With Ten launching its new 2.5 hour evening news lineup soon, speculation is mounting as to who will take the anchor role in their 6-6:30pm national news bulletin.
During this weeks Mediaweek podcast, there had been some speculation from Sunday Telegraph media journo Richard Clune regarding the host role. During the brief chat on the subject, Clune says that he hasn’t ruled out the rumour of Jennifer Byrne taking the host role. The Byrne rumour has been floating around for several months now, however previous talk had centered on Byrne hosting a possible national current affairs program to air at 6:30pm in direct competition with Today Tonight & ACA.
The idea of Byrne hosting the 6pm bulletin doesn’t quite ‘feel’ right. The Force simply isn’t strong in this one. One can certainly appreciate that Ten will want a big name to take over their national bulletin. After all, this will be their Premier news program. The jewel in the Ten crown.
Would Byrne work as the host of the 6pm News? While nobody can dispute that Byrne is a talent that could handle the role, it perhaps isn’t a role that would be best served by her taking it on. Byrne is a very strong Presenter and Reporter, but as an anchor of a news bulletin she would be taking on a role that would limit her from exhibiting the breadth of talent that she posesses. Further to that, is there a need to bus in a News Presenter from outside the network when Ten already have a number of talented on-air presenters who are already strongly associated with the Ten brand?
Surely the obvious answer to the 6pm national news bulletin would be to finally give Sandra Sully the chance to take on such a role.
Sully has been Ten’s biggest name in news for the past decade and does a great job hosting their late night bulletin. It makes sense for her to graduate to the networks highest profile news role. One would also assume that the 6pm Ten bulletin would be a solo anchor, providing a further point of difference to the competing bulletins. While it would be a shame to see an end to the dynamic on-air relationship with sports presenter Brad McEwan (the 6pm Bulletin is reportedly sports-free), Sully is the obvious candidate to take on this new role.
As great as Byrne is on-screen, Sully simply feels like the right choice. She feels more Ten.
15 Comments
The first name that actually came to mind was Hugh Riminton, but I agree Sandra would be fine in the role.
I was thinking about Hugh also. I could easily see him take on the role, but I’d rather see Sully take it. She’s put in the time and is more strongly associated with the Ten brand.
Hugh could quite nicely take on the late night news. Get back to his Nightline roots.
It looked like it was being kept quiet but John Gatfield spent a few hours in the boardroom in Sydney last month. And his former colleague at Sky News and Channel 9 Tony Ritchie is at Ten now.
If Sully got it, I would be okay with that, I could see Gatfield doing Late News… But I’d go with Hugh over Sully honestly. Give a harder edge to it.
Im afraid Ten needs to look outside their brand. They have been branded as cheap for far too long, and therefore so has everyone that is associated with the brand. They need to show a big commitment – that symbolises their move away from Channel Bart, and into the mainstream news market.
While the idea of Sandra is good, the reality isn’t that great. She stumbles a lot, and she doesn’t really have the Brian Williams, Diane Sawyer feel.
This isn’t an attack on her, but rather a critique of her work.
It seems Ten’s thinking on this program is similar to the network news shows in the US. So use that as the base. Do Ten have any men between 40 and 50 who could pull it off, fit within Ten’s new branding, have recognition across the country?
I think they’ll need to look at ABC’s foreign correspondents or even Sky.
Hugh is good, but he doesn’t look great as an anchor. He worked well at CNN because their anchors are half presenters, half on the road reporters, which he excels at.
But at 6pm, viewers want someone a bit more refined, almost presidential.
Alternatively, the could choose someone in house, and do it as a soft launch, rather than a Katie Couric style flop.
Anyway, my two cents.
*Comment deleted for acting like a grammar Nazi and bringing nothing else to the discussion*
-Dan
John Gatfield on late news!? Nah man, late news wants to be just slightly hip! I don’t see Gatfield within a bull’s roar of late news, 6pm news or any news presenting on Ten. As a reporter for 6pm… yes, maybe.
Gatfield brings with him the older news statesman role that could work if they had a male/female news reading duo. I’d be a bit disappointed if Ten went down that route. There’s no need for more than one newsreader outside of not wanting to alienate viewers.
I could see Gatfield doing a mid-morning news, though I’d hate to see Ron Wilson moved on.
I don’t agree with your assessment of Hugh. His CNN-style “perfect-for-that-job” is EXACTLY what makes him a great choice at 6pm. Come on, it’s obvious, isn’t it? Who else has the talent for this job? Hugh is a shoe-in. Besides, Hugh looks absolutely fine as an anchor. Watch him on Meet The Press. He embodies the very brand that this show wants to project: the finest quality national journalism, wisdom, experience AND he is contemporary and inoffensive as an anchor. One more thing on “looking great” as an anchor, the bottom line is that people who are after a “great presenter” will clearly go watch their own Bathie or Hitchie or Mitchie and so on, they can get fantastic presenters on Seven and Nine, AND they are local. That can not be what Ten’s program is about because Ten’s show is about leading, quality journalism.
And if you want to talk about looks, have you seen Graeme Goodings, Jane Doyle, Susannah Carr, Peter Hitchener.. none of those are anything to write home about but are all #1. Another one; Rachel Maddow, THE biggest ratings on MSNBC.
Sky, yeeks, don’t even go there!
Isn’t it more likely that Hugh would get used as their key Political Reporter, serving more as a fill-in host rather than in the host role itself?
It’s a shame that Ron Burgandy isn’t in a position to take on the gig. I hear he’s kind of a big deal.
Yeah, there is the little issue of him being Senior Political Reporter..!
But seriously, that or 6pm news anchor? It’s no contest. There’s far more in it – for both – for Hugh to host 6pm. We all know Peter Jennings and Brian Williams and Anderson Cooper – how about their senior political guys… uhhh?? I’m also sure Hugh can keep busy with a lot of reporting in his own right, including politics. We’ll see what Ten does – I think Hugh leads on every count, for THIS program. If it were “Perth’s Action News Tonight”, no, they need a different host. But for this program – network news against “popular” local shows – they need someone who is a “warm” heavyweight, who embodies great journalism, who can capably captain the network through disasters natural, man-made and political, and who, by the way, is contemporary and “Ten” and can read news inoffensively. That pretty much rules out everyone but him, I think!
As for Sandra, perfect for Sydney at 6.30, Helen in Melbourne, Georgina (or Max), Narelda Jacobs in Perth…
Re: the John Gatfield buzz, I will say to Ten though at the last minute: Grim, ghastly decision there for John G to anchor. As a reporter, he would make a fine addition to the national team. As anchor, it’s an alarming and gruesome prospect too vile to even consider. John is light years too old, too dorky and has trouble connecting with viewers. I can’t imagine you’re entertaining this terrifying scenario, but if you are, note this: He may be smart, he may be a good journalist but he does not have the ability to connect with viewers – sophisticated or otherwise – as a valued source, nor the presence to command a network news team and draw a savvy audience, nor the skill to present news with a warm, contemporary style. I’m confident you’re not chewing over this nightmare but, in case you are, John’s probably not best choice for 6pm anchor.
I agree, Gatfield as anchor would be a bad idea, but he’d make a great senior reporter and fill-in for dayside. Would be a good addition to booster their reporting ranks. Could even have a managing role inside Ten News, he is experienced enough through his behind the scenes work at Sky.
How about HAmish MAcDonald. Saw him host Sir David frost segment. Great presence and young high intelligence from my P.O.V
It’s a shame you didn’t suggest that a week or so ago, because you’d be a total winner.
Hamish was announced by Ten to be working on the show. http://www.tvtonight.com.au/2010/11/hamish-macdonald-joins-ten-news.html