Northern Daily Leader reporter Jamieson Murphy receives Walkley nod

Murphy was recognised for his coverage of the 2017 New England by-election with a suite of three stories securing the honour for the young journalist.

The Leader’s editor Fiona Ferguson said the announcement was testament to the important work done daily by the newsroom.

"We are very proud of our track record as a community newspaper, reporting issues which are of importance to the local community,” she said.

"This nomination for one of our own, is a considered acknowledgement of the work our journalists do every day."

Winners in each category will be announced on July 18.

Murphy was nominated for three stories penned during the by-election:  “Access to Vikki Campion travel records denied for fear of misinterpretation”; “You’re drunk go home: women warned Barnaby before bum pinch” and; “Barnaby Joyce boycotts public debates and forums during campaign”.

He said the Walkley recognition was a “great reflection of the team at The Leader” and testament to the work done by by regional journalists across the board.

“The strong representation of regional journalism in the nominations just goes to show that country towns can trust that their local news is on par with anything metro-based organisations can offer,” he said.

“I think everyone in a country town would love to see the big metro-based media organisations pick up on some of the important issues that are regularly reported on regional media outlets.”

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With the by-election under the glare of the nation’s media spotlight, he hoped The Leader coverage offered a point of difference which could only be proffered by having local expertise.

“The Leader always aims to give our readers something different to what they'd get in the Sydney Morning Herald, something that hopefully only we can deliver with our local contacts, our local knowledge and our local boots on the ground,” he said.