Reporting duo take top awards
31.08.2009
SENIOR reporter Michael McKenna has been named 2009 Journalist of the Year in Queensland, capping a strong showing by The Australian in the state media awards.
McKenna also took out best print news report for his expose of the misuse of taser stun devices by the Queensland police and was co-winner in the best sports report category with Dan Koch, also of The Australian's Brisbane bureau.
The judging panel praised McKenna's courage and persistence in taking on the Queensland police about the misuse of the weapon on an unarmed 16-year-old girl, which led to new policy and training in the use of tasers. He later revealed that north Queensland man Antonio Galeano -- who died after being shocked with the weapon -- had been shot up to 28 times, contradicting initial police claims that the taser had been fired only three times.
McKenna and Koch were lauded for breaking the story on the sexual assault probe into players with the Brisbane Broncos National Rugby League team, and also revealing the unprofessionalism of some of them during last year's finals campaign.
Koch was praised for being fearless in his reporting on players, with whom he regularly dealt as a rugby league writer.
McKenna, 40, is a former member of the Canberra press gallery and US correspondent for News Limited papers. He worked for several years as a London-based reporter on British newspapers and became national political correspondent for Brisbane's Courier-Mail, reporting from Canberra for three years.
After working as deputy chief of staff on The Courier-Mail, he took up a posting in Los Angeles for News Limited.
Since settling in Brisbane in 2004, he has worked as a senior reporter for The Australian, reporting on crime, corruption and politics, as well as covering major events in the Pacific and Southeast Asia.
Others winners in the Queensland Media Awards included late ABC TV chief-of-staff Albert Asbury, who was honoured posthumously with the award of most outstanding contribution to journalism.
Amanda Watt, a writer with The Courier-Mail's Qweekend magazine, took out two awards.
Courier-Mail business reporter Liam Walsh received an award for his coverage of the collapse of the ABC Learning childcare business.
