Julia Caroline Wilson is an Australian sports journalist. She is a football columnist for Melbourne's The Age newspaper, also appears on 3AW's pre-match AFL discussion, is a panellist on Nine Network's Footy Classified, and an occasional panellist on the ABC program Offsiders.
Career
Wilson began covering football in 1982. She has covered numerous sports, but specialises in the AFL, and was chief football writer for The Age from 1999 to 2017. Wilson was the first woman to cover Australian Rules football full-time. She had five years with the Sunday Age between 1989 and 1994. Caroline has also worked in radio hosting the afternoon program for 3AW between 1994 and 1996. Wilson was also a regular panelist on 7s "Talking Footy" in the late 1990s early 2000. Wilson appeared every Wednesday night on White Line Fever on Fox Footy, until the show was cancelled in 2006 following the dissolution of Fox Footy Channel
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 Wilson was the winner of a national RAWARD as best radio current affairs commentator. Wilson was voted the AFL Players' Association's football writer of the year in 1999. Wilson is a multiple winner of AFL Media Association awards, including most outstanding football writer and most outstanding feature writer. 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. In March 2014, Wilson received the Graham Perkin Australian Journalist of the Year Award at the Melbourne Press Club's annual Quill awards. This prestigious award was presented to Wilson for her coverage of the Essendon Football Club supplements controversy.
Disabled Athletes Controversy
During ABC Offsiders in 2008, Wilson made controversial comments about Paralympians, describing their efforts as, "people mucking up", and "it's not really a sport".
