Women in Media is delighted to announce Jessica Klein as the winner of the Caroline Jones Women in Media Young Journalist’s Award for 2024.
Jessica is a reporter with News Corp Australia, working within the regional news team, covering the Southern Downs and Granite Belt region on Queensland’s southern border. An early-career journalist, Jessica’s winning portfolio of work focused on a series of social justice articles tackling domestic violence, homelessness and hospice care for the elderly. While her stories relate to specific regional communities, her themes have national relevance, and her work reflected her strong commitment to giving voice to the voiceless.
Savannah Pocock, who writes for the Byron Shire News, entered a strong selection of stories which have been highly recommended by the judges. Her work looked at legal responses to domestic violence and sexual-based violence against women as well as homelessness and poverty in the Byron Shire.
The Caroline Jones Women in Media Young Journalist’s Award recognises tenacity and passion for the craft of journalism from young women working across rural and regional Australia. It is run with the support of the National Press Club of Australia and Bond University.
This year’s judges included Women in Media national board member Danielle Cronin, former Women in Media national co-convener Cath Webber and Women in Media Canberra convenor Emma Macdonald.
Cath said: “The late Caroline Jones would have been so proud of the high calibre of entries from across Australia. The entrants’ work covered a diverse range of topics of importance to their rural and regional areas, yet of great national interest.”
Of Jessica’s winning entry, Danielle said: “It is impressive to see an early-career journalist exploring important social justice issues, including domestic and family violence, rental affordability, and aged care, through a regional lens. It is clear from reading her stories that Jessica is a talented reporter who should benefit greatly from this award.”
Cath said:
“Jessica’s storytelling is solid and has heart, which is critical when hoping to prompt difficult conversations in smaller communities in the hope of effecting change. It is incredibly exciting to see work of this calibre from such an early-career journalist!”
Danielle described Savannah as “a promising regional reporter who should be commended for tackling topics such as homelessness, and domestic and family violence. Her feature on the latter combined a strong local voice and national context, with data visualisations.”
Now in its eighth year, the award is the first of its kind in encouraging young female rural and regional journalists to experience first-hand the complexities of the media and political landscape across the nation’s capital.
Learn more about the Caroline Jones Women in Media Young Journalist’s Award here.