February 2019 archive

Ita Buttrose appointed as ABC Chair

Media icon and former Australian Of The Year Ita Buttrose has been announced as the incoming Chair of ABC. Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced earlier today that the Government will recommend Buttrose’s appointment to the Governor-General. She is only the second woman in the history of ABC to be appointed Chair. The first was Dame …

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Obituary: Billy J Smith

Billy J Smith, the sports commentator best known as co-host of It’s A Knockout in the 1980s, has died at the age of 73. Smith suffered head injuries following a fall on Tuesday after being at lunch with friends but never regained consciousness. His family made the decision to turn off his life support on …

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Permanent link to this article: https://televisionau.com/2019/02/obituary-billy-j-smith.html

40 years of Prisoner

It is 40 years ago this week that Prisoner first graced our screens, and a thankful 0-10 Network was relieved to have a ratings hit. In an era where it was almost mandatory for a commercial network to have two hit soaps on the go, the struggling network had teen drama The Restless Years and …

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Nationwide running towards the ’80s

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 …

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TV Week sets June date for Logies

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 …

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

ABC documentary Birth

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 …

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Sandy Roberts retiring from TV

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 …

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Classic TV Guides: Eyewitness News

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 …

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

Obituary: Carmen Duncan

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. She went on to play the part of …

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