Herald scoops the nominations at the Kennedy Awards

The Herald has attracted 20 nominations for the 2026 Kennedy Awards for excellence in journalism announced on Friday, the most of any news organisation in Australia with the awards ceremony in August.The masthead’s coverage of the Bondi massacre, where 15 people were killed during a Hanukkah celebration at Bondi Beach, earned the newsroom a listing as finalist in the outstanding breaking news category, while photographer Edwina Pickles was named in the outstanding news photography category for her harrowing pictures captured minutes after the attack.Edwina Pickles has been named in the outstanding news photography category for her coverage of the Bondi terror attack. The Herald has added the pixelation in this image.Edwina PicklesReporters Nigel Gladstone, Lucy Macken, Aisha Dow and the Visual Stories team have been named in the outstanding digital innovation and consumer affairs categories for their Bidding Blind investigation, which lifted the lid on the open secret of mass underquoting through the Australian property market.They are joined in the consumer affairs category by Kate Aubusson, Aisha Dow, Charlotte Grieve and Emily Kaine, nominated for their Walkley Award-winning Medical Misogyny investigation.Steven Siewert has been nominated in the outstanding portrait category for his photographs of the late Richard Scolyer. Steven SiewertEducation reporter Emily Kowal has been nominated for young journalist of the year. Deputy state topic editor Michael Ruffles is named in the outstanding three headlines category, for “Justice is served”, “Prince to Pariah” and “The lying, the Ferrari wish and the $400,000 in the wardrobe”.Cartoonists Matt Golding and Cathy Wilcox are named in the outstanding cartoon category, Golding for Playing Trump and Wilcox for Middle East Mess. Rounding out the category is Age cartoonist Megan Herbert, for her work Limited Campaign.Age crime reporter Sherryn Groch has been named in the investigative reporting category, for her exposé on the rise of the neo-Nazi and far-right movement in Australia.Good Weekend features Diagnosing Murder, by Michael Bachelard and Ruby Schwartz, and In the Box Seat, by Jane Cadzow, are both nominated in the outstanding feature writing category.Charlotte Grieve has been nominated in the courts and legal affairs category for Public Interest Precedent: Al Muderis v Nine, for work published in The Age and Herald.Anabel Dean has been named in the outstanding travel writing category for Hiking the Transcaucasian Trail, published in Traveller.Herald editor Jordan Baker said: “The finalists reflect The Sydney Morning Herald’s unwavering commitment to outstanding journalism. They recognise excellence from our reporters, photographers, editors and artists across subjects as diverse as crime, rugby league and health.“I’m particularly proud of the nomination for the whole newsroom, led by deputy editors Nick Ralston and Liam Phelan, for the Herald’s coverage of the Bondi attack. We will never forget that horrendous night, but in the worst of times, our readers rely on the Herald to be at its best. I thank our subscribers for their support, which allows us to keep producing such important journalism.”The winners of the 2026 Kennedy Awards will be named at the Kennedy Foundation’s presentation dinner, held on August 21 at Royal Randwick.Start the day with a summary of the day’s most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up for our Morning Edition newsletter.Daniel Lo Surdo is a breaking news reporter for The Sydney Morning Herald. He previously helmed the national news live blog for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age.Connect via email.From our partners