AUSTRALIAN MEDIA:

Just days after the annual Walkey Awards ceremony celebrating the cream of Australian journalism, the organising committee has held an emergency online hook-up to retrospectively include a special humanitarian award for David Speers, host of ABC TV’s Sunday morning political panel program Insiders.

Spokesperson for the Walkley Foundation, Edward Itorial, said the move was “unprecedented but thoroughly deserved”.

“Anyone who watched Insiders yesterday couldn’t help but be moved by the way David Speers (left in main picture) embraced Grandparents Day by including The Australian columnist Greg Sheridan (far right and also in main picture) on Sunday’s panel,” Mr Itorial said.

“Although Grandparents Day was actually meant to be marked on Sunday 30 October, David obviously thought ‘better late than never’.

“Aren’t we glad he did too? I mean, Greg looked like he was having a ball, chatting away while clutching his mug of what I can only assume was warm milk or cocoa.

“He even wore what I also assume is the vest he breaks out on special occasions and his going-out socks.”

Mr Itorial said the 16-member judging panel for the 2022 Walkley Awards met online soon after Insiders ended yesterday.

“They were unanimous in their decision to retrospectively include a special humanitarian award for David Speers, not only for inviting Mr Sheridan to join the panel but also for stoically listening to the comments he made between sips of milk, or cocoa,” he said.

“They also decided to award special merit certificates to the other panel members, the ABC’s Stan Grant and The Age’s Annika Smethurst, (below) for the part they played by respectfully listening to Mr Sheridan no matter what rambling rubbish he came out with and for sharing the commentary so that Greg wasn’t overtired by the end of the show and might otherwise miss his mid-morning nap.”

The Bug rang David Speers seeking comment but our reporter ended the call after fruitlessly attempting to pose questions which were invariably interrupted by Mr Speers with his own questions.