Senior writer Karen Kissane was named reporter of the year on legal issues. From her outstanding portfolio of work, the judges singled out her story “Trial and Error" for particular praise. This article explained how the Supreme Court was determined to exhaust every avenue to keep the Benbrika trial going when it was threatened on several occasions. In addition, Karen received the Tony Smith Award for reporting which promotes an understanding of the work of the courts.

Both Karen Kissane and Reko Rennie won best online report for their Benbrika multimedia package. This was a comprehensive web site on the trial of the year, including video clips and audio tapes of the telephone taps which were crucial in the prosecution case.

Crime and law editor John Silvester won best report in print for his story “Pardoned”, about the posthumous pardon for Colin Ross, hanged in 1922 for the Gun Alley murder. John’s story broke the news on the day the Attorney-General was announcing the Colin Ross pardon. It depicted significant legal history and left no angle untouched.

The following Age writers were highly commended: Sarah-Jane Collins for best report in print for her story “Police Leaks Scandal: Mates no more as perjury case turns personal”; Liz Porter for the Tony Smith award for her story “Offender Meets Victim”; and Kate Hagan for the Columb Brennan award for excellence in court reporting.