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6PM with George Negus

He didn't land any punches on the first day, but George Negus was determined to prove his show isn't Today Tonight or A Current Affair.

If 6PM with George Negus wanted to drive home any message, it was simply: this is not A Current Affair nor Today Tonight.

Consumer stories look like they will be returned to sender on this show, and that’s a good thing.

This is actually the second time Negus has fronted a nightly programme in this type of timeslot. George Negus Tonight aired weeknights at 6:30pm on the ABC from 2002 – 2004.

“I’m thrilled to be part of what is a genuinely different way of looking at things that matter, both here in Australia and the rest of the world,” he said.

TEN’s new show led with an interview with PM Julia Gillard -a move most current affairs producers will openly admit is a viewer turn-off. But TEN appeared to be saying “hang the risk factor, we need a point of difference.”

In a  pre-recorded interview about flood recovery, Negus wasn’t able to cut through the Gillard-speak, but she did manage to wish him luck. Even Julia likes George.

It was followed by a story on flood survivors, which didn’t tell us much that was particularly new. Nine and Seven would probably argue they covered such stories around the time the events actually occured, when TEN only managed one day of rolling coverage.

Hamish MacDonald filed a story on teenage girls in the Middle East training to become suicide bombers. It was a good get, if somewhat brief. Negus’ former Dateline would have delved a lot more beyond the brevity of this scoop. It was footnoted with a trademark Negus’ editorial about how suicide contravenes Islamic law.

Hugh Riminton spoke to Negus about Gillard’s standing in the polls. Given we had only just seen her, this was an interesting placement. Riminton will be a significant asset to this programme, with a long track record in news and carrying viewer credibility. He also touched briefly on the findings of the Christmas Island review.

There were brief wraps on Irish politics, the latest turmoil for Italian PM Silvio Berlusconi and a short 7PM style interview with Victoria Cross soldier Corporal Ben Roberts-Smith.

The mix of stories was the show’s best feature, but as The 7PM Project discovered, rushing through them for fear of viewers turning off does nobody any good.

The show also didn’t fulfill its promise to tell us “why?”

Why, on a day when an inland sea is headed towards Swan Hill, for example, are the Victorian floods lacking the same coverage as Queensland? Negus might have told us why news editors are so fearful of flood fatigue alienating their audiences.

Yesterday’s results of the Christmas Island review deserved a lot more analysis, having previously been a story of national interest.

Negus also didn’t land any punches on the first night. Fewer references to his globe-trotting past would be welcome (even George likes George) and the autocue seemed a bit too far for him to relax. Just one news update on 6:30 Evening News is also warranted.

But if history tells us anything Negus is just warming up. This was a promising start to a major reinvention of the 6pm timeslot. Between them, Seven News and Nine News (Melbourne) last night had stories on Tottie Goldsmith, Shane Warne, trainsurfing, and a beach box that cost more than an average house. Why, indeed…..

Briefly, the Melbourne edition of TEN Evening News appeared to be little more than recycled 5pm stories, some local, some national, some international. If it’s going to recap national / international stories, shouldn’t it cover the big ones? The first story on rising prices for fruit and veggies was woefully belated. And one young reporter surely had some first day nerves…

6PM with George Negus airs 6pm weeknights on TEN.

58 Responses

  1. Watched George for the first time on Australia day. I like the fact ten are giving it a go. But it needs to be a tighter presentation. It is very 1980s pace television. 7pm is a tight quick paced show. Would love to see 7pm up against Tt and aca. It would destroy them. I think George is more suited to 7pm time slot. He need to share the studio with somebody else-interviews or cohost. But wish them all the best. I hate aca and Tt they bring no credibility to Australian tv. Well done ten for having a go!!!!

  2. I cant stand George Negus so I wont be watching at all.
    The show itself looks awfully boring,same as all of the other so called news,current affairs programmes total Sh*te.

  3. Interesting that on the second night of the Negus show they already had a story about rising supermarket prices. At least it was a little more analytical than similar stories on TT and ACA but it still makes the show seem more low rent than it needs to be.

    And again, little of the promised state-based content on the 6:30pm bulletin.

  4. This crap suddenly makes Taken Out and the Simpsons and all those other traditional US Comedies look good by comparison.

    These days if you don’t count Pay TV options your only other alternative is My Family on the ABC which is a much better choice compared to Negus

  5. @pmm…No we don’t the news at 5:30. It would be lunacy for Ten to vacate a slot they dominate.
    The duplication at 6:30 is for people who have arrived home late. The strategy is sound and I just love it.

    If you don’t want to watch …there are 15 other FTA stations to choose from.

  6. I have always celebrated “Australia Day” even thought I am a British National – I have been here since I was 12yrs of age and I have been introduce to Invasion Day – should or should we not look at Australia Day as Invasion Day because we weren’t invited we did invade even though it was seen as “progress” of humanitity.

  7. If Network Ten stick to this then it will be a success. If they focus on the ratings emidiatly then it will just be a copy version of TT and ACA. I know that it will be hard given the networks position at the moment but Network Ten have given themselves a chance here to kick 7 and 9 in this block of programing, i hope they dont let that slip away.

  8. Kill 5pm news, have a half hour bulletin at 6pm then let George make a mockery of the pathetic crap we have to deal with from Today Tonight and ACA – at 6.30

    Its not about conforming to what the other stations are doing, however they Now have the right journalists in the job, its time Channel 10 takes on the others and gets some market share.

    7pm Project is a good way to end the night on a lighter note..

  9. Forgive me if this has been mentioned before but why isn’t George up against TT and ACA – just too much competition?

    There seems no point in having this at 6pm because that is ‘news time’ to alot of people and it always has been and always will be so if you want the news you are not going to switch to George because you won’t get the days headlines.

    I can definitely see it as an alternative to the current affairs twaddle though (not that I would watch, I watch Neighbours)

  10. I agree with David S and others, 6pm is the wrong time for this show. 6.30pm would make more sense. I’m rarely home by 6pm and if I am I watch the news on 7 or 9. if I get home after the 6pm news, I watch the 7pm news on ABC. I can’t watch ACA or TT at 6.30, i’m just not dumb enough, so there’s a hole there that could be filled with George’s show. I’m not going to watch 10’s 6.30 news as i’ve missed the 5pm news and thus the more important stories.

  11. Unless they decide to stream this online, I refuse to watch more News programs in front of the television. TV time is rare enough, I’m not going to try and squeeze this into my day.

    Chuck it online, let it build an audience via more than one medium, puts ads on the stream or whatever I don’t…. This is 2011, not 1998.

  12. what a load of nothing – all his hype about asking why- never did it – must be a gillard suppoter – we need independence not lefty lovers like george

  13. I was looking forward to this program for some serious news coverage but the interview with Gillard was pathetic and I turned off. The interview was a lightweight puff piece with Negus sucking up to Gillard. Not what is needed George!

  14. Would it be possible for George to go to 6.45, with just a 15 minute news update at the end. Although I was glad to have Tim Webster back for sport, he is so much better than that other sports reader.

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