Tony began his journalism career with the rural weekly Queensland Country Life and while with that organisation was the first journalist in Australia to be trained as a pilot as part of his reporting duties.
In that capacity he flew himself and his photographer to distant jobs throughout eastern Australia. He covered politics in Queensland for 15 years and was president of the Queensland Parliamentary Press Gallery for 10 years.
Tony is married to Clare and they have five adult children - two of whom are journalists - Jacinta, who is currently the mother of two children was with The Courier Mail and more recently The Manly Daily; and Dan Koch is the sole sports reporter with The Australian in Queensland. Michael and Natasha are teachers and Majella, the youngest, is a nurse.
Tony is the co-author of a political non-fiction book, Joh’s K.O. published by Boolarong Press in 1983 dealing with the split in the National and Liberal parties in Queensland.
He is also a winner of the Queensland Premier’s Award for Literature and shared in an international award for film-script writing.
He is the current Queensland Journalist of the Year - an award given at the Queensland Media Awards night in September 2008, and was the 2006 Australian Journalist of the Year.
He has completed writing the biography of prominent Queensland businessman and former Liberal politician, Terry White which will be published in February, 2010 under the title \"A Prescription for Change\".
Tony also delivered the Sir James Duhig memorial lecture at St Leo\'s College, University of Queensland, Brisbane in September 2009 speaking about culture in Australia and the need for respect for society\'s institutions.
AWARD: 1.11.2008.
THE Queensland Chief Reporter for The Australian, Tony Koch was last night awarded the major prize at the 4th annual News Awards, capping off an evening of success for the newspaper in a number of categories.
Koch was awarded the Sir Keith Murdoch Award for Excellence in Journalism for his series of investigative articles that exposed the failures of the justice system in remote Aboriginal communities and prompted a national outcry.
His revelations that a number of men and youths, some from influential families in the Aurukun community on Cape York in Queensland, were not jailed for the rape of a 10-year-old Aboriginal girl, even though they pleaded guilty, resulted in a state government investigation and a number of prison sentences being handed down.
Koch beat the News Limited London correspondent, Charles Miranda, to the $15,000 award, accepting the prize at a black-tie event in Sydney attended by 250 guests, including News Corporation chairman and chief executive Rupert Murdoch.
Link: www.theaustralian.com.au
