News Release                                                        July 17, 2009

Victorian journalist in top three for international award

A Victorian reporter is among the top agricultural journalists in the world after being named as one of three finalists in an international writing prize.

John Conroy of The Border Mail is the first Australian to be a finalist in the International Federation of Agricultural Journalists (IFAJ) Star Prize for Print.

The other finalists are Friederike Krick of Germany and Caitriona Murphy of Ireland.

This year's competition drew entries from 14 IFAJ member countries.

Conroy’s entry, The Drover’s Lament, was published in The Border Mail on October 18, 2008.

Judges said the article was a “sterling report of the dying breed of drovers, with a clear and well-worked detail from personal stories and facts. It brought history to the modern-day reader.”

One judge said it was “very interesting…not only about the special Australian way of transferring big herds, but also about damaging cultural heritage and the environment.”

Another said it was “a surprising story with a lot of quotes, which leads to a feeling of closeness to the concerned cattlemen.”

Krick’s article, Die letzten Zeugen (The last witnesses), appeared in the German farmer magazine Neue Landwirtschaft. It was described as a highly skilled article about a complex topic.

Ireland’s Murphy wrote Caring of the Softest Kind for Farming Independent. One judge called it a “beautiful story, detailing shocking cruelty but with strong emotion and written in a very objective way.”

The judges were Margaret Donnelly of Ireland, Adrian Krebs of Switzerland and Dana Vecerova of the Czech Republic. The competition is coordinated by IFAJ secretary general Owen Roberts of Canada.

The winner will be announced at the 2009 IFAJ Congress in Fort Worth, Texas on August 4.

The Star Prize for print journalism is sponsored by John Deere. The winner receives a commemorative trophy, a gold IFAJ pin, a certificate and a 750 Euro cash prize.

For more information contact Emily Bogue on 0429 416 778.