Australia’s leading journalists gathered in Sydney last night for the 2026 Kennedy Awards, with 7 News and 7 News Spotlight among the major winners across 37 categories.
The awards were held at the Royal Randwick Ballroom in Sydney, with more than 400 people attending the annual celebration of Australian journalism, according to the Kennedy Foundation.
The coveted Journalist of the Year award went to Edmund Tadros and Hannah Wootton of the Australian Financial Review for their reporting on the KPMG audit leaks scandal.
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Seven picked up four major awards on the night, according to the network, with 7 News Melbourne crime reporter Cassie Zervos taking out Scoop of the Year for breaking the news of Dezi Freeman’s death after a 216-day manhunt.
According to Seven, Zervos was on maternity leave when she received a tip-off that police had located Freeman and that he had been fatally shot. She travelled to the remote Victorian property and went on to lead the network’s coverage of the story in the days that followed.
The team behind 7 News Spotlight’s Face to Face with My Children’s Killer, Michael Usher, Gemma Williams, Phil Goyen and Ben Fogarty, won Outstanding Television Current Affairs Reporting – Long Form.
The special followed grieving father Danny Abdallah as he came face-to-face in prison with the man responsible for killing his three children and their cousin in one of Australia’s most devastating road tragedies. Seven says the documentary has recorded more than 27 million views worldwide.
7 News cameraman Nicholas Castellaro was recognised with Outstanding News Camera Coverage for his footage from the Bondi terror attack.
The team behind Kiss & Kill, Alison Sandy, Marc Wright, Cassie Woodward, Jason Blandford and Katrina Blowers, also took home an award for Outstanding Reporting on Human Rights, Social or Religious Affairs for the 10-part podcast.
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Seven also featured among the individual honours, with 7 News Melbourne reporter Ava Cashmore named Student Journalist of the Year.
Seven’s Director of Morning Television Sarah Stinson (pictured below) received one of the night’s major individual honours, taking home the Cliff Neville Award for Outstanding Team Player or Mentor.
The Seven Network’s Director of Morning Television was recognised for her contribution to the industry and the people behind Sunrise, Weekend Sunrise and The Morning Show (image – Seven)
The Kennedy Foundation said Stinson was recognised for her impact on the industry and the support she has provided to people throughout her career.
Elsewhere, News24, formerly Sky News Australia, had a strong night, with Sharri Markson winning both Outstanding Nightly Television Current Affairs Reporting and Outstanding Television News Reporting for her coverage of the Bondi terror attack.
The Daily Telegraph’s Josh Hanrahan and Mark Morri won Outstanding Crime Reporting for their Bondi terror coverage, while the newspaper’s team also took out Outstanding Digital News Breaking for its live digital coverage of the attack.
The ABC was also among the major winners, with Adele Ferguson, Chris Gillett and Jade Toomey taking out Outstanding Consumer Affairs for Australia’s Childcare Crisis on Four Corners.
ABC International’s Meghna Bali, Som Patidar and Haidarr Jones won Outstanding Foreign Correspondent for Inside Taliban Afghanistan, while Sean Rubinsztein-Dunlop and Kyle Taylor won Outstanding Investigative Reporting for Reawakening: Investigating the resurgence of ISIS and the Bondi attack.
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The Sydney Morning Herald picked up five awards across the night, including Outstanding Feature Writing for Jane Cadzow’s In The Box Seat, while Bret Christian OAM was recognised with the Lifetime Achievement Award.
The Kennedy Awards celebrate excellence across Australian journalism, with the 2026 winners recognised across reporting, storytelling, camerawork, photography and editorial leadership.
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