| Today | |
|---|---|
Today logo |
|
| Also known as | The Today Show |
| Genre | Breakfast News Program |
| Directed by | Casey Wrigley (2005 – present) Wayne O'Donnell (1998–2005) |
| Presented by | Karl Stefanovic (2005 – present) Lisa Wilkinson (2007 – present) |
| Country of origin | Australia |
| Language(s) | English |
| No. of seasons | 30 |
| No. of episodes | 7,363 (as of January 3, 2012) |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) | Tom Malone |
| Producer(s) | Matthew Mitchell Gerry Campbell |
| Location(s) | Sydney, New South Wales |
| Running time | 210 minutes (5:30 – 9:00am) |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | Nine Network |
| Picture format | 576i (SDTV) 1080i (HDTV) |
| Audio format | Stereo (1982–1992) Dolby Surround (1993–2004) Dolby Digital 5.1 (2005–present) |
| Original run | June 28, 1982 – present |
| External links | |
| Website | |
Today is an Australian breakfast television program the show is often referred to as The Today Show. The show has been broadcast live by the Nine Network each morning since 1982. In 2007, the show celebrated its 25th Anniversary with outside broadcasts in five different Australian cities in one week.[1]
On weekdays the programme airs after Nine Early Morning News, and runs from 5.30am through to 9am. On weekends, Weekend Today runs from 7am to 9am on Saturdays and 7am to 10am on Sundays.
Contents |
Officially launched as The National Today Show,[2] Today is Australia's longest running morning breakfast news program.[3] The show premiered on Monday 28 June 1982 and celebrated 25 years of continuous broadcasting in 2007.[1]
The original hosts, Steve Liebmann and Sue Kellaway, spent four years together before Liebmann left to the present the evening news for Network Ten in Sydney. Former 60 Minutes reporter George Negus took over the male presenting role. After four years, Liebmann returned to the Nine Network, hosting Today with Liz Hayes and Tracy Grimshaw. However, in December 2004, 60-year-old Liebmann suffered a mild heart attack,[4] prompting him to retire from the stresses of breakfast television.[5] In 2005, Nine News presenter Karl Stefanovic took over from Liebmann as co-host. Grimshaw then left Today at the end of 2005 to take over from Ray Martin as host of A Current Affair. While it had been widely speculated in the Australian press that Seven Network news presenter Chris Bath would co-host Today with Stefanovic from January 2006, the position instead went to former Ten News presenter Jessica Rowe.[6]
Rowe had mixed beginnings as the co-host of Today with some viewers and commentators attacking her because of her dress-sense and her apparent over-happiness, citing her constant nervous laughter.[7] Following her court case against Network Ten, Rowe was subjected to comments from the media and viewers that she should be sacked and was not right for the role of Today.[8] Rowe's replacement whilst on maternity leave was Sarah Murdoch[9] and Kellie Connolly, both who saw a significant increases in ratings.[10] They both presented until Rowe's departure from the show, when the Nine Network released a press statement on 5 May 2007 saying Rowe had left the Nine Network to 'take up other opportunities for her career'.[11] As of 28 May 2007, former co-host of Weekend Sunrise, Lisa Wilkinson, took over the female co-hosting duties.
Today celebrated its 25th year of broadcasting on 28 June 2007,[1] by travelling to five different Australian cities in one week, which had never been before attempted by an Australian television show. Former Today presenters and musical guests were involved.[12]
On the official day marking the 25th anniversary, past Today presenters who made an appearance included Ian Ross, Tracy Grimshaw, Monte Dwyer, Liz Hayes, and Helen Dalley. Sami Lukis who replaced Monte Dwyer did not appear, nor did original co-host Sue Kellaway. Original co-host Steve Liebmann was also unable to attend, nor was current weather presenter Steven Jacobs, however video messages from both were aired.[13]
After the initial success of Today, a Saturday edition was produced in the early nineties. Hosted by Tracy Grimshaw, it featured more news, politics and economic reports. Grimshaw was later followed by Tara Brown and Richard Wilkins, before reporter Helen Dalley joined the program in 1996. These hosts were accompanied by news presenters Michael Usher, Anna Coren and Mark Burrows. In 2002 Today on Saturday was cancelled due to budget cuts by the network.
In January 2009, head of the Nine Network David Gyngell and former-head of news and current affairs John Westacott, announced that Today will begin broadcasting on Sunday mornings. The program entitled, Today on Sunday, competes in the same timeslot as the Seven Network's Weekend Sunrise, which dominates Sunday morning television.[14] Launched on 1 February 2009, the original team consisted of Cameron Williams and Leila McKinnon with the news presented by Amber Sherlock and the sport was presented by Tim Gilbert on Saturday and Michael Slater on Sunday. On 2 May 2009, after the launch of Today on Sunday, the Nine Network announced via a surprise edition that Today on Saturday would return. The program incorporates the same presenting team as the Sunday edition, being the first Australian breakfast news program to broadcast seven days a week. With the launch of the Saturday version of the program, the Nine Network renamed the programs as Today: Weekend Edition. David Gyngell said the launch of the weekend editions were a part of Nine's plans to strengthen its news and current affairs department and return viewers to its once leading service.
On 25 July 2009, Today: Weekend Edition was renamed as Weekend Today.
As of 2011, Cameron Williams and Leila McKinnon remain as co-hosts with the news presented by Deborah Knight, sport is presented by Tim Gilbert and weather is presented by Emma Freedman.
Today, an offshoot of Nine News, predominantly presents news, sport, weather, entertainment and current affairs, focusing on the first news of the day. However the show also features topics including consumer affairs, health, politics, education, fashion, and the business/finance world. The show has daily feedback and topic segments for viewers to send in their thoughts and opinions via email, text message, and the show's website.
Initially, the program was only a two hour broadcast, airing from 7am until 9am each morning. After dropping Nine Early Morning News, the network moved Today to a 6am start. Again, as part of the 2008–2009 Nine News brand's major expansion in 2008 the show was changed to a three and a half hour format, starting at 5.30am to now "perfect match" Breakfast Radio stations. This move included an exteneded news, sport, finance and weather segment, prior to the main program at 6am. Weekend Today airs on both Saturday and Sunday from 7am. While the Saturday edition is a two hour show concluding at 9am, the Sunday edition broadcasts for three hours ending at 10am.
| Presenter | Role | Tenure |
|---|---|---|
| Karl Stefanovic | Co-Host | 2005– |
| Lisa Wilkinson | Co-Host | 2007– |
| Georgie Gardner | News (Tuesday – Friday) | 2006– |
| Ben Fordham | Sport | 2011– |
| Deborah Knight | News (Monday) | 2011– |
| Steven Jacobs | Weather | 2005– |
| Richard Wilkins | Entertainment Editor | 1994– |
| Richard Reid | Hollywood Gossip | 2004– |
| Presenter | Role |
|---|---|
| Kristie Carter | New South Wales |
| Sylvia Jeffreys | New South Wales |
| Mike Dalton | New South Wales |
| Christine Ahern | Victoria |
| Alison Ariotti | Queensland |
| Jade Robran | South Australia |
| Airlie Walsh | Weekend Today |
| Presenter | Role |
|---|---|
| Charlie Brown | IT |
| Ross Greenwood | Finance Editor |
| Dr Ric Gordon | Health |
| Dr Joanna McMillan | Diet and Nutrition |
| Michael Ryan | Fitness |
| Luke Mangan | Cooking |
| Julie Goodwin | Cooking |
| Trudy Gilbert | Relationships |
| Jo Lamble | Psychologist |
| Henry Roth | Fashion |
| Glenn A. Baker | Music |
| Shannon Lush | Cleaning |
| Mia Freedman | What's Making News |
| Deborah Thomas | What's Making News |
| Neil Breen | What's Making News |
| Helen McCabe | What's Making News |
| Angela Mollard | What's Making News |
| Susie O'Brien | What's Making News |
| Ray Hadley | What's Making News |
| Dianne Butler | Mag Watch |
| Rob Belgiovane | Advertising & Marketing |
The main presenters/hosts of Today have included:
The main presenters/hosts of Weekend Today have included:
Georgie Gardner is the main substitute presenter of the weekday version, Deborah Knight and Ben Fordham or Ben Fordham and Allison Langdon will sometimes also fill-in for Karl Stefanovic and Lisa Wilkinson. Fill-in presenters for Weekend Today include Deborah Knight, Sarah Harris & Tim Gilbert.
Substitute presenters in recent years have included Alicia Gorey, Cameron Williams, Richard Wilkins, Kellie Connolly, Sarah Murdoch, Sharyn Ghidella, Leila McKinnon, Kim Watkins, Helen Dalley, Ellen Fanning, Ali Moore, Frank Warrick, Michael Pascoe, Amanda Paterson, Peter FitzSimons, Peter Overton, Michael Usher, Ken Sutcliffe, Mark Ferguson, Jennifer Keyte, Garry Lyon, Eddie McGuire, Terry Willesee and even Clive James on one occasion while the show was broadcasting from London. Former Victorian Premier Joan Kirner has presented the show on one occasion.
The idea of providing the latest news has been critical to the function of the program. Under the current format, seven main bulletins are delivered, once every half-hour.
News presenters have included:
News presenters have included:
Deborah Knight and Sarah Harris are the main fill-in news presenters. Wendy Kingston, Amelia Adams, Sylvia Jeffreys, Vicky Jardim, Tim McMillan, Sophie Walsh, Davina Smith, Christine Ahern, Majella Wiemers, Kim Watkins, Ben Fordham, Helen Kapalos, Heather Foord, Peter Overton, Mark Ferguson and Chris Smith have all among others presented the news on occasions.
Finance editor Ross Greenwood presents Money Minute weekdays on Today as well as financial stories. Amber Sherlock joined Today as finance reporter in 2007. In 2009, Sherlock presented finance reports from Monday to Wednesday, Thursday and Friday were presented by Kristie Carter. Currently, Deborah Knight and Georgie Gardner present the Finance news after presenting the news.
Finance presenters have included:
Before 2006, the Today news presenter presented the sports report. However in 2006, the show introduced a separate sports presenter and bulletin. Ben Fordham presents live and current sports news after the news bulletin every half-hour. Cameron Williams previously presented sport from 2006 until 2010 he is now focusing on co-hosting Weekend Today and Nine News. The current weekday fill-in presenter is either Tim Gilbert or the news presenter.
Sports presenters have included:
On Weekend Today, Tim Gilbert presents sport both Ben Damon & Roz Kelly are the main fill-in presenters.
Sports presenters have included:
Currently, Today presents weather after each news and sport bulletin, every half-hour. Steven Jacobs is the current weather presenter and he travels the country and occasionally the world, presenting the weather from somewhere new each day or in the studio. Rose Jacobs, Kelly Landry, Emma Freedman, Felicity Whelan Giaan Rooney, Shura Taft, Gorgi Coghlan, Dave Kirwan, Jaynie Seal, Livinia Nixon, Majella Wiemers and Joseph May have all presented the weather on various occasions.
Weather presenters have included:
In December 2009, Felicity Whelan began presenting the weather on Weekend Today after she was chosen through the 'Weekend Weather Presenter' competition. Felicity also filled-in for Steven Jacobs on Today weather. However in April 2010, main fill-in weather presenter, Emma Freedman replaced Felicity who joined Network Ten. Rose Jacobs is a fill-in weather presenter for Freedman. Jesinta Campbell also filled in for Weekend Today weather.
Weather presenters have included:
Today's entertainment presenter, Richard Wilkins (Nine Network entertainment editor), presents daily features, interviews, movie and television reviews, and reports, from right across the world of showbiz.[15] Joan McInnes filled the role for the shows first 7 years.
Additionally, Richard Reid is the show's Hollywood Entertainment Reporter. He delivers a number of daily reports live from the studio in Hollywood. Reid has previously had a various segments including Hollywood Minute, Best Dressed of the Week, Ask Richard and Spray of the Day.[16] In July 2009, Jules Lund filled in for Wilkins whilst he was on a holiday whilst during the 2009/2010 summer period Tim Ross filled in for Wilkins. During the 2011/2012 summer period Lizzy Lovette filled in for Wilkins.
Entertainment presenters have included:
Entertainment presenters have included:
Since 2004, Sunrise has won the ratings battle, averaging more than 150,000 more viewers than Today.[17] However, during 2007 Today has slightly improved its ratings and made significant gains in audience. With a 9% rise year-on-year between 7 and 9am, and a 16% hike in the key 6 to 7am newshour.[18] In contrast, Sunrise has slumped four per cent year-on-year in the 7 to 9am timeslot. While, in Melbourne (where Today is the most dominant) alone Today has won the morning breakfast slot for most weeks since May in the 2007 ratings by a large and considerable margin.[19][20]
In 2009, Today continued to gain more of lead over Sunrise's than it did in previous years. On Friday 12 April 2009, Today beat the Seven Network's Sunrise. Today rated 279,000 viewers to Sunrise's 275,000 viewers. This had not been achieved by Today in almost 5 years. They also won Sydney 107,000 to 96,000, not achieving this since 2004.
Since 2010, Today has had a surge in viewers, as had the whole Nine Network- especially in News & Current Affairs. Sunrise is still strong overall, ahead of Nine by about 50–80,000 nationwide.
During 2011, Today has enjoyed quite a few national wins over Sunrise. Today usually beats Sunrise by a considerable margin in Australia's biggest and most important markets Melbourne and Sydney, however Sunrise's audiences in smaller cities Adelaide and Perth are higher than Today's. As a result Sunrise still receives higher ratings than Today nationally.
Due to the fact that Australia has more than one time zone, Today is not broadcast live to the entire nation. New South Wales (including ACT), Victoria and Tasmania have Today aired live all year round. However, during daylight saving time, Queensland receives Today delayed by one hour. However, in 2007 Today began a trial and aired live into Queensland between 5:00 – 8.30am, with an extra Queensland-only half an hour.[21] This was unsuccessful and in 2008 returned to its previous delayed telecast. However, in the case of major breaking news (e.g. Cyclone), the program goes live into the state, to help provide residents with up-to-date information. Additionally, the Northern Territory, has Today delayed thirty minutes during winter and one-and-half hours during daylight saving time. Some parts of South Australia are also delayed by thirty minutes and in Western Australia the program is delayed by two hours during winter, and three hours during daylight saving time.
Imparja and WIN Television air Today between 5.30 and 9am on the eastern coast of Australia. They also air the show weekdays between 5.00 and 8.30am local time in other Australian locations. In addition to Australia, Today is broadcast in Papua New Guinea and Fiji. Papua New Guinea on EMTV, and in Fiji on Fiji Television.[22]
Even though the name of the show is the same as America's NBC Today Show, it has no link to its American namesake. But ironically, Today airs Good Morning America between 4.00 and 5.00am due to affiliate agreements.[23] However, its rival on the Seven Network, Sunrise, follows the American NBC Today Show format, including a streetside studio. The Seven Network airs a condensed version of the American programme between 4.00 and 5.00am, preceding Sunrise Extra, which is titled NBC Today in programme listings to avert confusion.
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