Seven West Media dominates winners’ list at WA Media Awards 2025

Seven West Media journalists have reaffirmed their standing among the State’s best, delivering a stellar performance at this year’s WA Media Awards.

Showcasing the newsroom’s storytelling prowess, the SWM team dominated with 13 awards across multiple categories — and for the third straight year, The West Australian took home Best News Photograph.

The West Australian’s state political editor, Jessica Page, took home The Beck Prize for her detailed reporting about challenges to Libby Mettam’s liberal leadership.

The prize for the best medical report went to The West Australian’s John Flint. His series in The Sunday Times detailed malpractice in the dental industry that forced the Australian taxation office and health regulators to clamp down on loopholes that allowed patients to use their superannuation for non-urgent dental work.

The Multimedia News prize was awarded to The West Australian’s head of digital production, Natalie Bonjolo, and chief reporter Ben Harvey for their true crime investigative podcast series about the 1999 disappearance of Kalgoorlie woman Lisa Govan – whose body is yet to be found.

The West Australian photographer Ross Swanborough won best news photograph for his heart-wrenching photographs of mourners at the site of fatal car accident in Murdoch.

The Geraldton Guardian’s Stuart Quinn claimed the top honour for regional photography.

SWM journalists swept three of the four text format categories — chief sub-editor Paul Barry scored Best Headline with “Cocaine, Knobs, and a Kick Up the Rs”; political reporter Caitlyn Rintoul won Best News Report for her hard-hitting investigation into WA’s Failing Violence Support Systems; and PerthNow news editor Justin Bianchini took out the Suburban category with his powerful feature series, Domestic Crisis & Carn West.

The West Australian’s former legal affairs editor Tim Clarke was recognised with the prestigious Clarion Award for Outstanding Contribution to Journalism.

7News Perth political editor Geof Parry took out Best News Reporting for his coverage of the NicheLiving saga, while cameraman Christian Rudd won for his standout vision on the same story.

The Best Video Feature went to 7News reporters Nick Overall and Simon Hydzik, whose investigation exposed the secrets of Perth’s alleged Shincheonji cult.

Parry was also named co-winner, alongside the ABC’s Alicia Hanson and Nadia Mitsopoulos, as West Australian Journalists of the Year for their reporting on the NicheLiving scandal.