George Negus, journalist, TV presenter and author, has died at age 82.
He was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease in 2021.
Born in Queensland, Negus worked as a high school teacher before writing for The Australian and Australian Financial Review newspapers. After a stint as press secretary for then attorney-general Lionel Murphy, he joined ABC‘s This Day Tonight. He resigned from TDT in 1977 after a heated interview with then Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser led to ABC informing him that it would be his last political interview. He was openly critical of ABC’s handling of the matter at the time. “It wasn’t accidental that at the height of a period of political interviewing I was told I was no longer going to be doing it,” he told TV Week in 1980. “Somebody leaned on somebody.”
He then joined the Nine Network to report for the original A Current Affair and provide political commentary on The Mike Walsh Show. This led to him being selected to be one of the founding reporters for Nine’s big budget current affairs program, 60 Minutes in 1979. All three 60 Minutes reporters — Negus, Ray Martin and Ian Leslie — became instant household names, but Negus’ casual demeanour and bravado in questioning international leaders — such as daring to suggest that Margaret Thatcher was “stubborn and pig-headed” in an interview with the then British Prime Minister — made him a favourite with viewers.
By 60 Minutes‘ second year, he was judged TV Reporter Of The Year at the TV Week Logie Awards.
He left 60 Minutes in 1986, swapping international reporting for daily talkback radio on the CBC radio network (2UE Sydney and 3AK Melbourne), before returning to Nine to co-host Today for three years.
In 1992 he was the founding host of ABC’s Foreign Correspondent and later presented an early evening program, George Negus Tonight, before joining SBS to host Dateline.
He later joined Network Ten as a commentator for The 7PM Project, a role that brought his journalistic wisdom to a new generation of viewers. When Ten expanded its news and current affairs line-up in 2011, he launched 6PM With George Negus in a clear attempt to challenge the tabloid style of journalism favoured by Today Tonight and A Current Affair. In Ten’s press release announcing his appointment, he said: “To be involved in Ten’s bold plans is an unexpected opportunity. Not only that, it’s also an opportunity to put my journalistic mind and body where my mouth has often been. Over the years, comments I’ve made about commercial news and current affairs have not always been flattering.”
Despite its honourable intentions, the show failed to resonate with viewers and a timeslot change to 6.30 With George Negus, putting it squarely up against its two rivals, did little to boost its fortunes and it was axed by the end of the year.
Negus also attracted controversy in 2012 when a guest stint on Ten’s morning show The Circle saw him and co-host Yumi Stynes shamed for making derogatory remarks about war veteran Ben Roberts-Smith.
In 2015 he was made a Member of the Order of Australia in the Australia Day Honours List — “For significant service to the media as a journalist and television presenter, and to conservation and the environment” — and won a Walkley Award for Most Outstanding Contribution to Journalism in 2021.
George Negus is survived by wife, journalist Kirsty Cockburn and their sons Ned and Serge.
YouTube: Channel 10
Source: ABC, Negus Media International, Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, Sydney Morning Herald, Nine News. TV Times, 10 February 1979. TV Week, 12 April 1980. The Australian Women’s Weekly TV World, 28 January 1981.
