The awards, that celebrate and set the standards for excellence and best practice journalism, were set to be held in Tamworth along with the Walkley Regional Journalism Summit that will now be held online.

Tamworth MP Kevin Anderson said it was disappointing news, as he had worked hard with former Premier Gladys Berejiklian to move the awards and summit to the regional city.

"It's certainly disappointing for regional NSW and for Tamworth, it would have been a great opportunity to showcase Tamworth to journalists across the country so it's an opportunity missed," he said.

"Whenever you get a bunch of journalists coming to a particular centre you get the opportunity to put your best food forward and shine a bright light on the region.

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"I pushed hard pre-COVID to get the Walkley's here ... we kept in contact with them all the way through, it's disappointing but we live in challenging times so hopefully we can link up with them at another point."

The summit will still go ahead on February 10, featuring speakers like Guardian Australia rural and regional editor Gabrielle Chan and ACM editorial director Rod Quinn.

A Walkley statement said all of the summit sessions will now be held online.

"It means we can make it free and accessible for everyone and we hope more regional journalists will be able to attend, wherever they are based," it said.

The awards gala dinner will now be held at the International Convention Centre in Sydney on Friday, February 25.

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