Reporter with the Sydney Morning Herald. Winner, Walkley Award for Journalism, the account of which reads: Greg Bearup - Good Weekend - "Death Surrounds Her"

Greg Bearup started as a cadet at The Armidale Express in 1988. He then went on to work at The Inverell Times, The Newcastle Herald and The Sydney Morning Herald, working as chief police reporter, an investigative journalist and general reporter. He moved from the Herald 18 months ago to take up a writing position on Good Weekend. His past awards have included the Alliance’s Northern NSW Prodi Journalist of the Year in 1995.

He was also a Walkley finalist in 1997 in the best news section for a series on organised crime in Sydney. While he feels he’s done some important work over his career, he also wonders if he’ll only ever be remembered for his Good Weekend article on swingers last year. Bearup’s investigation began as an exploration of the relationship between convicted murderer Mark Valera and his friend Keith Schreiber (who had also been convicted for the murder of Valera’s father). Along the way, he found a much more interesting story in Valera’s sister and Schreiber’s girlfiend, Belinda Van Krevel. As a result of his story, Belinda Van Krevel was subsequently arrested for the murder of her father.

JUDGES’ COMMENTS

Greg Bearup’s gritty, chilling account of murder and murderers in Wollongong had great impact. The merging of interviews, police data and his questioning and probing were all augmented by his strong writing. A superb piece with huge impact.