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Michael Gawenda (born 1947) is an Australian journalist. He is known for being editor of The Age from 1997 to 2004.
Michael Gawenda was born 1947 in a refugee camp in Austria to Polish parents. [1] His family moved to Melbourne, Australia, in 1949.[ citation needed ]
Gawenda attended Caulfield North Central School and Melbourne High School.[ citation needed ]
He studied economics and politics at Monash University. [2]
In 1970, Gawenda joined The Age as a cadet journalist. In 1997 he became an editor and in 2003 the editor-in-chief.[ citation needed ]
On 15 April 2004, Gawenda announced that he would return to reporting as The Age's Washington correspondent. [3] Gawenda's final article from Washington was published on 28 May 2007 when he announced he will be returning to Australia and would no longer be writing for The Age.[ citation needed ]
At some point he was a senior editor with TIME magazine.[ citation needed ]
In 2023, Gawenda began contributing columns and commentary to The Australian newspaper, writing about journalism and its challenges. [4]
This led to the publication in August 2007 of a book, American Notebook, sub-titled A Personal and Political Journey, about American politics. [5]
Gawenda's dog, Rocky, inspired him to start a blog to escape from the stresses and frustration of journalism. [6] The blog ran on the Crikey website from February to November 2009. [7] The posts from February to June were collected in a volume titled Rocky & Gawenda. [8] The book, published by Melbourne University Press, is composed of short essays, observations and recollections, mostly reflecting on aspects of his own life: family, especially his two children; dogs; blogging; the pleasure he finds in food; friends and funerals.
The birth of his first grandchild inspired Gawenda to write a poem every two weeks for the first year of Leo's life. In 2017 he published the book of poetry Leo Meo – Songs to My Grandson containing these and other poems he had written. [9]
In 2020, Gawenda published an unauthorised biography of Australian lawyer Mark Leibler. This book shows how Leibler rose to a position of immense influence in Australian public life by skilfully entwining his roles as a Zionist leader and a tax lawyer to some of the country’s richest people. The book has interviews with former Prime Ministers Paul Keating, John Howard, Julia Gillard and Indigenous leader Noel Pearson. [10]
His 2023 memoir covers much of Gawenda's life, from childhood experiences in a secular household, living a mainly non-Jewish life, to becoming a journalist and rising to editor of The Age newspaper. The book examines the rise of antisemitism and anti-Zionism and Gawenda's personal journey, embracing his Jewish identity late in life. [11] [12]
Gawenda was appointed inaugural director of the Centre for Advanced Journalism at the University of Melbourne, launched in 2008.[ citation needed ] The centre's mission is to improve the practice of journalism through dialogue between journalists and the general community to stimulate public debate on important issues facing journalism.[ citation needed ]
Gawenda married, and has two children, including Chaskiel/Husky, [13] and resides in Melbourne. Gawenda is the uncle of television producer and former sports writer and founding executive produce of The Footy Show , Harvey Silver. [14] [15]
| Year | Awards | Category |
|---|---|---|
| 1982 | Walkley Award | Best Feature – "Ghettos in the Sky", The Age [16] |
| 1988 | Walkley Award | Best Feature – "Echoes of a Darker Age: Australia's Nazi War Crime Trials", TIME Australia [16] |
| 1996 | Walkley Award | Best Feature – "In Cold Blood", as part of The Age news team [16] |
| 2024 | Australian Jewish Book Award | Leslie and Sophie Caplan Award for Jewish Non-Fiction - "My Life as a Jew" Inaugural Awards, Sydney Jewish Writer's Festival. [17] |
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