2020-21 Gordon Fellows Announced

The Melbourne Press Club is pleased to announce seven journalism projects will share nearly $27,000 in grants in the latest round of the Michael Gordon Journalism Fellowships program.

The successful projects cover a range of issues from the gendered impacts of COVID-19 to opposition to fracking in the Northern Territory. 

The national fellowships program aims to enable social justice journalism projects. It is named in memory of Michael Gordon, the respected former political editor of The Age newspaper who died suddenly in February 2018.


The 2020-21 Michael Gordon Fellows are:

  • Adam Carey – The Age  "Walking in two worlds: the Territory kids discovering a new school"
  • Saber Baluch and Gavin Blyth  SBS Insight – "From War to Wagga"
  • Anna Henderson  ABC News – The Battle to ensure hard won Native Title rights
  • Timna Jacks  The Age – "No Dirty Gas Projects" - Fracking in the NT
  • Danielle Kutchel  Star News Group  Disability issues among migrant communities in Melbourne (Read: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4)
  • Benjamin Silvester – The Citizen/The Junction – Remote housing in the NT
  • Kristine Ziwica  The Saturday Paper – Covid-19 and women's economic security (Read Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4)


The selection panel included former ABC and Sky News journalist Jim MiddletonGuardian Australia Indigenous affairs editor Lorena Allam and former Fairfax Books managing editor Robyn Carter.

Melbourne Press Club CEO Cathy Bryson said the response to this round illustrated the need for the program.

“The club received a record number of applications from around the country, each of high quality. We are proud to be able to support talented Australian journalists to pursue important projects in these challenging times and we thank our supporters for enabling the program to continue.”

The Michael Gordon Journalism Fellowships are supported by the Copyright Agency Cultural Fund, the National Press Club of Australia, Nine, and Robyn Carter.

Apply to join the Melbourne Press Club

Membership is $100 for journalists, $150 for associate members and $40 for students.

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