SA Media AwardsINDEPENDENT REPORTER NAMED SA'S JOURNALIST OF THE YEAR
The Independent Weekly's Hendrik Gout has been named South Australian Journalist of the Year at the sixth
annual SA Media Ball at the Festival Centre Banquet Room on Saturday, April 4.
In front of 300 of his peers, Gout was recognised for his outstanding body of
investigative, news and feature reporting in the 2008 calendar year.
Gout had been honoured earlier in the night as Best Print Journalist and also
picked up the Best Three Headings award for his clever headlines in The Independent Weekly.
The judges commended Gout's trademark thorough, tough but fair approach to reporting,
calling his writing "incisive and evocative". The award was announced by last
year's Journalist of the Year Michael Sexton, of the ABC.
The ABC's Ian Henschke was named Best TV Broadcaster, while Peter Goers, of 891 ABC Adelaide, won his second consecutive award as Best Radio Broadcaster. Pia Akerman, of
The Australian was named Young Journalist of the Year.
Two trailblazers of South Australian journalism were also inducted into the SA
Media Hall of Fame. The Independant Weekly columnist Don Riddell, who was editor-in-chief of The Advertiser from 1975-1985 and ADS7's first news editor in 1959, and Pat Dunstan, former
women's reporter and editor at The News, The Advertiser and Sunday Mail, join earlier inductees Stewart Cockburn, Max Fatchen, Des Colquhoun, and the
late Kevin Crease, John Doherty and Michael Atchison on the Hall of Fame honour
board.
More than 30 bronze, silver and gold awards were presented at this year's SA
Media Awards, with winners coming from a wide range of media outlets, including
Messenger Community News, The Australian, Kangaroo Island's The Islander newspaper, The Independent Weekly, The Advertiser, the Sunday Mail, Channel 9 and Channel 7.
2009 Journalist of the Year, Hendrik Gout of Hall of Fame winners Patricia Dunstan
The Independent Weekly accepting his award from and Don Riddell.
Patrizia Furlan of the University of South Australia.