Mike Smithson (journalist)
Encyclopedia
Seven 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...
in Adelaide
Adelaide
Adelaide is the capital city of South Australia and the fifth-largest city in Australia. Adelaide has an estimated population of more than 1.2 million...
, South Australia
South Australia
South Australia is a state of Australia in the southern central part of the country. It covers some of the most arid parts of the continent; with a total land area of , it is the fourth largest of Australia's six states and two territories.South Australia shares borders with all of the mainland...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. He also writes for the Sunday Mail as a weekly political columnist and can be heard on Adelaide radio station FIVEaa
FIVEaa
5AA , is 50% owned by dmg Radio Australia and Lachlan Murdoch's company Illyra, and Adelaide's only commercial talkback radio station. The station has a range of programs including news, sport, current affairs, social issues, gardening, lifestyle, cars, travel and health...
discussing political events with Leon Byner
Leon Byner
Leon Byner in an Australian broadcaster who started his radio career in 1966 in Shepparton, Victoria, Australia. Byner currently hosts a morning talk show on radio station 5AA FIVEaa in Adelaide. During his career Byner has worked on radio in every Australian state capital since...
.
Smithson started his career at Seven
Seven Network
The Seven Network is an Australian television network owned by Seven West Media Limited. It dates back to 4 November 1956, when the first stations on the VHF7 frequency were established in Melbourne and Sydney.It is currently the second largest network in the country in terms of population reach...
in Adelaide and has remained there. He moved to Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
to become Seven's chief police reporter for a short time. He has previously been brief host of 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....
Adelaide and European Correspondent.
He married the sister of channel seven presenter John Riddell, and remains in Adelaide with two children.
He was promoted to co-news presenter on weekends in the 1980s.
Some of his biggest reporting stories have included the infamous Skase Chase
Christopher Skase
Christopher Charles Skase was an Australian businessman who later became one of his country's most wanted fugitives, after his business empire crashed spectacularly and he fled to Majorca in Spain.-Early life:...
, the 2000 Summer Olympics
2000 Summer Olympics
The Sydney 2000 Summer Olympic Games or the Millennium Games/Games of the New Millennium, officially known as the Games of the XXVII Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event which was celebrated between 15 September and 1 October 2000 in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia...
and the War on Terror
War on Terror
The War on Terror is a term commonly applied to an international military campaign led by the United States and the United Kingdom with the support of other North Atlantic Treaty Organisation as well as non-NATO countries...
in Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
.
In 2007, Smithson won 3 awards at the SA Media Awards: the inaugural award for Commentary, Analysis, Opinion & Critique for his work with the Sunday Mail, Best TV news report and the prestigious title of Journalist of the Year.