Matt Brown wins the 2017 Lowy Institute Media Award
The Lowy Institute is delighted to announce Matt Brown as the winner of the 2017 Lowy Institute Media Award. The announcement was made at the Institute’s Media Award dinner on Saturday, 23 September at NSW Parliament House.
Brown, who is Middle East Correspondent at the ABC, was awarded for his coverage of the effort to retake Mosul from Islamic State, including his reportage ‘Highway to Hell’ that aired on Four Corners in February 2017.
He received a $20,000 cash prize, one of the richest in Australian journalism. The award was presented at the dinner by Her Excellency Menna Rawlings CMG, British High Commissioner to Australia.
Dr Michael Fulllilove, Executive Director of the Lowy Institute, said “We believe it is profoundly in Australia’s national interest to have Australian journalists reporting on and analysing world events. And we are delighted to recognise outstanding Australian foreign coverage of the calibre of Matt Brown’s reporting from the Middle East.”
Now in its in fifth year, the Lowy Institute Media Award recognises excellence in Australian foreign affairs journalism. The award is presented to an Australian journalist (or journalistic team), who has deepened the knowledge and discussion of international policy issues in Australia. Previous Media Award winners are John Garnaut of Fairfax Media (2013), Hayden Cooper of ABC (2014), Paul Maley of The Australian (2015), and Jewel Topsfield of Fairfax Media (2016).
This year’s other nominees were Sophie McNeill (ABC), Cameron Stewart (The Australian), Eric Tlozek (ABC), the Fairfax/ABC Four Corners investigative team, and Guardian Australia.
The judging panel for the 2017 Media Award comprised: Dr Jeannine Baker, media historian and author; Menna Rawlings, British High Commissioner to Australia; Mark Ryan, Lowy Institute Board Member; Tom Switzer, ABC Radio National presenter and Research Fellow at the Centre for Independent Studies and Dr Michael Fullilove, Executive Director of the Lowy Institute.