Reminder: the times, they change. In 1960, this mens underwear advertisement caused a sensation in New Zealand, where apparently the site of so much bare flesh was so scandalous it was initially rejected for broadcast. It was allowed on appeal.
Jump forward a quarter-century to 1984 and you could show far more skin with no problem at all, as this (still) vintage Bonds ad demonstrates:
Add another 25 years and the sky is apparently the limit:
Woo-hoo, it’s almost time for the 15th Annual ACS IT Journalism awards, also known as the Lizzies, recognising the best tech journos in Australia. You can check out the full list of finalists here. I’m thrilled to have made the cut for two of them: Best Consumer Technology Journalist and Best Technology Issues Journalist. Tech is only a small part of my writing life these days, so it’s nice to have some skin in the game.
As in previous years (2016, 2015), I’ve summarised who has received the most finalist slots. (And no, this isn’t self-serving – I only just made the list!) Here’s everyone who is a finalist in more than one category:
The amazing Claire Reilly is clearly the one to beat (and she’s competing in both the categories I’m in, dammit). In total, 31 people are finalists in more than one category, up from 24 last year. I didn’t do an analysis for the coverage awards which are given to individual titles, as there’s only a longlist for each category.
I will be live-blogging the results from the Lizzies ceremony, which kicks off at 1830 on Friday 12 May. I’ll tweet out a link with the hashtag #lizzies on the day. I can also confidently predict: I won’t win anything this year. The competition is really tight in my categories, and no-one’s allowed to win Best Dressed two years in a row. Despite that, I promise my outfit will indeed be disruptive.
It’s Lizzies time again! I’ll be updating this from around 7pm this evening to note the winners and highly commended for the 14th Annual MasterCard IT Journalism Awards as they’re announced. Many people have multiple nominations, so it will be a tight contest.
BEST DRESSED: Hannah Francis, Simon Sharwood/Angus Kidman (tie)
BEST NEW JOURNALIST
Winner: Ariel Bogle
Highly commended: Hayley Williams
Finalists
Alex Choros
Ariel Bogle
Asha Barbaschow
Brendon Foye
Chris Southcott
Harry Tucker
Hayley Williams
Joel Burgess
Lachlan Harman
Peter Gutierrez
BEST AUDIO PROGRAM
Winner: Download This Show
Highly commended: Risky Business
Nominees
Download This Show, Gadget Grill, Geeks Interrupted, Girt by CNET, Life & Technology, Lifehacker, Gizmodo and Kotaku Australia – Static, Daily Tech News Show, Risky Business, Tech Daily, Tech Guide, Two Blokes Talking Tech
BEST VIDEO PROGRAM
Winner: Good Game
Highly commended: Djuro Sen – 7 News
Nominees
ABC TV, CNET, CyberShack TV, Daniel Elias, Djuro Sen – Technology Editor 7 News, Dominic Sharoo / NitroWare.net, Gizmodo Australia, Good Game – ABC TV, Kotaku Australia, Lifehacker, Gizmodo and Kotaku Australia – Static, PoliTech (by Startup Daily)
BEST GAMING JOURNALIST
Winner: Mark Serrels
Highly commended: Lucy O’Brien
Finalists
Alex Walker
David Milner
James Cottee
Jeremy Ray
Krishan Sharma
Lucy O’Brien
Luke Reilly
Mark Serrels
Patrick Stafford
Richard Moss
BEST GAMING COVERAGE
Winner: Kotaku
Highly commended: IGN/Game Informer
Nominees
Digitally Downloaded, Fairfax Media, Game Informer, Good Game – ABC TV, IGN, Kotaku Australia, Lifehacker Australia, Official Xbox Magazine Australia, PC Gamer AU, Progress Bar
BEST PERSONAL TECHNOLOGY COVERAGE
Winner: CNET
Highly commended: Gizmodo
Nominees
CNET, CyberShack, Fairfax Media, Gizmodo Australia, iTWire.com, Lifehacker Australia, Tech Guide, Techradar, The Australian
BEST REVIEWER
Winner: Nick Broughall
Highly commended: Bennett Ring/Adam Turner
Finalists
Adam Turner
Alex Kidman
Alex Walker
Bennett Ring
Campbell Simpson
Chris Southcott
Krishan Sharma
Nic Healey
Nick Broughall
Stephen Lambrechts
BEST MAGAZINE
Winner: CRN
Highly commended: Choice
Nominees
APC, CHOICE, CRN, Game Informer, Hyper, Official Xbox Magazine Australia, PC PowerPlay, PC & Tech Authority, T3 Australia, TechLife
BEST NEWS JOURNALIST
Winner: Paul Smith
Highly commended: Mark Serrels
Finalists
Allie Coyne
David Swan
Hannah Francis
Krishan Sharma
Marc Fennell
Mark Serrels
Paris Cowan
Paul Smith
Renai LeMay
Ry Crozier
BEST CONSUMER TECH JOURNALIST
Winner: Chris Griffith
Highly commended: Krishan Sharma
Finalists
Alex Choros
Angus Kidman
Asha Barbaschow
Beau Donelly and Nick Toscano
Chris Griffith
Claire Reilly
Jennifer Dudley-Nicholson
Krishan Sharma
Michelle Starr
Seamus Byrne
BEST INDEPENDENT MEDIA
Winner: Ausdroid
Highly commended: Stevivor
Nominees
Ausdroid, EFTM, Live Tech AU, NitroWare, Rocket Chainsaw, Stevivor, Tech Guide, Vooks, Women Love Tech
BEST TELECOMMUNICATIONS JOURNALIST
Winner: David Ramli
Highly commended: Geoff Long/Petroc Wilton
Finalists
Allie Coyne
Chris Pash
Claire Reilly
Corinne Reichert
David Ramli
Geoff Long
Hannah Francis
Josh Taylor
Petroc Wilton
BEST TECHNICAL JOURNALIST
Winner: Adam Turner
Highly commended: Jeremy Kirk
Finalists
Adam Turner
Alex Kidman
Angus Kidman
Chris Duckett
Darren Pauli
Geoff Long
Jeremy Kirk
Leigh D. Stark
Peter Zaluzny
Petroc Wilton
BEST COLUMNIST
Winner: David Milner
Highly commended: Angus Kidman
Finalists
Adam Turner
Alex Kidman
Angus Kidman
Chris Duckett
David Milner
Josh Taylor
Nick Ross
Patrick Avenell
Paul Smith
Renai LeMay
Simon Sharwood
BEST TECH INDUSTRY JOURNALIST
Winner: Caitlin Fitzsimmons
Highly commended: Luke Hopewell/Paul Smith
Finalists
Caitlin Fitzsimmons
Claire Connelly
David Swan
Gina Baldassarre
James Pinnell
Krishan Sharma
Luke Hopewell
Paul Smith
Simon Sharwood
Tony Yoo
BEST BUSINESS TECH JOURNALIST
Winner: Allie Coyne
Highly commended: Aimee Chanthadavong
Finalists
Aimee Chanthadavong
Allie Coyne
Chris Pash
Krishan Sharma
Paris Cowan
Paul Smith
Ry Crozier
Spandas Lui
Yolanda Redrup
BEST BUSINESS TECH COVERAGE
Winner: AFR
Highly commended: ITnews/Communications Day
Nominees
Business Insider, CIO NZ, Communications Day, iTnews, Lifehacker Australia, Startup Daily, The Australian, The Australian Financial Review, ZDNet
BEST MEDIA RELATIONS
Winner: Matthew Wu
Highly commended: Angela Coombes/Dan Chiappini
Finalists
Alya Fitzgibbon, Red Agency
Angela Coombes, NEC
Dan Chiappini, Blizzard
David Bass, Bass PR
Matthew Wu, Media & Capital Partners Chiapinni
Rudolf Wagenaar, Ogilvy
BEST WEBSITE
Winner: Kotaku
Highly commended: ABC Tech and Games/Itnews
Nominees
ABC Tech and Games, CIO NZ, CNET, CRN, CyberShack, Delimiter, Gizmodo Australia, IGN, iTnews, iTWire, Kotaku Australia, Lifehacker Australia, Mashable, PC Gamer, PC World, Startup Daily, Tech Guide, TechRadar, The Australian, ZDNet
BEST NEWS COVERAGE
Winner: Fairfax Media
Highly commended: Kotaku
Nominees
Communications Day, Download This Show, Fairfax Media, Gizmodo Australia, iTnews, Kotaku Australia, Stevivor, Techly, The Australian, The Australian Financial Review, ZDNet
BEST JOURNALIST (GOLD LIZZIE)
Winner: Paul Smith
BEST TITLE (GOLD LIZZIE)
Winner: Kotaku
There are 66 individual journalists with nominations in the 2016 Lizzies (including me). You can read the full list on the Lizzies site. As I did last year, I thought it might be interesting to crunch the data and see who scored multiple finalist berths. Here’s the full list of everyone who achieved more than one finalist placing:
Krishan is this year’s undisputed champion — well done mate! It’s a tribute to your versatility and skill as a freelancer.
In total 24 nominees (a bit over a third) have more than one individual nomination. I didn’t do a similar analysis for title awards because the list there is everyone who nominated themselves, not just those who made the shortlist after judging.
I will be live-blogging the results from the Lizzies ceremony, which kicks off at 1830 on Friday 13 May (five days from now, eek!). I’ll tweet out a link with the hashtag #lizzies on the day. See you then, whether in Lizzies-infested meatspace or online.
I entered the Lizzies — more properly, the 14th Annual MasterCard IT Journalism Awards– this year, but I had no expectation of making any of the shortlists. Between evolving sites and changing jobs, I just didn’t do as much writing on tech topics.
So I’m surprised and delighted that I’m a finalist in three categories: Best Columnist, Best Technical Journalist and Best Consumer Tech Journalist. I’m defending the Best Columnist title from last year, and I’ve won Best Consumer Tech Journalist in previous years.
I don’t imagine I’ll win any of them this time around. The competition is formidable, including my brother Alex Kidman in the first two categories. But I’m looking forward to the night, and I’ll do a live blog of the results, just as I did last year.
Last week marked seven years since I become editor of Lifehacker Australia. So it seems an auspicious moment to announce the next big step in my career: I’m leaving Lifehacker to take on the newly-created role of editor-in-chief at finder.com.au.
I’m really excited about this job. I’ll still get to write a lot, and concentrate on the kind of data-driven insight that’s increasingly been my focus in recent years. (I’m one of the few journalists I know who is happy to be keyboard-deep in a spreadsheet.) I’ll also have the chance to pass on some of my experience to the rapidly-expanding team of writers in the finder.com.au posse, help shape the ongoing editorial strategy and expand the site into new areas.
With that said, I’m incredibly proud of what Lifehacker Australia has achieved over those seven years, and it’s going to be a huge wrench to leave everyone at Allure Media. Back when I started, we were a scrappy gang of less than 10 people. Today, we’re a team of 50+ with sites — Lifehacker, Gizmodo, Kotaku, POPSUGAR, Business Insider and Shopstyle — which absolutely dominate their respective categories in Australia. Over that time, I’ve written more than 11,000 posts for Lifehacker. Woah, that’s a lot of words.
I’m sure I’ll write more about my Lifehacker experience and what lies ahead before I finish up and begin the new role — I’ll start at finder.com.au in early July. It’s thrilling and scary and it’s surely going to be interesting. Wish me luck!
Update: Here’s the official press release and a story from Influencing.
Great night all around at the Lizzies (you can see the full results right here, direct from my smartphone), especially for myself and my Allure Media colleagues. The big winner was Mark Serrels from Kotaku, who won Best Gaming Journalist and the “Gold Lizzie” for Best Journalist, while Kotaku scored Best Gaming Coverage. I could not think of a more deserving recipient, and I was flattered that Mark singled me out by name in his first acceptance speech for my occasional sub-editing contributions to his work.
That said, I did pretty well myself. Lifehacker scored the Best Personal Technology Coverage gong for the third year running, and I picked up a highly commended for Best Consumer Technology Journalist. But the award I was ridiculously chuffed to win was Best Columnist — simply because I was really proud of the three pieces I submitted for that award. Here they are:
BEST DRESSED : Alex Heber, Nic Healey
BEST AUDIO PROGRAM
Winner: Download This Show
Highly commended: A Short History Of Video Games
Nominees
2GB Tech Guide with Stephen Fenech, A Short History of Video Games – ABC Radio National, Download This Show – ABC Radio National, Gadget Grill, Geeks Interrupted, Girt by CNET – the Australian CNET podcast, Reckoner Podcast, Risky Business, TechGuide Podcast, Tech Tuesday@RN Drive, Two Blokes Talking Tech
BEST VIDEO PROGRAM
Winner: Good Game
Highly commended: Player Attack
Nominees
CNET Australia, CX Network, Fat Duck Tech, Gizmodo Australia, Good Game – ABC TV, Good Game Spawn Point – ABC TV, Government Technology Review, Josh Taylor and Oscar Partridge, Lifehacker Video, Player Attack, Rae Johnston, The Feed – SBS TV, Vertical Hold
BEST GAMING JOURNALIST
Winner: Mark Serrels
Highly commended: Daniel Hindes, Lucy O’Brien
Finalists
Brenna Hillier
Chris Jager
Daniel Hindes
David Hollingworth
David Milner
James O’Connor
Lucy O’Brien
Luke Reilly
Mark Serrels
Nic Healey
Seamus Byrne
Tim Colwill
Toby McCasker
BEST GAMING COVERAGE
Winner: Kotaku Australia
Highly commended: Good Game
Nominees
ABC Technology & Games, Digitally Downloaded, Game Informer, games.on.net, GameSpot (CBS Interactive), Good Game – ABC TV, IGN Australia, Kotaku Australia, Player Attack, TechGee
BEST COLUMNIST
Winner: Angus Kidman
Highly commended: Chris Duckett
Finalists
Adam Turner
Alex Kidman
Angus Kidman
Ben Grubb
Chris Duckett
David Braue
David Milner
Josh Taylor
Juha Saarinen
Mark Serrels
Simon Sharwood
BEST TECH INDUSTRY JOURNALIST
Winner: Caitlin Fitzsimmons
Highly commended: Steven Kiernan
Finalists
Alex Heber
Angus Kidman
Caitlin Fitzsimmons
Campbell Simpson
Carl Smith
Krishan Sharma
Liz Tay
Patrick Avenell
Paul Smith
Simon Sharwood
Steven Kiernan
William Maher
BEST BUSINESS TECH JOURNALIST
Winner: Allie Coyne
Highly commended: Hannah Francis, Paul Smith
Finalists
Allie Coyne
Byron Connolly
Chris Pash
Claire Porter
David Swan
Hannah Francis
Josh Taylor
Kate McDonald
Krishan Sharma
Paris Cowan
Paul Smith
Simon Sharwood
BEST TECHNICAL JOURNALIST
Winner: Darren Yates
Highly commended: Petroc Wilton
Finalists
Adam Turner
Alex Walker
Angus Kidman
Campbell Simpson
Darren Yates
Krishan Sharma
Lexy Savvides
Mark Gregory
Peter Zaluzny
Petroc Wilton
Richard Chirgwin
BEST PERSONAL TECHNOLOGY COVERAGE
Winner: Lifehacker
Highly commended: CNET
Nominees
CNET Australia, Fairfax Media/SMH.com.au, GadgetGuy.com.au, Lifehacker, Switched On, TechGeek, TechGuide, Women Love Tech
BEST REVIEWER
Winner: Darren Yates
Highly commended: Alex Kidman,David Braue
Finalists
Adam Turner
Alex Kidman
Angus Kidman
Campbell Simpson
Chris Jager
Darren Yates
David Braue
Jennifer Dudley-Nicholson
Matthew Sainsbury
Nic Healey
Nick Ross
Peter Zaluzny
BEST MAGAZINE
Winner: CRN
Highly commended: CHOICE
Nominees
CHOICE Computer Magazine, CRN, Game Informer, HYPER, PC & Tech Authority, PC Powerplay
BEST CONSUMER TECH JOURNALIST
Winner: Michelle Starr
Highly commended: Angus Kidman
Finalists
Adam Turner
Alex Kidman
Angus Kidman
Campbell Simpson
Chris Jager
Hannah Francis
Luke Hopewell
Michelle Starr
Nick Ross
Rae Johnston
Rosalyn Page
BEST NEWS JOURNALIST
Winner: Claire Reilly
Highly commended: –
Finalists
Angus Kidman
Claire Porter
Claire Reilly
David Braue
David Ramli
Josh Taylor
Mitchell Bingemann
Paris Cowan
Paul Smith
Petroc Wilton
Simon Sharwood
BEST NEWS COVERAGE
Winner: iTNews
Highly commended: –
Nominees
Australian Financial Review, Communications Day, CRN, Gizmodo Australia, iTnews, Kotaku Australia, Lifehacker, SMH.com.au – Technology/Digital Life, TechGeek, The Register, ZDNet
BEST BUSINESS TECH COVERAGE
Winner: AFR
Highly commended: Startup Daily, SMH
Nominees
Australian Financial Review, Business Insider, CIO NZ, Communications Day, CRN, iTnews, Lifehacker, SMH.com.au – IT Pro, Startup Daily, The Register, ZDNet
BEST WEBSITE
Winner: CNet
Highly commended: Gizmodo, Startup Daily
Nominees
Business Insider Australia, CNET Australia, CRN, GadgetGuy, GE and Guardian Australia Powering People series, Gizmodo Australia, IGN Australia, iTnews, Kotaku Australia, Lifehacker, Player Attack, SMH.com.au – Technology/Digital Life, Startup Daily, TechGeek, TechGuide, Women Love Tech, ZDNet
BEST NEW JOURNALIST
Winner: Tony Yoo
Highly commended: Rose Powell
Finalists
Dave Cheng
Hannah Francis
Harry Tucker
Jessica Sier
Richard van der Draay
Rose Powell
Tess Bennett
Tony Yoo
Vanessa Desloires
Yolanda Redrup
BEST MEDIA RELATIONS
Winner: Matthew Wu
Highly commended: Shuna Boyd, Bec Waddy
Finalists
Bec Waddy, Bethesda
Ciaran Pillay, H&K
Dan Chiappini, Blizzard
David Bass, Bass PR
Jen Crowcroft, Edelman
Matthew Wu, Edelman
Renato Catalan, GAP
Rudolf Wagenaar, Howorth
Shuna Boyd, Boyd PR
Tom Hunter, Howorth
BEST TELECOMMUNICATIONS JOURNALIST
Winner: Petroc Wilton
Highly commended: –
Finalists
Andrew Colley
Angus Kidman
Ben Grubb
Campbell Simpson
David Braue
David Ramli
Geoff Long
Josh Taylor
Mitchell Bingemann
Petroc Wilton
BEST INDEPENDENT MEDIA
Winner: Ausdroid
Highly commended: Reckoner
Nominees
Ausdroid Media, Live Tech Australia, Player Attack, Reckoner Australia, TechGeek, Women Love Tech
BEST JOURNALIST (GOLD LIZZIE)
Winner: Mark Serrels
BEST TITLE (GOLD LIZZIE)
Winner: Download This Show
Next Friday (May 15) is the date for the 2015 Optus IT Journalism Awards, usually referred to as the Lizzies and the biggest thing you can win as a tech writer in Australia. I’m maintaining my tradition of being a finalist in a lot of categories: Best News Journalist, Best Tech Industry Journalist, Best Consumer Tech Journalist, Best Telecommunications Journalist, Best Columnist, Best Reviewer and Best Technical Journalist. You can see the full list of finalists here.
Lifehacker is also nominated for several Lizzies: Best Website, Best Video Program, Best News Coverage, Best Personal Technology Coverage and Best Business Tech Coverage. The Tech Tuesday segment I do regularly on RN Drive is also on the list for Best Audio Program. For site and title awards, only a long list is published — there’s no whittling.
Lifehacker did really well last year, picking up Best Personal Technology Coverage and Best Website, plus the ‘Gold Lizzie’ for Best Title. Annoyingly, I wasn’t there (I was in the US for work). I am going to be there this year, and I’m assuming that means neither myself nor Lifehacker will win anything.
It’s definitely a competitive space, especially for journalists. Here’s a summary of all the people who are finalists for more than one Lizzie in a writing category:
Good luck everyone!
Last night saw the 10th Annual Microsoft IT Journalism Awards, invariably known as the Lizzies, which acknowledge the best technology publications and writers in Australia. I was a nominee in five categories, and Lifehacker was up for two awards. I was thrilled hugely that Lifehacker won Best Website against some very tough competition, and that I scored a Highly Commended (HC) in Best Technical Writer. It was also a huge night for my fabulous Allure colleagues. Elly Hart won Best Reviewer, Kotaku won Best Gaming Coverage, and Tracey Lien won Best Gaming Journalist and Best Journalist.
Here’s a list of the winners on the night. (Corrections welcome: this is based on notes scrawled with my IKEA pencil in a noisy, alcohol-filled room.) Publisher-wise, the big scorers on the night were my own employers, Allure Media (5 winners and 1 highly commended); Fairfax (4 winners and 2 highly commended); CBS (3 winners and 3 highly commended); and News Ltd (2 winners).
Best Technology Industry Journalist: David Ramli, AFR (HC: Paul Smith, AFR)
Best Columnist: John Davidson, AFR (HC: Adam Turner, freelancer)
Best Consumer Technology Journalist: Jennifer Dudley-Nicolson, News (HC: Asher Moses, SMH; Nick Ross, ABC)
Best Personal Technology Coverage: CNET
Best Reviewer: Elly Hart, Gizmodo (HC: Darren Yates, PC User)
Best Technology Magazine: PC & Tech Authority (HC: Choice Computer, Game Informer)
Best Business Technology Journalist: Fran Foo, AustralianIT (HC: David Braue, freelancer)
Best Business Technology Coverage: Communications Day (HC: Information Age)
Best New Journalist: Jessica Gardner, BRW (HC: Josh Taylor, ZDNet; Andrew McMillen, Freelancer)
Best Website: Lifehacker (HC: CNet)
Best Technical Journalist: Chris Duckett, Tech Republic (HC: Angus Kidman, Lifehacker)
Best Video Program: 5 Inch Floppy (HC: Good Game)
Best Audio Program: Risky Business (HC: Your Tech Life)
Best Gaming Journalist: Tracey Lien, Kotaku (HC: Laura Parker, Gamespot)
Best Gaming Coverage: Kotaku (HC: 5 Inch Floppy, IGN)
Best Media Relations: Jenny Crowcroft (HC: Renato Catalan, Snezana Stojanovska)
Best News Journalist: Andrew Colley, AustralianIT
Best News Coverage: SMH
Best Journalist: Tracey Lien, Kotaku
Best Publication: CNET