Naomi Robson
Encyclopedia
Naomi Robson is an Australia
n television presenter who is best known as the former presenter of the east coast edition of Today Tonight
, an Australian current affairs
program which is broadcast on weeknights on the Seven Network
, from 1997 to 2006. She now presents an internet chat show offering relationship and dating advice.
in the United States
, but as a child she travelled around the world due to her father's work, spending most of her time between Australia
and Britain
. She eventually settled in Australia and began a Bachelor of Arts
degree at La Trobe University
in Melbourne, planning on majoring in archaeology
and modern art
. After two years Robson dropped out of university to pursue her passion for photojournalism
.
Over the next few years Robson worked in numerous positions, including being an assistant to photojournalists and a copywriter for an advertising agency. She then took a working trip to London
, during which she worked as a journalist
and as an editorial assistant for a magazine publishing house. After three years in London she returned to Australia and, in 1989, became an assistant editor and feature writer for Personal Success magazine.
, initially as a general news reporter but three weeks later she was promoted to presenting news on Tonight Live fronted by comedian Steve Vizard
. She also presented Seven's Late News
as well as Seven's weekend news bulletins and also reported for the current affairs
program Real Life. She was also the summer presenter for the program.
Robson went to the United States in 1995 but shortly returned to Australia to present Our Victoria, a travel show for the Victorian
market. She also co-hosted Seven's News At Five
with Peter Ford in Melbourne
. In 1997 she became the presenter of the Melbourne
version of Today Tonight
. The program was later extended to Sydney
and Brisbane
, with Robson as presenter. Figures from the ratings research firm OzTAM
indicate that she had a nightly audience of more than one million people across the three capital cities.
Suggestions surfaced on 22 November 2006 that she would leave Today Tonight
at the end of the year. She confirmed this on 27 November, saying she would pursue her career in other areas of television. She said "2006 hasn't been the easiest of years". She presented her last show on 1 December 2006. Her replacement, Anna Coren
, was named six weeks later.
In January 2007 it was reported that Robson had persuaded Channel Seven executives to extend her contract with the network so that she could compete in the sixth series of Dancing with the Stars
. On 13 March 2007 she was part of the third couple voted off the program. Later in the year, Seven executives were reported in the press saying that Robson would be given her own "Oprah Winfrey
" style program where she would have an "opportunity to show off the caring side of her personality".
Robson was then sacked after the network refused to pick up her pilot, however she returned to narrate Seven's factual series Surf Patrol
in mid-2008.
In September 2009, Robson appeared as a presenter with Larry Emdur
on Seven's The Morning Show
, standing in for Kylie Gillies
, who was taking a week off.
A number of critical descriptions of Robson have been dismissed by her or her representatives as distortions or fabrications by rival journalists. In particular, when The Daily Telegraph
alleged that other reporters called her a "princess" overly concerned with her appearance, Robson herself denied the allegations. When The Australian
cited a source describing her as a "cold, waspish, punishment-oriented, dominatrix", Today Tonight producer Neil Mooney described the story as "attempted character assassination ... based on fiction". However, an off-air outburst that was recorded and later broadcast by the Triple J
radio station, did provoke a public apology by Robson.
In March 2006 information surfaced that Robson had a brief relationship with a drug dealer and the primary informant in the Tony Mokbel
drug trial. Mokbel's counsel, Con Heliotis, QC, spoke during pre-trial submissions of evidence that Robson was supplied cocaine though this was never discussed during the trial. Robson refuted these claims stating that they had a "short-lived association" and that he "had totally misrepresented himself". She referred to the drug allegations as "a pack of lies" and stated that she was "extremely anti-drugs".
In August 2006 while reporting on the death of Steve Irwin
she appeared on air wearing khaki and with a lizard on her arm. Several months later Robson described the incident as a mistake, but that it was not her idea to wear the shirt or the reptile and she was not comfortable with it at the time.
In September 2006, Robson and her crew were detained in Indonesia
after arriving in the country with tourist visas to film a story on a boy they believed was in danger of being killed by cannibals. They were later deported.
In early 2010, Robson's manager, Max Markson, made several attempts to remove comments about these controversies from Wikipedia
, describing the article on Robson as "libellous". Wikipedia editors responded with concerns that Markson's edits were biased and in contravention of Wikipedia guidelines. The incident attracted media coverage, drawing further attention to the controversies (the so-called Streisand effect
).
In August 2010, Robson appeared in a promotion for pay-tv screenings of The Chaser's War on Everything, her former critics, in the form of a mock interview.
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...
n television presenter who is best known as the former presenter of the east coast edition 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....
, an Australian current affairs
Current affairs (news format)
Current Affairs is a genre of broadcast journalism where the emphasis is on detailed analysis and discussion of news stories that have recently occurred or are ongoing at the time of broadcast....
program which is broadcast on weeknights on the Seven Network
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...
, from 1997 to 2006. She now presents an internet chat show offering relationship and dating advice.
Early life
Robson was born in Los Angeles, CaliforniaLos Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, but as a child she travelled around the world due to her father's work, spending most of her time between 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...
and Britain
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. She eventually settled in Australia and began a Bachelor of Arts
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
degree at La Trobe University
La Trobe University
La Trobe University is a multi-campus university in Victoria, Australia. It was established in 1964 by an Act of Parliament to become the third oldest university in the state of Victoria. The main campus of La Trobe is located in the Melbourne suburb of Bundoora; two other major campuses are...
in Melbourne, planning on majoring in archaeology
Archaeology
Archaeology, or archeology , is the study of human society, primarily through the recovery and analysis of the material culture and environmental data that they have left behind, which includes artifacts, architecture, biofacts and cultural landscapes...
and modern art
Modern art
Modern art includes artistic works produced during the period extending roughly from the 1860s to the 1970s, and denotes the style and philosophy of the art produced during that era. The term is usually associated with art in which the traditions of the past have been thrown aside in a spirit of...
. After two years Robson dropped out of university to pursue her passion for photojournalism
Photojournalism
Photojournalism is a particular form of journalism that creates images in order to tell a news story. It is now usually understood to refer only to still images, but in some cases the term also refers to video used in broadcast journalism...
.
Over the next few years Robson worked in numerous positions, including being an assistant to photojournalists and a copywriter for an advertising agency. She then took a working trip to London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, during which she worked as a journalist
Journalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
and as an editorial assistant for a magazine publishing house. After three years in London she returned to Australia and, in 1989, became an assistant editor and feature writer for Personal Success magazine.
Television presenter
In 1990 Robson joined 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...
, initially as a general news reporter but three weeks later she was promoted to presenting news on Tonight Live fronted by comedian Steve Vizard
Steve Vizard
Stephen William Vizard, born 6 March 1956 in Richmond, Victoria, is an Australian media personality, comedian, businessman and writer.-Early life:...
. She also presented Seven's Late News
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...
as well as Seven's weekend news bulletins and also reported for the current affairs
Current affairs (news format)
Current Affairs is a genre of broadcast journalism where the emphasis is on detailed analysis and discussion of news stories that have recently occurred or are ongoing at the time of broadcast....
program Real Life. She was also the summer presenter for the program.
Robson went to the United States in 1995 but shortly returned to Australia to present Our Victoria, a travel show for the Victorian
Victoria (Australia)
Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....
market. She also co-hosted Seven's News At Five
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...
with Peter Ford in 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...
. In 1997 she became the presenter of the 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...
version 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....
. The program was later extended to 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...
and Brisbane
Brisbane
Brisbane is the capital and most populous city in the Australian state of Queensland and the third most populous city in Australia. Brisbane's metropolitan area has a population of over 2 million, and the South East Queensland urban conurbation, centred around Brisbane, encompasses a population of...
, with Robson as presenter. Figures from the ratings research firm OzTAM
OzTAM
OzTAM is an Australian audience measurement research firm that collects and markets television ratings data. It is jointly owned by the Seven Network, the Nine Network and Network Ten, and is the official source of television ratings data for all metropolitan television in Sydney, Melbourne,...
indicate that she had a nightly audience of more than one million people across the three capital cities.
Suggestions surfaced on 22 November 2006 that she would leave 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....
at the end of the year. She confirmed this on 27 November, saying she would pursue her career in other areas of television. She said "2006 hasn't been the easiest of years". She presented her last show on 1 December 2006. Her replacement, Anna Coren
Anna Coren
Anna Coren is an Australian journalist who is a reporter and a presenter for CNN International, based in Hong Kong, where she anchors the 1 a.m. CET/7 a.m. HKT and the 6 a.m. CET/12 p.m. HKT editions of World Report...
, was named six weeks later.
In January 2007 it was reported that Robson had persuaded Channel Seven executives to extend her contract with the network so that she could compete in the sixth series of Dancing with the Stars
Dancing with the Stars (Australian TV series)
Dancing with the Stars is a Logie Award-winning, Australian light entertainment reality show airing on the Seven Network and filmed live from the HSV-7 studios in Melbourne...
. On 13 March 2007 she was part of the third couple voted off the program. Later in the year, Seven executives were reported in the press saying that Robson would be given her own "Oprah Winfrey
Oprah Winfrey
Oprah Winfrey is an American media proprietor, talk show host, actress, producer and philanthropist. Winfrey is best known for her self-titled, multi-award-winning talk show, which has become the highest-rated program of its kind in history and was nationally syndicated from 1986 to 2011...
" style program where she would have an "opportunity to show off the caring side of her personality".
Robson was then sacked after the network refused to pick up her pilot, however she returned to narrate Seven's factual series Surf Patrol
Surf Patrol
Surf Patrol, Australia's Lifesavers is an Australian reality television series that airs on the Seven Network. The series is produced by the Australian production company Cornerbox, the producers of Seven's other factual series The Force and Border Security...
in mid-2008.
In September 2009, Robson appeared as a presenter with Larry Emdur
Larry Emdur
Larry Emdur is an Australian television personality. He is currently co-hosting Saturday's Weekend Sunrise alongside Samantha Armytage....
on Seven's The Morning Show
The Morning Show
-Australia:* The Morning Show, the top rating morning talk show hosted by Larry Emdur and Kylie Gillies on Channel Seven.* The Morning Show, the original title for the chat show Good Morning Australia, which later became 9am with David and Kim...
, standing in for Kylie Gillies
Kylie Gillies
Kylie Gillies is a television presenter for the Seven Network based in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. She currently co-hosts The Morning Show with Larry Emdur.-Career:...
, who was taking a week off.
Controversy
Robson has been the subject of a number of unfavourable media reports and controversies.A number of critical descriptions of Robson have been dismissed by her or her representatives as distortions or fabrications by rival journalists. In particular, when The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph (Australia)
The Daily Telegraph is an Australian tabloid newspaper published in Sydney, New South Wales, by Nationwide News, part of News Corporation.The Tele, as it is also known, was founded in 1879. From 1936 to 1972, it was owned by Frank Packer's Australian Consolidated Press. That year it was sold to...
alleged that other reporters called her a "princess" overly concerned with her appearance, Robson herself denied the allegations. When The Australian
The Australian
The Australian is a broadsheet newspaper published in Australia from Monday to Saturday each week since 14 July 1964. The editor in chief is Chris Mitchell, the editor is Clive Mathieson and the 'editor-at-large' is Paul Kelly....
cited a source describing her as a "cold, waspish, punishment-oriented, dominatrix", Today Tonight producer Neil Mooney described the story as "attempted character assassination ... based on fiction". However, an off-air outburst that was recorded and later broadcast by the Triple J
Triple J
triple j is a nationally networked Australian radio station intended to appeal to listeners between the ages of 18 and 30. The government-funded station is a division of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation...
radio station, did provoke a public apology by Robson.
In March 2006 information surfaced that Robson had a brief relationship with a drug dealer and the primary informant in the Tony Mokbel
Tony Mokbel
Antonios Sajih 'Tony' Mokbel is an Australian from Melbourne, Australia, who was a fugitive until his recapture in Athens, Greece on 5 June 2007. He is of Lebanese descent and born in Kuwait. Detectives from Operation Purana allege that he is the mastermind behind the Melbourne amphetamines trade...
drug trial. Mokbel's counsel, Con Heliotis, QC, spoke during pre-trial submissions of evidence that Robson was supplied cocaine though this was never discussed during the trial. Robson refuted these claims stating that they had a "short-lived association" and that he "had totally misrepresented himself". She referred to the drug allegations as "a pack of lies" and stated that she was "extremely anti-drugs".
In August 2006 while reporting on the death of Steve Irwin
Steve Irwin
Stephen Robert "Steve" Irwin , nicknamed "The Crocodile Hunter", was an Australian television personality, wildlife expert, and conservationist. Irwin achieved worldwide fame from the television series The Crocodile Hunter, an internationally broadcast wildlife documentary series which he co-hosted...
she appeared on air wearing khaki and with a lizard on her arm. Several months later Robson described the incident as a mistake, but that it was not her idea to wear the shirt or the reptile and she was not comfortable with it at the time.
In September 2006, Robson and her crew were detained in Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
after arriving in the country with tourist visas to film a story on a boy they believed was in danger of being killed by cannibals. They were later deported.
In early 2010, Robson's manager, Max Markson, made several attempts to remove comments about these controversies from Wikipedia
Wikipedia
Wikipedia is a free, web-based, collaborative, multilingual encyclopedia project supported by the non-profit Wikimedia Foundation. Its 20 million articles have been written collaboratively by volunteers around the world. Almost all of its articles can be edited by anyone with access to the site,...
, describing the article on Robson as "libellous". Wikipedia editors responded with concerns that Markson's edits were biased and in contravention of Wikipedia guidelines. The incident attracted media coverage, drawing further attention to the controversies (the so-called Streisand effect
Streisand effect
The Streisand effect is a primarily online phenomenon in which an attempt to hide or remove a piece of information has the unintended consequence of publicizing the information more widely...
).
In August 2010, Robson appeared in a promotion for pay-tv screenings of The Chaser's War on Everything, her former critics, in the form of a mock interview.