Seven West Media journalists take home 13 awards at the 2025 WA Media Awards

Seven West Media (SWM) journalists have delivered a standout result at the 2025 WA Media Awards on Saturday night at the Novotel Perth Langley. The SWM team collected 13 awards across multiple categories, a testament to their commitment to quality reporting and visual storytelling.

In a strong performance, 7NEWS Perth swept every award in the television category.

7NEWS Perth Political Editor Geof Parry was named co-winner of West Australian Journalist of the Year. For the third consecutive year, The West Australian claimed the award for Best News Photograph.

Among this year’s winners were:

Jessica Page, The West Australian’s State Political Editor, won the prestigious Beck Prize for her incisive reporting on challenges to Libby Mettam’s Liberal leadership.

John Flint, The Sunday Times, received Best Medical Report for his exposé uncovering malpractice in the dental industry – reporting that prompted action from the Australian Taxation Office and health regulators.

Natalie Bonjolo (Head of Digital Production) and Ben Harvey (Chief Reporter) earned the Multimedia News Prize for their acclaimed true-crime podcast series investigating the 1999 disappearance of Kalgoorlie woman Lisa Govan.

Ross Swanborough won Best News Photograph for The West Australian, while Stuart Quinn from The Geraldton Guardian took home the Regional Photography award.

SWM journalists won in three of the four Text Format categories:

Best Headline: Paul Barry, Chief Sub-Editor (“Cocaine, knobs, and a kick up the Rs”)

Best News Report: Caitlyn Rintoul, Political Reporter (WA’s failing violence support systems)

Best Suburban Feature: Justin Bianchini, PerthNow News Editor (Domestic Crisis & Carn West).

Geof Parry, 7NEWS Perth Political Editor, was recognised with Best News Reporting for his coverage of the NicheLiving saga, while cameraman Christian Rudd won for his vision on the same story.

Nick Overall, 7NEWS reporter, and cameraman Simon Hydzik won Best Video Feature for their exposé of Perth’s alleged Shincheonji cult.

Tim Clarke, former Legal Affairs Editor, received the Clarion Award for outstanding contribution to journalism.

Editor-in-Chief Christopher Dore praised the achievements of the company’s journalists: “The awards are an outstanding recognition of the talent within our newsrooms. Our people, through every medium and platform, using brilliant ideas, words and images, are telling the stories that matter, capturing the spirit and uniqueness of our state. The acknowledgement from colleagues is a bonus.”

7NEWS Perth News Director, Christien de Garis, said: “These awards, judged by our professional peers, recognise the strength and quality of journalism across Seven West Media. We’re proud to see our teams recognised for their exceptional work telling the stories of Western Australians and bringing them the news they have a right to know.”