Caroline Wilson (journalist)
Julia Wilson | |
|---|---|
| Born | June 7, 1960 Melbourne, Australia |
| Occupation | Sports journalist |
| Years active | 1982–present |
| Known for | AFL journalism, football columns for The Age, AFL commentary on Seven Network |
Julia Caroline Wilson (born 7 June 1960) is a distinguished Australian sports journalist with a focus on the Australian Football League (AFL). She writes football columns for Melbourne’s The Age and participates in pre-match AFL discussions on 3AW. Wilson was a regular panellist on Nine Network’s Footy Classified from 2007 through 2024 and makes occasional appearances on ABC’s Offsiders. Beginning in 2025, she took on the role of AFL commentator for Seven Network and also serves as a panellist on the program The Agenda Setters.
Career
Wilson’s journalism career commenced in 1982, concentrating mainly on AFL coverage. She held the position of chief football writer at The Age between 1999 and 2017, becoming the first woman to work full-time covering Australian Rules football.
From 1989 to 1994, she contributed to the Sunday Age. Between 1994 and 1996, Wilson hosted an afternoon show on 3AW radio and was a frequent panel member on Seven Network’s Talking Footy during the late 1990s and early 2000s. Additionally, she appeared weekly on Fox Footy’s White Line Fever until its cancellation in 2006.
Her tenure as a panellist on Nine Network’s Footy Classified spanned from 2007 until 2024. In 2025, Wilson transitioned to Seven Network where she currently works as an AFL commentator while maintaining her involvement with The Agenda Setters.
Media awards
In 1989, Wilson made history as the first female recipient of the AFL’s gold media award. She was honored as journalist of the year by the Sunday Age in 1993 and won a national RAWARD (now known as the Australian Commercial Radio Awards – ACRA) in 1995 for best radio current affairs commentator. The AFL Players’ Association named her football writer of the year in 1999, and she has earned several AFL Media Association accolades including most outstanding football writer and feature writer in 2000, 2003, and 2005.
Her contributions to sports journalism were recognized in 2010 when she received the Australian Sports Commission Media Awards’ Lifetime Achievement honor.
Wilson secured her first Walkley Awards in 2013, sharing the prize for All Media Coverage of a Major News Event or Issue and winning outright for All Media Commentary, Analysis, Opinion and Critique for her work with The Age on the Essendon Football Club supplements controversy.
In March 2014, she was awarded the Graham Perkin Australian Journalist of the Year Award at the Melbourne Press Club’s Quill awards, acknowledging her exceptional reporting on the Essendon supplements saga.
Personal life
A Melbourne native, Wilson is the daughter of Ian Wilson, who served as president of Richmond Football Club from 1974 to 1985. She is married to Brendan Donohoe, former reporter for Seven News and currently head of media for the Victorian Premier; together they have three children.