6.30 with George Negus
Encyclopedia
6.30 with George Negus is an Australian television current affairs program broadcast on Network Ten
. It airs at 6:30pm from Monday to Friday and is presented by George Negus
(Monday - Thursday) and Hugh Riminton
or Hamish Macdonald (Friday) from the TEN studios in Pyrmont
, Sydney
.
It premiered at 6pm on 24 January 2011. On October, 19 2011 network TEN officially announced that 6:30 With George Negus has been cancelled as a result of low ratings. The final episode of the series will air on October, 28 2011 in what will be the shows 200th episode. The series was replaced by an extended version of The 7pm Project
which will be retitled as The Project.
announced that it would spend an additional $20 million per year to strengthen its news and current affairs
output. Those changes included launching a 6pm national current affairs program, followed by local half-hour news bulletins at 6:30pm.
On 8 October 2010, it was announced that George Negus would leave SBS
's Dateline to join Network Ten
. Negus confirmed a day later that he would be hosting Ten's new 6pm program. The first edition of 6PM with George Negus aired on Monday 24 January 2011.
In March 2011, Network Ten
announced that it would be moving the program to 6:30pm in an effort to address persistently poor ratings for its early evening schedule. The changes, introduced on Monday 4 April 2011, led to Ten's local news bulletins at 5:00pm being extended by a further 30 minutes with Negus' program in direct competition with the Nine Network's A Current Affair and the Seven Network's Today Tonight
.
On 19 October 2011, Network TEN announced that they had cancelled the program and replace it with an hour-long version of The 7PM Project
, renamed The Project at 6:30pm after very poor ratings. The 200th and final ever edition of 6.30 with George Negus is due to air on Friday 28 October 2011.
and Nine News. Colin Vickery from the Herald Sun
commented on how fast-paced the show was, but concluded that the show "got off to a serviceable start tonight – but it seriously needs to slow down and take the time to live up to host's promises". Tim Dick from the Sydney Morning Herald also noted the rushed nature of the show and stated that Negus "deserves more time".
Nightly ratings for the program deteriorated in the weeks following the first broadcast, with the program ranking outside the top 100 weekly programs from its third week onwards, and its average audience falling below 400,000 viewers each night. However after the timeslot shift, by July 2011 audience numbers had risen and stabilised to just below 500,000 viewers each night.
Network Ten
Network Ten , is one of Australia's three major commercial television networks. Owned-and-operated stations can be found in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth, while affiliates extend the network to cover most of the country...
. It airs at 6:30pm from Monday to Friday and is presented by George Negus
George Negus
George Edward Negus is an Australian author, journalist, and television presenter. He previously presented 6:30 with George Negus on Network Ten, until it was axed by the Network on 19 October 2011.-Education:...
(Monday - Thursday) and Hugh Riminton
Hugh Riminton
Hugh Riminton is a journalist, foreign correspondent and television news presenter.Raised in New Zealand, he began work as a cadet reporter, aged 17 in Christchurch before moving to Australia in 1983 to work for the Macquarie Radio Network in Perth and Melbourne. In 1989, he joined the Australian...
or Hamish Macdonald (Friday) from the TEN studios in Pyrmont
Pyrmont, New South Wales
Pyrmont is an inner-city suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Pyrmont is located 2 kilometres south-west of the Sydney central business district in the local government area of the City of Sydney...
, Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
.
It premiered at 6pm on 24 January 2011. On October, 19 2011 network TEN officially announced that 6:30 With George Negus has been cancelled as a result of low ratings. The final episode of the series will air on October, 28 2011 in what will be the shows 200th episode. The series was replaced by an extended version of The 7pm Project
The 7PM Project
The Project is an Australian talk show television program airing weeknights across Australia on Network Ten. The formerly half hour long show premiered on 20 July 2009, and is hosted by Charlie Pickering, Carrie Bickmore and Dave Hughes, with a rotating daily guest panelist...
which will be retitled as The Project.
History
In August 2010, Network TenNetwork Ten
Network Ten , is one of Australia's three major commercial television networks. Owned-and-operated stations can be found in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth, while affiliates extend the network to cover most of the country...
announced that it would spend an additional $20 million per year to strengthen its news and current affairs
Ten News
Ten News is the national news service of Network Ten in Australia. The majority of its news bulletins are presented from the TEN-10 studios in Pyrmont...
output. Those changes included launching a 6pm national current affairs program, followed by local half-hour news bulletins at 6:30pm.
On 8 October 2010, it was announced that George Negus would leave SBS
Special Broadcasting Service
The Special Broadcasting Service is a hybrid-funded Australian public broadcasting radio and television network. The stated purpose of SBS is "to provide multilingual and multicultural radio and television services that inform, educate and entertain all Australians and, in doing so, reflect...
's Dateline to join Network Ten
Network Ten
Network Ten , is one of Australia's three major commercial television networks. Owned-and-operated stations can be found in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth, while affiliates extend the network to cover most of the country...
. Negus confirmed a day later that he would be hosting Ten's new 6pm program. The first edition of 6PM with George Negus aired on Monday 24 January 2011.
In March 2011, Network Ten
Network Ten
Network Ten , is one of Australia's three major commercial television networks. Owned-and-operated stations can be found in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth, while affiliates extend the network to cover most of the country...
announced that it would be moving the program to 6:30pm in an effort to address persistently poor ratings for its early evening schedule. The changes, introduced on Monday 4 April 2011, led to Ten's local news bulletins at 5:00pm being extended by a further 30 minutes with Negus' program in direct competition with the Nine Network's A Current Affair and the Seven Network's Today Tonight
Today Tonight
Today Tonight is a controversial Australian News and Current Affairs program, produced by the Seven Network and shown weeknightly at in direct competition with rival Nine Network program A Current Affair....
.
On 19 October 2011, Network TEN announced that they had cancelled the program and replace it with an hour-long version of The 7PM Project
The 7PM Project
The Project is an Australian talk show television program airing weeknights across Australia on Network Ten. The formerly half hour long show premiered on 20 July 2009, and is hosted by Charlie Pickering, Carrie Bickmore and Dave Hughes, with a rotating daily guest panelist...
, renamed The Project at 6:30pm after very poor ratings. The 200th and final ever edition of 6.30 with George Negus is due to air on Friday 28 October 2011.
Reporters
6.30 with George Neguss reporters include:- Senior Foreign Correspondent: Hamish Macdonald
- Political Editor: Hugh RimintonHugh RimintonHugh Riminton is a journalist, foreign correspondent and television news presenter.Raised in New Zealand, he began work as a cadet reporter, aged 17 in Christchurch before moving to Australia in 1983 to work for the Macquarie Radio Network in Perth and Melbourne. In 1989, he joined the Australian...
- Environment: Emily Rice
- Consumer: Eddy Meyer
- Sydney: Danielle Isdale
- Melbourne: Meggie Palmer
- Brisbane: Max Futcher
- United States: Emma Dallimore
Reception
The first episode of 6PM with George Negus aired on 24 January 2011 to an average of 605,000 viewers ranking it 18th for the day. This was over the half a million target set by the show's executive producer, Tony Ritchie. The program was third-placed in its timeslot behind Seven NewsSeven News
Seven News is the television news service of the Seven Network in Australia.National bulletins are presented from Seven's high-definition studios in Martin Place, Sydney, while flagship 6pm bulletins are produced in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide, and Perth. The network also produces Seven...
and Nine News. Colin Vickery from the Herald Sun
Herald Sun
The Herald Sun is a morning tabloid newspaper based in Melbourne, Australia. It is published by The Herald and Weekly Times, a subsidiary of News Limited, itself a subsidiary of News Corporation. It is available for purchase throughout Melbourne, Regional Victoria, Tasmania, the Australian Capital...
commented on how fast-paced the show was, but concluded that the show "got off to a serviceable start tonight – but it seriously needs to slow down and take the time to live up to host's promises". Tim Dick from the Sydney Morning Herald also noted the rushed nature of the show and stated that Negus "deserves more time".
Nightly ratings for the program deteriorated in the weeks following the first broadcast, with the program ranking outside the top 100 weekly programs from its third week onwards, and its average audience falling below 400,000 viewers each night. However after the timeslot shift, by July 2011 audience numbers had risen and stabilised to just below 500,000 viewers each night.
External links
- 6.30 with George Negus Official website
- 6.30 with George Negus on TwitterTwitterTwitter is an online social networking and microblogging service that enables its users to send and read text-based posts of up to 140 characters, informally known as "tweets".Twitter was created in March 2006 by Jack Dorsey and launched that July...