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A new fellowship jointly offered by The Sydney Morning Herald, the ABC and the University of Sydney will honour the contributions of the late journalistic trailblazer Judith Whelan, the second woman to serve as editor of the Herald.
The annual Judith Whelan Leadership Fellowship will continue Whelan’s extraordinary legacy by elevating future female leaders into senior newsroom roles.
The ABC and the Herald will each select a female candidate every year to participate in a 12-month leadership program, run by the University of Sydney, which will help new and experienced managers lead with confidence and transition into senior positions.
Recipients will also be able to select an extra short course of their choice.
Both newsrooms, alongside the Judith Whelan Fellowship Committee, will also nominate at least two female leaders to mentor the successful candidates for the duration of the fellowship.
As a young, budding journalist, Whelan studied at the University of Sydney, and was the first female president of the University of Sydney Union.
Whelan’s husband, Chris Henning, said the fellowship was a wonderful way to remember her and her lasting impact on news in Australia.
“Three institutions which she served and for which she had the greatest respect coming together in her name to foster the talents of young women in journalism, the industry she loved most – that is a fantastic initiative,” he said.
“She would have been pleased and so proud.”
Whelan served as editor of the Herald for eight months in 2016.
She departed to step into a senior executive role at the ABC as director of the regional and local division and, later, as editorial director. She went on to spend eight years at the broadcaster.
She spent seven years at the helm of the Good Weekend magazine from 2004 to 2011.
Whelan died in June 2024 at the age of 63 after a years-long battle with cancer.
Herald editor Jordan Baker said: “Judith was a highly respected and much-loved colleague of many at the Herald. As just the second female to edit the masthead, she was an inspiration to many women in our industry and this initiative is a wonderful way to honour her legacy.”
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