Dateline moves to Sundays in 2009

Sundays sure are the place to be for current affairs next year. SBS is moving Dateline to 8:30pm Sundays in 2009.

The George Negus-hosted series has previously aired its international series on Wednesdays. The move will put Negus in a timeslot that follows his former stable, 60 Minutes at 7:30pm on Nine.

Channel Seven has already indicated it will unveil its new current affairs programme Sunday Night next year, though a timeslot has yet to be declared.

“This move reflects Dateline’s position as a flagship program for the network, which will sit well at the head of the news week.

SBS News exec, Paul Cutler, said, “George Negus and the video journalists consistently produce outstanding international current affairs you won’t see anywhere else, and their unique perspective on the world will now screen on a bigger night of the week.”

Dateline enters its 25th year on SBS next year. This week the show is in the US for the Presidential Election campaigns.

Press Release:
Dateline, Australia’s longest-running international current affairs program, is moving to a new timeslot next year.

From February 8, 2009 the program will screen on Sunday nights at 8.30pm on SBS.

SBS Director of News and Current Affairs, Paul Cutler says: “This move reflects Dateline’s position as a flagship program for the network, which will sit well at the head of the news week.

“George Negus and the video journalists consistently produce outstanding international current affairs you won’t see anywhere else, and their unique perspective on the world will now screen on a bigger night of the week.”

2009 will mark Dateline’s 25th year, making it Australia’s longest-running international current affairs program. During this time it’s won a host of awards, including a Gold Walkley and multiple Rory Peck and New York Festival Awards.

It’s currently in the running for three more Walkleys and a Rory Peck this year.

Dateline has pioneered the use of video journalism, where journalists work as one-man-bands, filming and reporting stories of global importance on small, unobtrusive cameras, to capture their talent in an up-close-and-personal way.