Bec Symons wins inaugural Rural Press Club of Victoria’s study tour scholarship
Monash journalism alumna and ABC journalist Bec Symons has won the inaugural Rural Press Club of Victoria’s study tour scholarship.
Bec will attend the world-renowned Investigative Reporters and Editors conference in Washington DC in June 2026.
Symons’s award was announced at the Rural Press Club of Victoria (RPCV) Regional Journalism and Photography Awards in Warragul on October 31.
Monash journalism alumna and ABC journalist, Bec Symons
"I can’t wait to learn everything I possibly can,” Symons said of her US scholarship.
“Thank you so much to the RPCV’s dedicated, volunteer committee who give so much of their time, energy and passion to give country journalists opportunities and recognition.”
Bec and her ABC colleague, Harrison Tippet, were highly commended the RPCV’s Best News Story - Written for ABC Gippsland’s Regional family violence investigation.
Symons was also part of the ABC Gippsland team that won the Rural Press Club’s Media Outlet of the Year.
Judges said this was a media outlet at the peak of its game in 2024 and 2025, led superbly by ABC Gippsland editor and Monash alumnus Jarrod Whittaker.
“Breaking news, special investigations and beautifully written feature pieces were the hallmark of this team’s efforts,” judges wrote.
“Throw in the nation’s most gripping saga, the Erin Patterson mushroom murders, unfolding in its patch and expertly covered by ABC Gippsland editor Jarrod Whittaker, and you have a clear winner of Media Outlet of The Year.”
Warragul and Drouin Gazette was commended for the Media Outlet of the Year. The Gazette includes Monash Media Film Journalism (MFJ) graduate Nicholas Duck, who was part of the team to win the Most Innovative Journalism award for a Vietnam Veterans’ series of stories and podcasts.
MFJ alumna Tavleen Singh, an ABC Gippsland journalist, was a finalist in the Most Innovative Journalism award.