‘Go-To’ guy George Negus

“I walked out of the studio the first night I did it and as far as I was concerned it was probably going to be a one-off, and it’s developed very quickly into a regular thing unless it was geographically impossible,” says George Negus.

Since his first appearance on The 7PM Project, Negus is now “Monday Night Negus,” as he explained to TV Tonight.

“(Producers) Craig Campbell and Paul Horan asked me whether I would be interested in doing it regularly and I leapt at it. It strikes me as being a lot better quite frankly than going to the shrink,” he said.

Negus is one of several senior regulars on the TEN panel, along with others including Steve Price and Denise Scott.

“The 7PM thing just came out of the blue. Everybody thought I would be a square peg in a round hole but it doesn’t appear to be the case.”

Both TEN and SBS, where he hosts Dateline, were comfortable with his appearance on two networks.

“We talked to SBS immediately and ran it by Shaun Brown, and Paul Cutler the Director of News and Current Affairs, and Peter Charley the EP and they all saw the cross-fertilisation benefit of it all.

“Those guys were talking to each other straight away so that nobody felt untoward about what we were doing. We were cross channelling deliberately and consciously when we thought there was a benefit for everybody.”

Working alongside Charlie Pickering, Carrie Bickmore and Dave Hughes, Negus provides generational contrast with his vast experience in news and current affairs. Yet after a career of more than 40 years, suddenly he has become the ‘Go To’ guy. Negus gives gravitas to the younger panel, all of whom look to him for perspective on weighty issues.

But with the show’s turnaround of interviews, there is often only room for one question per interview followed by editorial comment. Negus concedes while the brevity is at times frustrating, he welcomes the format which he sees as a genuine attempt to break the mould of news and current affairs.

In preparing for his appearances, Negus admits, “I think it would be wrong, just because I’m a professional interviewer, to attempt to dominate it.

“We almost workshop the interviews. They work out what the other three want to say and ask and then it’s ‘What about you George? What do you think?’ Quite often I might say ‘I think it’s better if I get involved in the discussion afterwards rather than the actual interview.’

“So it’s not a haphazard thing at all. I think the thing with The 7PM Project is it might look like it’s fast moving and they have to think on their feet –which is true– but it’s also an incredibly professionally-produced programme. The production meetings are some of the most stimulating workshopping of ideas that I’ve ever been involved in.”

Negus says if he asks to drive an interview the show has the flexibility to adapt. As he juggles two television shows, he liaises with producers across each Monday in readiness for his weekly appearance.

“I’ll go the last production meeting, but I’ve been in touch with people by phone about what they’ve got on the rundown, which changes dramatically. That’s one of the most exciting things about the programme. In fact the rundown changes within the programme when we’re on air.”

For a journalist who has interviewed everyone from Hollywood stars to foreign Prime Ministers and dictators, Negus has become ‘cool’ to a youthful audience thanks to 7PM. But as a fervent communicator he is grateful for the opportunity.

“While I think I’ve got something to say and people are prepared to listen, then whether it’s said with your tongue in your cheek on The 7PM Project or seriously on Dateline I’ll keep doing it.”