mid-Year Media Prize for her reporting on a sexual assault survivor was "indefensible."
Funnell's series of articles for news.com.au detailed allegations that Guilliatt's podcast, "Shadow of Doubt," for The Australian newspaper, had negatively impacted the survivor. The podcast reportedly interviewed the survivor's parents while they were in jail and suggested the case might be a "grave miscarriage of justice."
Guilliatt's complaints against Funnell's work alleged biased reporting and improper access to the survivor's counselling and psychiatric treatment notes. However, the Walkley Foundation, through CEO Shona Martyn, informed the complainants that the board could not make editorial assessments of individual judges' work and that no further action would be taken regarding Guilliatt's position.
Despite being satisfied with the decision not to take action against him, Guilliatt immediately tendered his resignation, expressing dismay that the prize was awarded to the reporting that had prompted his complaints. Funnell, however, maintained the accuracy of her reporting, stating no corrections were needed.
The survivor had previously expressed devastation that Guilliatt interviewed her parents for his podcast, particularly after her father received a lengthy sentence and convictions were upheld. She stated her privacy was compromised when The Australian accessed her sexual assault counselling notes, which had been subpoenaed during the trial. The Australian defended its actions as public interest journalism.