Steve Pennells (born 1971) is an Australian journalist. In 2012, Pennells was awarded the

Gold Walkley The Gold Walkley is the major award of the Walkley Awards The annual Walkley Awards are presented in Australia to recognise and reward excellence in journalism. They cover all media including print, television, documentary, radio, photographic ...

. Pennells received the award in recognition for his work at ''

The West Australian ''The West Australian'' is the only locally edited daily newspaper published in Perth, Western Australia. It is owned by Seven West Media (SWM), as is the state's other major newspaper, ''The Sunday Times''. It is the second-oldest continuousl ...

'', specifically a series of articles about asylum seekers and for his reports on the conflict between Australian mining magnate Gina Rinehart and her children. Pennells won a legal battle with Rinehart in the

Supreme Court of Western Australia The Supreme Court of Western Australia is the highest state court in the Australian State of Western Australia. It has unlimited jurisdiction within the state in civil matters (although it usually only hears matters involving sums of A$750,00 ...

in 2013 after she had served a subpoena, attempting to expose Pennells' sources by accessing confidential documents and communications, specifically between Pennells and her son John.Weber, David (6 August 2013
Rinehart loses attempt to discover sources
'' Lateline'', Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 12 April 2019. In what was considered to be the first test of Australia's

shield laws A shield law is legislation designed to protect reporters' privilege. This privilege involves the right of news reporters to refuse to testify as to the information and/or sources of information obtained during the news gathering and disseminatio ...

, Justice Janine Pritchard described the subpoena as oppressive and an abuse of process, stating that if Pennells' sources had been disclosed it would have been a breach of a journalist's "fundamental ethical obligation". The ramifications of the decision were widely discussed in Australia. In 2013, Pennells joined the

Seven Network The Seven Network (commonly known as Channel Seven or simply Seven) is a major Australian commercial free-to-air Television broadcasting in Australia, television network. It is owned by Seven West Media, Seven West Media Limited, and is one of ...

's weekly current affairs program, '' Sunday Night''. Pennells hosted a ''

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 ...

'' special in 2016, '' Anita: You Thought You Knew It All''. Pennells was among 48 Australian journalists who were inducted into the Australian Media Hall of Fame in November 2018.Knox, David (18 November 2018
Australian Media Hall of Fame: 2018 inductees
''TV Tonight''. Retrieved 12 April 2019.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pennells, Steve 1971 births Living people Walkley Award winners