FROM sport to investigations, artwork to headlines, the journalism of The Sydney Morning Herald featured strongly amid the finalists of the 2011 Walkley Awards, announced last night.

The Herald dominated the print news report category, with Philip Dorling earning a nomination for his WikiLeaks exclusive on the scathing assessment of former prime minister Kevin Rudd contained in secret US diplomatic cables, which also earned a commendation in the category of ''best scoop of the year''.

Former Middle East correspondent Jason Koutsoukis was nominated in the print news report category for his reporting on Libyan democracy forces in Tobruk, and a finalist in the sustained coverage of an issue and event category for documenting the explosive uprisings of the Arab spring.

Herald reporters Kate McClymont, Bellinda Kontominas and Tom Reilly were among the reporters commended for their coverage of the police raids and arrests 13 months after the killing of Michael McGurk.

Fairfax Media's Richard Baker and Nick McKenzie featured as joint finalists in the investigative journalism category for their report ''RBA held evidence of bribery/Who knew what when?", along with reporters Linton Besser and Dylan Welch for their revelation that the NSW Crime Commission was cutting deals to share the proceeds of crime.

The Herald's south Asia correspondent Ben Doherty was nominated in the international journalism category for his report, "A journey that ended where it started - in despair", about the plight of Tampa refugees a decade later.

Herald page editor Rita Williams is a finalist in the category of best three headings, along with sport page editor Shane Brady.

Rugby league writer Greg Prichard was highly commended for his exposure of betting irregularities in the Cowboys-Bulldogs match last year which led to Ryan Tandy being found guilty of conspiring to gain a financial advantage by spot fixing.

Business writer Michael West was nominated in business journalism for his ''Rio dumps record BHP deal" and artist Simon Bosch is a finalist in the artwork category for "The dark legacy of child abuse".