Feb 19 2019

Nationwide running towards the ’80s

  • 19 February 2019

The Nationwide team in 1979: Mark Colvin, Bill Nicol, Paul Griffiths, Clive Hale, Paul Murphy, Richard Carleton
(Picture: TV Times, 1979)

Nineteen Seventy-Nine marked something of a shift in current affairs on television. The Eighties was approaching and something different was going to be needed to help us keep up with the modern decade.

Both ABC and Nine had just axed their long-running nightly current affairs programs This Day Tonight and A Current Affair respectively.

The new year brought a shift with Nine launching its multi-million dollar investment 60 Minutes as its new flagship current affairs brand, and ABC replacing TDT with a new program, Nationwide.

Nationwide began around Australia on 19 February 1979. Unlike TDT which ran five nights a week, Nationwide initially ran as four nights a week, Monday to Thursday.

Nationwide also was given a later timeslot, 9.30pm compared to TDT‘s 7.30pm. The later timeslot would allow a more in depth analysis of the day’s news and events and a slightly longer running time of 40 minutes.


YouTube: kurvapicsa

The new show was also unique in that it comprised a national segment, hosted by Clive Hale in Sydney, with the second half of the show devoted to local coverage presented by hosts in each state. The format allowed enough flexibility so that if there was a big national story on the day that it could take precedence over the local segments if required.

Among Nationwide‘s reporting team were Paul Murphy, Mark Colvin, Paul Griffiths, Bill Nicol and Andrew Olle, with Richard Carleton returning from working at BBC to be Nationwide‘s political reporter in Canberra.

Some of the names to report or present for the show over the following years included Sonia Humphrey, Mary Delahunty, Geraldine Doogue, Richard Morecroft and Peter Couchman.


YouTube: ABC News (Australia)

Criticism that the 9.30pm timeslot was too late to be digesting the heavy news of the day led to ABC in 1981 shifting the show’s timeslot to around 8.30pm — although given the fluidity of ABC’s schedule, some nights it might appear as early as 8.10pm or other nights as late at 9pm, which probably did it very few favours.

With news audiences for ABC going into decline, an overall review of ABC’s news and current affairs output in mid-1984 ultimately put an end to the long-running Weekend Magazine, the locally-based 7.00pm ABC News, regional news bulletins across the country and Nationwide. Nationwide presented its final edition on 7 December 1984.

Replacing ABC News and Nationwide the following year was The National, a combined news and current affairs program that did little to arrest the decline in ABC’s news ratings.

Source: TV Times, 17 February 1979, 24 March 1979. TV Radio Guide, 17 February 1979. The Canberra Times, 7 December 1984. Australian Broadcasting Corporation 2nd Annual Report 1984-1985, ABC.

Permanent link to this article: https://televisionau.com/2019/02/nationwide-running-towards-the-80s.html

Feb 18 2019

TV Week sets June date for Logies

  • 18 February 2019

TV Week has announced that the 61st annual TV Week Logie Awards will take place on Sunday 30 June.

The awards will again be held at The Star Gold Coast and for the 24th consecutive year will be broadcast on the Nine Network.

TV Week has this year announced the return of two popular vote categories — Most Popular Panel Or Current Affairs Program and Most Outstanding Entertainment Program — and will introduce a new award, Most Outstanding Reality Program.

Earlier this year TV Week announced plans to also introduce a Most Popular Commercial category.

Public voting for this year’s Logies will be open from Monday 4 March to Sunday 31 March at the Logie Awards website: http://www.tvweeklogieawards.com.au

Nominees will then be announced on 26 May.

This year the Logies will again have live voting open for the most popular category nominees from Monday 24 June through to the end of the TV Week  Logie Awards red-carpet telecast on 30 June. This includes Most Popular Actor, Most Popular Actress and the TV Week Gold Logie Award For Most Popular Personality On Australian TV.

Source: TV Week

 

 

Permanent link to this article: https://televisionau.com/2019/02/tv-week-sets-june-date-for-logies.html

Feb 17 2019

ABC documentary Birth

  • 17 February 2019

Last week the Seven Network presented Operation: Live, a televised account of a Cesarean section birth — claimed by host Melissa Doyle as a first for Australian television, although the “live” component was taking some artistic licence as the actual procedure took place well before airtime.

Seven’s claim of “first” is not strictly true as there was an ABC documentary made back in 1965 that documented the birth of the daughter of an ABC producer.

Jim White (pictured) had been working for ABC for 10 years, and six of those producing documentaries and outside broadcasts for television. He had already put together a program for ABC radio about the birth of his eldest daughter. It was his wife, Mahdi, that suggested recording the birth of their second child for television.

“I thought it was too much of an important subject to allow the documentary to only go halfway,” she told TV Week at the time. “I knew that my husband had full control over the editing and presentation of the film, so that the result would be in good taste and offend no one.”

In preparation, Jim White spent three weeks at a Melbourne hospital watching babies being born. His film crew of six had been shown medical films dealing with childbirth and were on standby 24 hours a day as Mahdi was approaching delivery.

The film covered the full process from when contractions started and followed Mrs White’s journey to the hospital as she was in the first stages of labour. The film crew then followed her as she was taken to the delivery room in a Melbourne hospital and the whole of the actual birth of Hilary White is filmed.

The film was made with the co-operation of the Department of Obstetrics at Monash University and the Australian Medical Association. The program included discussions by practising pediatricians from Sydney and Melbourne.

“Filming the birth of my daughter was a wonderful, moving experience,” Jim told TV Times after the event. “It can cause no embarrassment to anyone. The film crew knew exactly what I wanted, and camera angles were well planned before we started. Everything went so smoothly that I did not find it necessary to cut anything from the original film.” White also presented commentary on the film.

The 37-minute film, simply titled Birth, went to air on ABC in Victoria, New South Wales and the ACT in June 1965. It was scheduled to air on a Wednesday night after 10.00pm, with ABC suggesting that “children under 12 or adolescents who have not had childbirth explained to them should not see the program”. The program was then planned for transmission in other states.

Before it had even gone to air, Birth had attracted interest by TV stations overseas and had received a special mention for story treatment at the 1965 Australian Film Industry Awards.

In 1966, Birth won a TV Week Logie Award for Best Documentary.

The below video is a brief excerpt from the program, featured in the 1996 special 40 Years In The Making: ABC TV Melbourne:


YouTube: TelevisionAU

Source: TV Week, 13 March 1965. TV Times, 26 May 1965. 40 Years In The Making: ABC TV Melbourne, ABV2, Melbourne, 19 November 1996.

 

Permanent link to this article: https://televisionau.com/2019/02/abc-documentary-birth.html

Feb 10 2019

Sandy Roberts retiring from TV

  • 10 February 2019

Fox Footy commentator Sandy Roberts has announced his retirement after 46 years in television.

Roberts began his TV career at BCV8 in Bendigo. He then joined Adelaide station ADS7 in 1973 as announcer and presenter, including co-hosting the Logie-winning Adelaide version of Penthouse Club with Bob Francis and Anne Wills and was also a stand-in host on Blind Date (pictured).

In 1980 he was a commentator for Seven’s coverage of the Moscow Olympic Games and from that point on joined HSV7 in Melbourne. He became involved in almost every major sporting event covered by the network, including Summer and Winter Olympics, VFL and AFL Grand Finals, Australian Open and Davis Cup tennis, Australian Masters golf and Seven’s coverage of the US Open.

As a presenter he has read news and sport for Seven, hosted the Royal Children’s Hospital Good Friday Appeal, World Of Sport and 4 Quarters.

He left the Seven Network at the end of 2013 and took up a new role as commentator for Fox Footy in 2014.

Between Seven and Fox Footy, Roberts is said to have covered over 1100 VFL/AFL games including 19 grand finals.

Roberts will continue to commentate AFL for radio but will make his last TV appearance on Fox Footy in a special edition of Open Mike on 19 March.


YouTube: WOS


YouTube: WOS

Source: news.com.au, Fox Sports. TV Radio Guide, 20 July 1974, 10 April 1976.

Permanent link to this article: https://televisionau.com/2019/02/sandy-roberts-retiring-from-tv.html

Feb 05 2019

Ratings 2018: The final scorecard

  • 5 February 2019

OzTAM, the official ratings ‘umpire’, has released its final reports for the calendar year 2018.

The reports include consolidated audience figures for the Top 20 programs, Top 20 multi-channel programs, the most time-shifted programs and where each free-to-air network and channel ended the year. Plus there are rankings for the Top 20 Subscription TV programs and time-shifted programs.

Seven Network ended the year on 30.6% (up 1.4 on 2017), followed by Nine (27.0%, down 0.7), Ten (17.5%, down 0.8), ABC (17.1%, down 0.2) and SBS (7.9%, up 0.5). (6pm-12mn, 5 cities, Consolidated 28-days)

At individual channel level: Seven (20.6%, up 0.6), Nine (18.6%, down 0.8), Ten (12.3%, down 0.5), ABC (12.1%, down 0.1), SBS (5.6%, up 0.3) followed by multi-channels 7mate (4.0%), 7Two (3.7%), 9Go (3.6%), 10Bold (2.9%), ABC Kids/ABC Comedy (2.8%), 9Gem (2.7%), 10Peach and 7Flix (2.2% each), 9Life (2.1%), ABC News (1.4%), SBS Viceland (1.2%), SBS Food (0.9%), ABC Me and 7Food (0.8% each) and NITV (0.2%).

During the year, One became 10Bold (after a brief stint as 10Boss) and Eleven became 10Peach.

7Food started in December.

Channels not included in the survey include YourMoney (Nine), TVSN and Spree (Ten), Racing.com (Seven) and community TV stations C31, WTV and 44 Adelaide.

Picture: ABC

Top 20 programs on Free-to-Air for the year 1 January to 31 December 2018 (Consolidated. 5 cities, Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide, Perth):

Seven topped the Top 20 programs list with AFL Grand Final (Presentations) followed by West Coast Eagles versus Collingwood. NRL Grand Final and State Of Origin on Nine filled the rest of the top 5. Of the reality show “winners announced”, The Block was highest ranked, followed by Married At First Sight and My Kitchen Rules. The wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, the Melbourne Cup and the opening ceremony of the 2018 Commonwealth Games all made the top 10 for Seven.

SBS made two appearances in the Top 20 with FIFA World Cup broadcasts, while Ten and ABC did not make the Top 20 at all.

No mention of news, current affairs, dramas or any other programming making the Top 20 — possibly pushed out by the practice of coding separate sections of longer programs taking up multiple slots.

1 SEVEN’S AFL: GRAND FINAL: PRESENTATIONS Seven Network 2,616,000 357,000 1,181,000 278,000 303,000 497,000
2 SEVEN’S AFL: GRAND FINAL: WEST COAST V COLLINGWOOD Seven Network 2,615,000 349,000 1,253,000 249,000 291,000 473,000
3 STATE OF ORIGIN RUGBY LEAGUE QLD V NSW 1ST – MATCH Nine 2,347,000 984,000 365,000 764,000 97,000 137,000
4 NRL GRAND FINAL DAY Nine 2,141,000 909,000 549,000 492,000 89,000 102,000
5 STATE OF ORIGIN RUGBY LEAGUE QLD V NSW 2ND – MATCH Nine 2,132,000 895,000 322,000 730,000 65,000 120,000
6 THE BLOCK -WINNER ANNOUNCED Nine 2,093,000 588,000 754,000 374,000 176,000 200,000
7 GOLD COAST 2018 COMMONWEALTH GAMES: OPENING CEREMONY Seven Network 2,037,000 460,000 537,000 670,000 170,000 200,000
8 ROYAL WEDDING: PRINCE HARRY & MEGHAN-CEREMONY Seven Network 1,993,000 498,000 629,000 348,000 208,000 310,000
9 THE 2018 MELBOURNE CUP CARNIVAL: MELBOURNE CUP-THE RACE Seven Network 1,908,000 393,000 1,027,000 239,000 108,000 141,000
10 MARRIED AT FIRST SIGHT -FINALE Nine 1,900,000 567,000 602,000 371,000 163,000 197,000
11 SEVEN’S AFL: GRAND FINAL: ON THE GROUND Seven Network 1,831,000 210,000 928,000 154,000 216,000 323,000
12 ROYAL WEDDING: PRINCE HARRY & MEGHAN-ARRIVALS Seven Network 1,772,000  452,000 551,000 314,000 181,000 274,000
13 STATE OF ORIGIN RUGBY LEAGUE QLD V NSW 3RD – MATCH Nine 1,769,000 748,000 239,000 618,000 62,000 102,000
14 MARRIED AT FIRST SIGHT -FINAL DINNER PARTY Nine 1,760,000 537,000 575,000 332,000 144,000
171,000
15 SEVEN’S TENNIS: 2018 AUSTRALIAN OPEN-MEN’S FINAL Seven Network 1,739,000 489,000 692,000 278,000 158,000 122,000
16 THE BLOCK -GRAND FINAL Nine 1,735,000 484,000 616,000 339,000 142,000 153,000
17 SEVEN’S AFL: GRAND FINAL: POST MATCH Seven Network 1,705,000 228,000 846,000 201,000 193,000 238,000
18 2018 FIFA WORLD CUP: FRA V AUS LIVE SBS Network 1,667,000 600,000 504,000 235,000 147,000
180,000
19 2018 FIFA WORLD CUP: DEN V AUS LIVE SBS Network 1,664,000 620,000 470,000 218,000 178,000
178,000
20 MY KITCHEN RULES-WINNER ANNOUNCED Seven Network 1,637,000 500,000 440,000 304,000 163,000 230,000

Top 20 programs on the Free-to-Air digital multi-channels (Consolidated. 5 cities, Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide, Perth):

Almost a clean sweep for 7mate, dominating the list with AFL, Winter Olympic Games, Cricket and the Australian Open. ABC Kids sneaks in a few entries with Peppa Pig and The Highway Rat.

1 SEVEN’S AFL: TUESDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL 7mate 474,000 26,000 287,000 26,000 60,000 75,000
2 SEVEN’S AFL: FRIDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL 7mate 416,000 30,000 193,000 19,000 94,000 80,000
3 2018 ROLEX SYDNEY HOBART YACHT RACE-DAY 7mate 378,000 139,000 82,000 73,000 33,000 50,000
4 PYEONGCHANG 2018 WINTER OLYMPIC GAMES: NIGHT 2 FEED 2 7mate 376,000 79,000 79,000 95,000 49,000 74,000
5 PYEONGCHANG 2018 WINTER OLYMPIC GAMES: NIGHT 3 FEED 2 7mate 349,000 61,000 101,000
74,000 36,000 77,000
6 PYEONGCHANG 2018 WINTER OLYMPIC GAMES: NIGHT 6 FEED 2 7mate 319,000 70,000 75,000
85,000 32,000 57,000
7 SEVEN’S AFL: SUNDAY AFTERNOON FOOTBALL 7mate 319,000 25,000 110,000 16,000 62,000
105,000
8 SEVEN’S CRICKET: SECOND TEST – AUSTRALIA V INDIA D4 S3 – MULTI 7mate 317,000 98,000
104,000 82,000 33,000 0
9 2018 SUMMER OF TENNIS: BRISBANE INTERNATIONAL-NIGHT 7mate 310,000 83,000 84,000
86,000 28,000 29,000
10 SEVEN’S AFL: SATURDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL 7mate 300,000 32,000 122,000 18,000 59,000 69,000
11 PYEONGCHANG 2018 WINTER OLYMPIC GAMES: NIGHT 4 FEED 2 7mate 289,000 60,000 76,000
60,000 28,000 65,000
12 PEPPA PIG: PEPPA’S PUMPKIN PARTY-AM ABCKIDS/COMEDY 281,000 65,000 110,000 19,000 31,000 56,000
13 SEVEN’S TENNIS: 2018 AUSTRALIAN OPEN-NIGHT 7 FEED2 7mate 276,000 79,000 105,000 54,000
37,000 0
14 THE HIGHWAY RAT-EV ABCKIDS/COMEDY 273,000 90,000 79,000 40,000 23,000 41,000
15 M- KINGSMAN: THE SECRET SERVICE-PM 7mate 263,000 58,000 92,000 42,000 29,000 42,000
16 PYEONGCHANG 2018 WINTER OLYMPIC GAMES: NIGHT 5 FEED 2 7mate 263,000 52,000 84,000
50,000 29,000 47,000
17 SEVEN’S AFL: FRIDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL FINALS 7mate 258,000 52,000 0 50,000 0 156,000
18 M- THE MARTIAN-PM 7mate 257,000 59,000 84,000 37,000 31,000 45,000
19 PYEONGCHANG 2018 WINTER OLYMPIC GAMES: NIGHT 7 FEED 2 7mate 255,000 50,000 57,000 51,000 28,000 68,000
20 THE HIGHWAY RAT-PM ABCKIDS/COMEDY 253,000 55,000 41,000 43,000 23,000 91,000

Top 20 Time-Shifted Free-to-Air Programs (Time Shift to 28 Days, Consolidated 28 Day % Increase on Overnight):

This is the list where drama dominates, with Seven well represented with US dramas The Good Doctor, God Friended Me, The Resident and 9-1-1 and local titles 800 Words, The Blake Mysteries: A New Beginning and Olivia Newton-John: Hopelessly Devoted To You. ABC ranked high with the Spicks And Specks Reunion Special, and Nine made the list with Underbelly Files and Manifest.

SBS made the list with Dead Lucky and The Handmaid’s Tale, with the latter adding a huge 134% onto its overnight figures.

1 THE GOOD DOCTOR-TUE Seven Network 358,000 38.2%
2 THE GOOD DOCTOR-MON Seven Network 343,000 35.2%
3 THE GOOD DOCTOR Seven Network 323,000 51.2%
4 SPICKS AND SPECKS REUNION SPECIAL-EV ABC 256,000 28.3%
5 M- JIMMY BARNES: WORKING CLASS BOY Seven Network 243,000 33.3%
6 JACK IRISH-EV ABC 219,000 31.6%
7 9-1-1 EP.2 Seven Network 212,000 44.9%
8 800 WORDS Seven Network 211,000 44.4%
9 UNDERBELLY FILES: CHOPPER – PART 1 Nine 210,000 23.5%
10 MANIFEST Nine 208,000 51.8%
11 MANIFEST -EP2 Nine 204,000 104.3%
12 THE HANDMAID’S TALE SBS Network 201,000 134.2%
13 OLIVIA NEWTON-JOHN: HOPELESSLY DEVOTED TO YOU – PART 1 Seven Network
201,000 27.4%
14 MYSTERY ROAD-EV ABC 199,000 30.8%
15 MANIFEST -EP1 Nine 194,000 67.0%
16 THE BLAKE MYSTERIES: A NEW BEGINNING Seven Network 192,000 42.6%
17 DEAD LUCKY SBS Network 191,000 107.0%
18 9-1-1-EP.2 Seven Network 189,000 43.8%
19 THE RESIDENT-EP.2 Seven Network 188,000 60.0%
20 GOD FRIENDED ME Seven Network 185,000 42.6%

Top 20 Subscription TV Programs (national):

A clean sweep for live sport on Foxtel with AFL finals and Twenty20 dominating the top spots.

1 LIVE: AFL PF#1 RICHMOND V COLLINGWOOD FOX FOOTY 552,000
2 LIVE: TWENTY20: AUS V IND GAME 3 FOX CRICKET 476,000
3 LIVE: NRL PF#2 ROOSTERS V RABBITOHS FOX LEAGUE 463,000
4 LIVE: AFL SF#1 HAWTHORN V MELBOURNE FOX FOOTY 457,000
5 LIVE: AFL EF#1 MELBOURNE V GEELONG FOX FOOTY 454,000
6 LIVE: AFL PF#2 WEST COAST V MELBOURNE FOX FOOTY 437,000
7 LIVE: AFL QF#1 RICHMOND V HAWTHORN FOX FOOTY 429,000
8 LIVE: TWENTY20: AUS V IND GAME 3 FOX CRICKET 422,000
9 LIVE: AUS V IND 2ND TEST DAY 3 FOX CRICKET 418,000
10 LIVE: AFL SF#2 COLLINGWOOD V GWS FOX FOOTY 413,000
11 LIVE: AFL QF#2 WEST COAST V COLLINGWOOD FOX FOOTY 413,000
12 LIVE: AUS V IND 2ND TEST DAY 3 FOX CRICKET 404,000
13 LIVE: AUS V IND 2ND TEST DAY 4 FOX CRICKET 400,000
14 LIVE: TWENTY20: AUS V IND THE BIG BREAK FOX CRICKET 400,000
15 LIVE: NRL TITANS V COWBOYS FOX LEAGUE 399,000
16 LIVE: MOTORSPORT: SUPERCARS BATHURST RACE FOX SPORTS 506 393,000
17 LIVE: NRL EF#2 BRONCOS V DRAGONS FOX LEAGUE 379,000
18 LIVE: AFL GEELONG V RICHMOND FOX FOOTY 378,000
19 LIVE: AFL EF#2 SYDNEY V GWS FOX FOOTY 375,000
20 LIVE: NRL PANTHERS V DRAGONS FOX LEAGUE 374,000

Top 20 Time-Shifted Subscription TV Programs (national) (Time Shift to 28 Days, Consolidated 28 Day % Increase on Overnight)

Hard to say but I think there’s a t.r.e.n.d. here.

1 MOANA Foxtel Movies Disney 194,000 723.9%
2 S.W.A.T. FOX8 175,000 377.8%
3 S.W.A.T. FOX8 169,000 323.4%
4 S.W.A.T. FOX8 169,000 229.2%
5 S.W.A.T. FOX8 165,000 355.8%
6 S.W.A.T. FOX8 163,000 300.2%
7 S.W.A.T. FOX8 160,000 396.6%
8 S.W.A.T. FOX8 156,000 461.8%
9 S.W.A.T. FOX8 144,000 331.0%
10 S.W.A.T. FOX8 144,000 391.9%
11 S.W.A.T. FOX8 140,000 340.4%
12 S.W.A.T. FOX8 138,000 232.0%
13 S.W.A.T. FOX8 137,000 268.3%
14 S.W.A.T. FOX8 136,000 377.2%
15 S.W.A.T. FOX8 134,000 224.3%
16 S.W.A.T. FOX8 134,000 328.3%
17 S.W.A.T. FOX8 133,000 275.2%
18 THE GIFTED FOX8 132,000 287.5%
19 S.W.A.T. FOX8 130,000 494.7%
20 S.W.A.T. FOX8 129,000 381.4%

Data © OzTAM Pty Limited 2019. The Data may not be reproduced, published or communicated (electronically or in hard copy) in whole or in part, without the prior written consent of OzTAM.

Permanent link to this article: https://televisionau.com/2019/02/ratings-2018-the-final-scorecard.html

Feb 05 2019

Classic TV Guides: Eyewitness News

  • 5 February 2019

Since its inception in 1964, Melbourne’s ATV0 had struggled to get a significant hold of audiences when it came to news. Different formats, timeslots, newsreaders and titles were all tried and often without much success.

A revamp to a one-hour bulletin in 1978 was another in its string of casualties. But there were high hopes coming into 1979, 40 years ago, when the station had signed up Brisbane TV personality Annette Allison to read the news with long-time newsreader Bruce Mansfield.

Allison had been on TV in Brisbane for 15 years and was well established as a versatile TV presenter, appearing on variety shows, chat shows and was weather presenter for a time as well.  Her arrival at ATV0’s new-look Eyewitness News was heralded with full-page newspaper ads: “Bruce Mansfield Is Being Seen With Another Woman. That’s News”

It was an era where female newsreaders were still something of a novelty in Melbourne television, especially for the early evening news. But with the ’80s approaching, such headlines were already seen as crass and sexist, with one vocal critic being radio talkback host Derryn Hinch, who reportedly said it was degrading and in conflict with what was meant to be a serious news service.

As well as reading the news at 6.00pm, Allison was also hired to co-host the daytime talk show Everyday, with station veteran Roy Hampson.

Despite good chemistry between its two news presenters, the 1979 Eyewitness News revamp sadly turned out to be as short lived as many of its predecessors. By the end of the year Mansfield and Allison were relieved of their newsreader roles. One newspaper columnist felt that the two news presenters were being made scapegoats for more systemic troubles within the channel.

Allison continued to co-host Everyday, later to become Good Morning Melbourne, and Mansfield stayed at the channel for several more years in various roles including booth announcing for station promos and shows such as Young Talent Time, Perfect Match and Personality Squares.

Eyewitness News received another change in format late in 1979 for the summer months, with news director Michael Schildberger and journalist Peter Hanrahan taking over as newsreaders. But when the channel changed frequency to ATV10 in 1980 it triggered another change, with David Johnston hired and he and Jana Wendt taking on the newsreader roles. The news bulletin then became competitive against the channel’s older rivals and finally could enjoy an era of dominance.

The relaunch of Eyewitness News in 1979 is among the latest additions to Classic TV Guides:

Permanent link to this article: https://televisionau.com/2019/02/classic-tv-guides-eyewitness-news.html

Feb 03 2019

Obituary: Carmen Duncan

  • 3 February 2019

Australian film and television actress Carmen Duncan has died at the age of 76.

The actress died in hospital in Sydney on Sunday afternoon.

Duncan first came to fame in the late 1960s appearing on dramas including The Battlers, You Can’t See Round Corners, Delta and Hunter.

Carmen Duncan and John Armstrong in The Battlers
{Picture: TV Week, 1968)

She went on to play the part of Helen Sheridan in soapie Number 96 for several months but chose to leave for health reasons when she was pregnant with her second child. The part was re-cast to Jill Forster.

She starred in The Spoiler, Certain Women, Skyways and the ill-fated series Hotel Story. She made guest appearances in Division 4, Matlock Police, The Link Men, The Evil Touch, Chopper Squad, A Country Practice and starred in telemovies Super Sleuth, Skin Deep and Body Business.

Tom Oliver and Carmen Duncan in Number 96
(Picture: TV Radio Guide, 1974)

By the early 70s her younger sister Paula followed her into showbusiness. However despite their many years in the business to come they only worked together once, in an episode of Cop Shop.

Duncan went on to overseas fame in the late 1980s, playing the part of Iris Carrington Wheeler in the long-running American daytime soap Another World.

Since returning to Australia in the Nineties, Duncan filed celebrity interviews for Midday and appeared in All Saints, Water Rats, Head Start, Something In The Air, Farscape, Always Greener, CrashBurn, Winners And Losers and Pulse.

Film credits included Harlequin, Touch And Go, Turkey Shoot and Run Chrissie Run!

Carmen Duncan is survived by children Amelia and Duncan and sister Paula.

Paula and Carmen Duncan
(Picture: TV Week, 1973)

Source: SBS, News.com.au, IMDB. TV Week, 27 July 1968, 5 May 1973, 31 August 1996. TV Radio Guide, 6 July 1974.

 

 

Permanent link to this article: https://televisionau.com/2019/02/obituary-carmen-duncan.html

Jan 31 2019

Seven’s record-breaking news team

  • 31 January 2019

Newsreaders Rick Ardon and Susannah Carr might not be household names in much of Australia, but they certainly are in their home state of Western Australia.

The pair have this week celebrated 34 years of reading the news together for Seven News in Perth.

Unofficially, this places them as the longest-running newsreading team in the world, having beaten the 32-year partnership of New York news anchors Chuck Scarborough and Sue Simmons.

As they stated in an interview on Sunrise on Thursday morning, the pair are hoping to get official recognition of their longevity with Guinness World Records.

When they started reading the news at TVW7 in 1985, Ardon had been a reporter and weekend newsreader at the station, and Carr had recently joined Seven from ABC. With them at the front of the bulletin, Seven has been a constant leader in the competitive news battle in Perth. As well as reading the news, the pair have appeared on numerous Telethon appeals and collectively have won a string of Logies for their popularity with Western Australian viewers.


YouTube: classicclips19902000

Source: The West Australian, The West Australian, WA TV History, WA TV History

 

Permanent link to this article: https://televisionau.com/2019/01/sevens-record-breaking-news-team.html

Jan 26 2019

Magda Szubanski in Australia Day Honours

  • 26 January 2019

Writer, comedian, actress and activist Magda Szubanski is among the hundreds to be honoured this Australia Day.

Szubanski has been awarded Officer in the Order of Australia (AO) “For distinguished service to the performing arts as an actor, comedian and writer, and as a campaigner for marriage equality.”

Szubanski started in the comedy series The D Generation for ABC in 1986. The program moved across to the Seven Network and she later starred in Fast Forward from 1989 to 1992. She was a co-writer and performer in Big Girl’s Blouse in 1994 and Something Stupid in 1998. She starred in the Dogwoman series of telemovies and created and played the part of Sharon Strzelecki across Big Girl’s Blouse, Something Stupid and Kath And Kim. Other TV credits include Bligh, Full Frontal, The Genie From Down Under, It’s A Date, Open Slather, Sisters, Rake and most recently as marriage celebrant Jemima Davies-Smythe in Neighbours.

Other television identities from past and present to be recognised in this year’s honours included:

Olivia Newton-John (AC) — “For eminent service to community health, particularly for people living with cancer, through support for medical research, and as a songwriter and performer.” Newton-John’s performing career started in television in the 1960s, starring in variety shows including The Happy Show, Time For Terry, Go! and Bandstand before she went overseas to international stardom. She was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia, 2006, and awarded an Australian Living National Treasure by National Trust of Australia in 2012.


YouTube: Conniptions886

Kylie Minogue (AO) — “For distinguished service to the performing arts as a national and international recording artist and entertainer.” Minogue started as a child actor in series including The Sullivans and Skyways, then Fame And Misfortune and The Henderson Kids. Her performance as Charlene in Neighbours led to an international recording career that continues more than 30 years later. More recently she has appeared as a judge on The Voice Australia. She won a TV Week Logie for Most Popular Actress in 1987, followed by four Logies including the Gold in 1988. She was inducted into the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) Hall of Fame in 2011.

Dennis Cometti (AM): “For significant service to the broadcast media as a sports presenter, and to the community.” Cometti was a sports commentator for ABC in the 1970s and has worked across both the Seven and Nine networks, covering AFL and Olympic Games, and volunteering for Telethon in Perth. He has also been a radio commentator for many years. The media centre at Optus Stadium in Perth is named in his honour.

John Derum (AM) — “For significant service to the performing arts as an actor, director and administrator, and to the community. ” Derum appeared in the first episode of Homicide in 1964 and later starred in The Aunty Jack Show, The True Blue Show, Ratbags, The Oz Game and The True Believers.  He has made guest appearances in Matlock Police, The Evil Touch, Division 4, Young Ramsay, Father Dear Father In Australia, GP, Water Rats, All Saints and Underbelly.

Adele Ferguson (AM) — “For significant service to the print and broadcast media as a journalist and business commentator.” Journalist and author Ferguson has appeared on Four Corners and The 7.30 Report. She won a TV Week Logie for Most Outstanding Public Affairs Report in 2015.

Raymond Harding (AM) — “For significant service to the broadcast media, particularly as a script writer and producer for television. ” Harding has been a script writer, producer, and story editor for a range of television shows for more than 25 years, in Australia and overseas. His credits include Neighbours, A Country Practice, Mirror Mirror and Home And Away.

Anita Jacoby (AM) — “For significant service to the broadcast and print media, and to community mental health groups.” Jacoby has worked in television for over 30 years, with production credits including Simon Townsend’s Wonder World, Good Morning Australia, Today, Who Dares Wins, Witness, Enough Rope With Andrew Denton, Hungry Beast, Can Of Worms, AFP, Country Town Rescue and the various Gruen series. She was also manager of ITV Studios Australia from 2013 to 2015.

Alan Kohler (AM) — “For significant service to the print and broadcast media as an editor, journalist and finance commentator.” A journalist since 1970, Kohler joined ABC in 1995. He was former business editor for The 7.30 Report and since 2002 has been the finance presenter and business correspondent for ABC News. He also hosted Inside Business for 12 years.

Julie McCrossin (AM) — “For significant service to the community, particularly through LGBTIQ advocacy roles, and to the broadcast media.” McCrossin was a team captain for Good News Week on ABC and later Network Ten. She has also been co-presenter on television coverage of the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras.

Mr Juan Ignacio TRAPAGA (Ignatius Jones) (AM) — “For significant service to entertainment as a writer, director, author and performer.” Jones has been an actor and presenter on various television programs since the 1980s, including appearances in Sweet And Sour, Home And Away, World Series Debating and Spicks And Specks. 

The late Cornelia Frances (OAM) — “For service to the performing arts as an entertainer.” Frances had been an actress and presenter on Australian television since the 1960s. Dramatic roles included Catwalk, Homicide, The Lost Islands, The Young Doctors, Tickled Pink, Prisoner, Sons And Daughters and Home And Away. She also hosted the game show The Weakest Link. Frances passed away in 2018.

Garry Gibson (OAM) — “For service to the broadcast media, particularly to television. ” Gibson worked as an audio engineer for ATN7, Sydney, in the 1960s and at QTQ9, Brisbane, for 20 years. He is a founding member of the RATS Club (Retired Radio and Television Survivors).

Bevan Lee (OAM) –“For service to the broadcast media, particularly to television. ” Lee has been a creator and writer for various Seven Network dramas including Sons And Daughters, Home And Away, All Saints, Always Greener, Packed To The Rafters, Marshall Law, Winners And Losers and A Place To Call Home. Other credits include Prisoner, A Country Practice, The New Adventures Of Skippy, The Flying Doctors and City Homicide.

Keith Martyn (OAM) — “For service to the community.” Martyn has worked in print, radio and television media in Adelaide for 40 years. He worked at ADS7 (now Ten) for 16 years and at NWS9 for ten years.

Eileen O’Shea (OAM) — “For service to the media and entertainment sectors.” O’Shea worked as a publicist for over 40 years, including 12 years at HSV7 working on programs including Homicide, Willesee At Seven, Cop Shop, Against The Wind and Skyways. In 1981 she moved across to ATV10 in Melbourne.

Source: Governor General of the Commonwealth of Australia

Permanent link to this article: https://televisionau.com/2019/01/magda-szubanski-in-australia-day-honours.html

Jan 16 2019

TV Week Logie Awards revives ad category

  • 16 January 2019

In the 1960s and 1970s, the TV Week Logie Awards featured categories to recognise television commercials.

Some of the past winners in this category have included Mobil Oil, Alka Seltzer, soft drink brands Coca Cola, Fanta and Export Cola,  deodorant Uncle Sam and cigarette companies like Craven A , Cambridge, Winfield and Kingford. (Cigarette advertising was banned from TV from 1976)

Could this ad for Export Cola from 1977 have been the winner in 1978?

 
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The award category has not featured since 1978 but TV Week is bringing it back 40 years on as Most Popular TV Commercial — although the idea of bringing back a commercial category to the Logies was being considered almost a decade ago.

Advertising agencies are being asked to submit their commercial entries to be judged by a panel of industry journalists and narrowed down to a short list of ten.

The panel will judge submissions based on production values, entertainment values, consumer response and the reflection of Australia and its diversity.

The short list of ten will then be included in the public Logies voting to take place in March with final nominees to be announced late in May

TV Week has yet to announce when the Logies will actually be held this year, although with voting taking place in March and nominees to be announced in late May it looks likely to be another July event as occurred in 2018. The awards will once again be held in Queensland.

Advertising agencies are being asked to pay $495 per submission, plus the terms and conditions for entry state that nominees will have the “opportunity” to purchase two tickets to attend the Logies presentation… at $1000 per ticket.

Source: Bauer Advertising, Australian Television Information Archive

 

 

Permanent link to this article: https://televisionau.com/2019/01/tv-week-logie-awards-revives-ad-category.html