Journalism students from the University of Melbourne and the University of Technology Sydney are the 2021 finalists in Democracy’s Watchdogs’ award for investigative reporting.

Winner of the $1000 and trophy first prize will be announced on December 10.

Congratulations to Vanessa Di Natale and Petra Stock from the University of Melbourne and Stephanie Tran from the University of Technology Sydney. Their stories, in the print/online category, drew strong praise from the judges for their originality, news value, the use of investigative tools and approaches and their clear writing.

The award attracted only one entry in the video/ audio category so it was decided that the $1000 prize in that category would be split between the two highly commended student journalists in the print/online category. The runners-up will also receive a certificate.

A big thank you to all the students who entered this award. The judges found the standard very high and encourage students to enter their best work in next year’s awards.

Read the finalists’ stories and the judges’ comments: https://democracyswatchdogs.org/2021-student-awards

Dr Bill Birnbauer,

CEO, Democracy’s Watchdogs