Julia Caroline Wilson (born 7 June 1960) is an Australian sports journalist. She is a football columnist for
Melbourne
Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...
's ''
The Age
''The Age'' is a daily newspaper in Melbourne, Australia, that has been published since 1854. Owned and published by Nine Entertainment, ''The Age'' primarily serves Victoria (Australia), Victoria, but copies also sell in Tasmania, the Austral ...
'' newspaper, and also appears on
3AW
3AW is a talkback radio station based in Melbourne. It broadcasts on 693 kHz AM. It began transmission on 22 February 1932 as Melbourne's fifth commercial radio station.
The station is owned and operated by Nine Entertainment Co.
Hist ...
's pre-match
AFL
AFL may refer to:
Sports
* American Football League (AFL), a name shared by several separate and unrelated professional American football leagues:
** American Football League (1926) (a.k.a. "AFL I"), first rival of the National Football Leagu ...
discussion, is a panellist on
Nine Network
The Nine Network (stylised 9Network, commonly known as Channel Nine or simply Nine) is an Australian commercial free-to-air television network. It is owned by parent company Nine Entertainment and is one of five main free-to-air television netw ...
ABC
ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet.
ABC or abc may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting
* American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster
** Disney–ABC Television ...
program ''
Offsiders
''Offsiders'' is an Australian television sport program hosted by AFL commentator Kelli Underwood. The show airs live on Sunday mornings at 10:00 am on ABC TV and ABC News.
History
The show began airing in 2005 (alongside '' Insiders'', its n ...
''.
Career
Wilson began covering football in 1982. She has covered numerous sports, but specialises in the AFL (Australian Football League), and was chief football writer for ''The Age'' from 1999 to 2017. Wilson was the first woman to cover Australian Rules football full-time."Top 50 Sports People - Caroline Wilson" ''The Australian'', 2013. Retrieved 5 October 2013."Age Profile - Caroline Wilson" ''The Age'', 5 October 2013. Retrieved 5 October 2013.
Wilson had five years with the '' Sunday Age'' between 1989 and 1994. She has also worked in radio as the host of the afternoon program for 3AW between 1994 and 1996. Wilson was also a regular panelist on 7s ''
Talking Footy
''Talking Footy'' was an Australian rules football television program on the Seven Network broadcast from 1994 to 2004 and 2013–2020. The show was hosted mainly by Bruce McAvaney and Luke Darcy in both runs of the show.
Original format (1 ...
'' in the late 1990s early 2000. Wilson appeared every Wednesday night on '' White Line Fever'' on
Fox Footy
Fox Footy (stylised as FOX FOOTY) is an Australian rules football subscription television channel dedicated to screening Australian rules football matches and related programming. It is owned by Fox Sports Pty Limited, operated out of their Me ...
, until the show was cancelled in 2006 following the dissolution of the
Fox Footy Channel
The Fox Footy Channel was a channel exclusively dedicated to Australian rules football. It was owned by Foxtel and operated out of their Melbourne based studios. From 2002 - 2006 it was available on Foxtel, Austar, Optus Television, TransTV ...
Media awards
In 1989, Wilson became the first woman to win the AFL's gold media award. She was the winner of the ''Sunday Age'' journalist of the year award in 1993. In 1995 shen was the winner of a national RAWARD (now known as the Australian Commercial Radio Awards - ACRA) as best radio current affairs commentator. Wilson was voted the AFL Players' Association's football writer of the year in 1999. She is a multiple winner of AFL Media Association awards, including most outstanding football writer and most outstanding feature writer (2000, 2003, 2005).
In 2010, Wilson was presented with an Australian Sports Commission Media Awards for Lifetime Achievement for her contribution to sports journalism.
In 2013, Wilson won her first Walkley Awards, sharing the 2013 All Media Coverage of a Major News Event or Issue award and winning outright the 2013 All Media Commentary, Analysis, Opinion and Critique award. Both awards related to ''The Age'' newspaper coverage of the 2013
Essendon Football Club supplements controversy
The Essendon Football Club supplements saga was a sports controversy that occurred during the early- and mid- 2010s. It centred around the Essendon Football Club, nicknamed the Bombers, a professional Australian rules football club based in Melb ...
.
In March 2014, Wilson received the
Graham Perkin Australian Journalist of the Year Award
The Graham Perkin Australian Journalist of the Year Award, often known simply as the Graham Perkin Award, is one of Australia's pre-eminent prizes for journalism.
It was established and named in honour of Graham Perkin, who was editor of ''The ...
at the
Melbourne Press Club
The Melbourne Press Club, commonly referred to as MPC, is a not-for-profit association of journalists in the city of Melbourne, Australia.
The Melbourne Press Club provides awards in the State of Victoria for outstanding journalism, presenting th ...
's annual Quill awards. The award was presented to Wilson for her coverage of the
Essendon Football Club supplements saga
The Essendon Football Club supplements saga was a sports controversy that occurred during the early- and mid-2010s. It centred around the Essendon Football Club, nicknamed the Bombers, a professional Australian rules football club based in Melbo ...
.
Personal life
Born and raised in Melbourne, Wilson is the daughter of Ian Wilson, who was president of
Richmond Football Club
The Richmond Football Club, nicknamed the Tigers, is an Australian rules football team playing in the Australian Football League (AFL). Between its inception in the Melbourne suburb of Richmond in 1885 and 1907, the club competed in the Victo ...
from 1974 to 1985. She is married to ''
Seven News
''7NEWS'' is the television news service of the Seven Network and, as of 2021, the highest-rating in Australia.
National bulletins are presented from Seven's high-definition television, high definition studios in Martin Place, Sydney, while f ...
'' reporter Brendan Donohoe and they have three children.