Biffo at the Walkleys

Well, who would have thought it? Political commentator Glenn Milne has been escorted from the premises after storming the stage during tonight's Walkley Awards to decry Crikey's Stephen Mayne as `a disgrace'. Now, having Glenn Milne barrelling towards you at full pelt must be a frightening experience, as countless politicians have doubtless discovered, but I admit - at the possible cost of being blackballed by Crikey's Blogwatch section forevermore - that if it was between Crikey personalities, I'd not only chuck the Toxic Dwarf at the increasingly obnoxious Christian Kerr but I'd probably bowl Piers Akerman down the lane at him for good measure.

Anyway, on to the awards. It certainly wasn't a year when any one story or presentation cried out for the Gold Walkley as did Lateline's expose of the Vivian Solon scandal a few years back, but the rewarding of the Four Corners team was well deserved. The cartoon section was always going to be a shoo-in for Alan Moir's work on the Prophet Mohammed cartoon controversy (as the judges noted, it passed the only meaningful criteria for excellence in political cartooning: the Fridge Test). It's great to see The Monthly score its first Walkley, especially courtesy of Chloe Hooper, whose seminal portrait of Young Liberals behaving badly I've linked to this site so many times that there's no need to do so yet again (well, all right).

Congratulations also to Triple J's Steve Cannane, who has been doing quality work for some years now, but whom often seems to be brushed aside, given that he reports for a `mere' youth station. I'd also like to highlight the ongoing success of Olivia Rousset who, let's not forget, got her start on the defunct ABC programme Race Around The World. I note that the ABC has (deservedly) taken the top Walkley for at least the past three years running. Just imagine how many more talents the ABC may have unearthed had they retained this show or a similar one. Given the unprecedented political attacks on the ABC from Concetta Fiervanti-Wells and her nasty brethern (I could chuck the whole editorial staff of the Telegraph at her), those of us who have worked in or had contact with the media should never forget the folly of the attempt to axe the ABC highly regarded cadet programme a few years ago (which, like the axing Behind The News, was later revised). One look at a few of the ABC's commercial rivals - the appalling deterioration of the flagship Sunday show being a case in point - reminds us that at least one broadcaster needs to keep their end up for the sake of the future of quality Australian media coverage.