Tony Armstrong received the Graham Kennedy Award for Most Outstanding Newcomer at last night’s TV Week Logie Awards.
Named after Australian entertainer Graham Kennedy, the Silver Logie for Most Outstanding Newcomer celebrates outstanding performance by a new talent in their first major role in Australian television, as selected by television industry juries.
Prior to beginning his career in Australian media, Armstrong was an AFL player.
He was drafted to the Adelaide Crows in 2010 at age 18, and went on to play for the Sydney Swans and Collingwood Magpies. In 2019, Armstrong became the first Indigenous person to call an AFL game.
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His career in Australian television officially began in 2020, when he began hosting Yokayi Footy on National Indigenous Television (NITV), in collaboration with the AFL.
Armstrong then joined the ABC as a sports presenter and producer for ABC News as well as a commentator for ABC Sport.
In March of 2021, Armstrong began filling in for Paul Kennedy on ABC’s television program News Breakfast, before being appointed to the role in July of that same year.
Being a regular face on a national news programme helped boost his profile and allowed Tony to show off his fun and hilarious personality.
Armstrong has since gone on to host ABC’s A Dog’s World, a three-part series exploring the ever-evolving relationships between humans and dogs.
He also regularly appears as a guest host on Network 10’s The Project, where he has used his platform to criticise Australia’s handling of Indigenous incarceration rates.
Armstrong’s win at the Logie Awards last night was a long awaited step in the right direction for Australian media’s acknowledgement of First Nations people.
However, given that Armstrong’s Acknowledgement of Country was the first and only during the ceremony, it is clear that more work needs to be done.
Emma Xerri