Paul Lyneham was an Australian journalist and commentator. Lyneham was born in Melbourne in 1945, growing up there and in Canberra

Canberra

Canberra is the capital city of Australia. With a population of over 345,000, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The city is located at the northern end of the Australian Capital Territory , south-west of Sydney, and north-east of Melbourne...

 where he graduated from the Australian National University

Australian National University

The Australian National University is a teaching and research university located in the Australian capital, Canberra.As of 2009, the ANU employs 3,945 administrative staff who teach approximately 10,000 undergraduates, and 7,500 postgraduate students...

. He worked as a journalist at The Australian

The Australian

The Australian is a broadsheet newspaper published in Australia from Monday to Saturday each week since 14 July 1964. The editor in chief is Chris Mitchell, the editor is Clive Mathieson and the 'editor-at-large' is Paul Kelly....

 and The Canberra Times

The Canberra Times

The Canberra Times newspaper was founded in 1926 in Canberra, Australia by Arthur Shakespeare.It was the second paper to be printed in the city, the first being The Federal Capital Pioneer. The paper was sold to the Fairfax group in the 1960s by Arthur Shakespeare on the condition that it continue...

 newspapers before joining the ABC

Australian Broadcasting Corporation

The Australian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly referred to as "the ABC" , is Australia's national public broadcaster...

 in 1969 and spending a period of time as London, UK|London]] correspondent

Foreign correspondent

Foreign Correspondent may refer to:*Foreign correspondent *Foreign Correspondent , an Alfred Hitchcock film*Foreign Correspondent , an Australian current affairs programme...

. Whilst in London, Lyneham met the author Dorothy Horsfield, with whom he went on to have three children. Lyneham joined commercial television, working for Channel Seven

Seven Network

The Seven Network is an Australian television network owned by Seven West Media Limited. It dates back to 4 November 1956, when the first stations on the VHF7 frequency were established in Melbourne and Sydney.It is currently the second largest network in the country in terms of population reach...

 as a foreign correspondent including reporting on the Falklands War

Falklands War

The Falklands War , also called the Falklands Conflict or Falklands Crisis, was fought in 1982 between Argentina and the United Kingdom over the disputed Falkland Islands and South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands...

. After returning to Australia Lyneham worked on Sydney radio station 2BL

702 ABC Sydney

702 ABC Sydney is an ABC radio station in Sydney, Australia. It is the flagship station in the ABC Local Radio network and broadcasts on 702 kHz on the AM dial....

 with his close friend Andrew Olle

Andrew Olle

John Andrew Durrant Olle , always known as Andrew Olle, was a radio and television presenter on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, beginning his career in 1967 as a news cadet and, until his death, working in a wide variety of programs, including The 7.30 Report, ABC Radio 2BL, Sydney,...

. He also reported for The 7.30 Report

The 7.30 Report

The 7.30 Report is an Australian nightly television current affairs program, that was shown on ABC1 and ABC News 24 at , Mondays–Thursdays...

 before joining Channel Nine

Nine Network

The Nine Network , is an Australian television network with headquarters based in Willoughby, a suburb located on the North Shore of Sydney. For 50 years since television's inception in Australia, between 1956 and 2006, it was the most watched television network in Australia...

 and 60 Minutes.

Lyneham died of lung cancer on 24 November 2000 at Canberra. On 20 February 2002 then Federal Treasurer

Treasurer of Australia

The Treasurer of Australia is the minister in the Government of Australia responsible for government expenditure and revenue raising. He is the head of the Department of the Treasury. The Treasurer plays a key role in the economic policy of the government...

 Peter Costello

Peter Costello

Peter Howard Costello AC is an Australian politician and lawyer who served as the Treasurer in the Australian government from 1996 to 2007. He is the longest-serving Treasurer in Australian history. Costello was a Member of the Australian House of Representatives from 1990 to 2009, representing...

 launched the biography of Lyneham, 'Paul Lyneham – A Memoir', written by his widow Dorothy Horsfield, at the National Press Club

National Press Club (Australia)

The National Press Club is an association of primarily news journalists, but also includes academics, business people and members of the public service, and is based in Canberra, Australia. It was founded in the 1960s as the National Press Luncheon Club by a few journalists with the backing of the...

, Canberra

Canberra

Canberra is the capital city of Australia. With a population of over 345,000, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The city is located at the northern end of the Australian Capital Territory , south-west of Sydney, and north-east of Melbourne...

. Annually since 2002, the National Press Club has also awarded the Paul Lyneham Award for excellence in journalism with only members of the federal parliamentary press gallery

Canberra Press Gallery

The Canberra Press Gallery, officially called the Federal Parliamentary Press Gallery, is the name given to the approximately 180 journalists and their support staff, including producers, editors and camera crews, who report the workings of the Australian Parliament...

being eligible for the award.