It’s been a bumper year at the Melbourne Press Club, built around our annual highlight, the Quill awards, which again saw more than 500 of Melbourne’s media industry celebrate the best of Victorian journalism.

Overall, we had fewer events this year than last, but our average attendance was significantly up on 2022. Our Edit program for young and emerging journalists continues to grow and we held our inaugural Battle of the Newsrooms Trivia Night, which will become an annual competition for bragging rights. (Look out, The Age!)

This year, we also introduced a monthly members’ newsletter that provided news, the latest research on journalism as well as job opportunities. We also launched our new podcast series, Have You Heard The News?, that features interviews with prominent Melburnians reflecting on the first news story they remember. The newsletter and the podcast will be back next year.

Our mentoring program is in its seventh year, and we had a record number of applications. The willingness from our members and colleagues to be mentors is a great affirmation of just how engaged we are with supporting aspiring and emerging journalists.

Once again, the Michael Gordon Fellowships produced some extraordinary work and the recipients of the 2023-24 Fellowships were drawn from a strong field of compelling ideas. We look forward to seeing the results of their journalism next year.

We would like to thank our partners and sponsors, who have been on the journey with us this year, through some difficult economic times.

And thank you to all our members for your support and engagement. We’ve got some exciting plans for 2024, which we look forward to sharing with you in the New Year.  

Until then, enjoy the holiday season. And don’t forget to put your Quills entry in!

Nick Richardson
CEO
Melbourne Press Club