George Negus: “I think we proved our point.”
The final episode of 6:30 with George Negus reminded us that it had tackled important themes in a primetime slot.
- Published by David Knox
- on
- Filed under News
George Negus last night bid farewell to his short-lived current affairs experiment on TEN.
The final show was a retrospective of its 200 nights on air, reminding us that it had tackled important themes in a primetime slot.
A montage looked back on stories covering Japan, Somalia, UK riots, Norway tragedy, Washington politics, Middle Eastern conflicts, Australian politics, 9/11 anniversary, Australian floods, drug raids, indigenous issues, climate change, environmental issues, farming, sport, enertainment, high achievers, disabilities, Muslim families and more…
It was an ambitious, but admirable, roll-call.
There were final reports from Hamish McDonald, Hugh Riminton, Eddie Meyer and Emma Dallimore.
Negus opened his show last February promising “A genuinely different way of looking at things both here in Australia and the rest of the world.”
It ended with a final editorial.
“I think we proved our point. There is an audience out there who want to be told not just what’s happening in this country and around the world, but why. Unfortunately, not enough of you buggers watched us often enough. It’s your fault. Just joking,” he said.
Negus, who will return to The Project from Monday, also thanked his team.
“We broke new ground, guys. Proud of you.”
Share
- Tagged with 6:30 with George Negus, The Project
26 Responses
Or did they actually prove the point that not very many people care about what is happening in the real world at all and that’s why ACA and TT stick to shonky builders and miracle diets?
I’ve Taped The Whole Week On VCR. Good Quality Current Affairs Will Be Missed. Bad Decision, Shame Ten Shame
The show was boring. It was so out of whack with ch10 its not funny. Anyone that thinks it should have stayed is not even worth listening to because they are as crazy as Warrick Capper
@lcd tv. Hi LCD. You make some interesting points at I am enjoying reading everyone’s comments as I really wanted this show to work given its quality and the crap competition. But I have to say to you… If your chewing gum remained last in the market place after 9 months it would be dumped too. If woolworths are second they are constantly looking to make changes to improve its standing in the market. Ten should have made changes to attract more viewers. And this included getting a younger host. The reporters were good. The host was terrible stumbling every night. He was too old on a network that’s had a news service and comedy based info program attracting younger viewers. Ten has has loyal viewers over the decades that they have marketed to. This audience is now full of thirty and forty something’s. Not 60 and 70 something’s like this show was suited too. Don’t get me wrong. I enjoyed the show and watched it most nights. But it was limiting its audience with its dated presentation. The quality content was there. It just needed to be presented it a more contemporary way
I agree with most of the comments here. It is terrible that such a quality show is gone. I do wonder however, why it was that 7pm has been given such a fair go and 6.30 have not. I agree the ratings have not been great but as others have said, try promoting it. This is a bad decision by ten and really tops off one of the worst years Ten has had.
Just because it came fourth in it’s timeslot is no excuse to get rid of a show.. especially as it was quality. I’m sure that as there are more than 4 types of chewing gum on the market, they don’t just kill off the brands that aren’t in the top 3. Do we look at Woolworths as being a loser, if Coles beats it? No. Do we look at Myer as being a loser if it doesn’t makes as much money as David Jones or vice versa? No. There is obviously room in Australia for 2 trashy tabloid shows, so then there is also room for a more intelligent show to survive. The fact that this show was surrounded by a low-brow Ten news and a comedy news program, meant that the audience was switching in and out.
Intelligent shows just need to be marketed and sold to the correct audience, and importantly to the right advertisers. If Ten could have convinced premium advertisers (Lexus etc) that this show’s audience was a perfect fit, then the show could have survived.
But it’s very hard to do that with the other 23 hours of lowbrow content around it on the channel.
@Russell
Coming from someone who watched every night I can tell you there were plenty of ‘Australian’ stories…too much even. Old people doing good things, young people surviving cancer, logging in Tasmania, Australian authors, disabled athletes, Gas mining, drought ect. The list goes on and on..
Problem was the undertone of those stories are already being shown to us during the 90 minute News at 5. Let’s just all hope they still use the 6.30 journalists to give us great content in the 5pm bulletin, that way we don’t get weather and finance updates 4 times in 90 minutes..
I agree with Miller- I can’t watch TEN’s news service because it just feels so damn cheap, even 6:30. If Nine were to ditch ACA to go for a national news bulletin of a similar standard, I would watch it simply because it is on Nine.
Why did Ten even replace Homer and Bart with this George Negus fella.Granted the Simpsons were getting old and tired but surely anything would have been better than a boring Current Affairs show.
TT & ACA will continue to be watched by the mindless millions, luckily 19 milion people do not watch either show….
Sorry to see you go George you and your 630 team were covering some great news story’s
There was nothing wrong with the show or the host it’s just the network it was on that was the problem.
Channel 10 was supposed to have a revamp to an older audience this year but failed miserably. No one intelligent and in their right mind was going to watch a show like 6.30pm whilst being bombarded with adverts for shows like Hawaii 5-0, NCIS LA, Offspring etc. and other nonsense that just wouldn’t have appealed to the 6.30 viewer. Their advertising department still seemed to have been stuck in their 16-39yo branding whilst making a show like 6.30 that would have appealed to someone who would have had a totally different mindset.
Had Channel 10 rebranded and changed their whole style to appeal to an older and more sophisticated audience this may have just worked.
Sorry to see the whole team go
Ten did no favours with program and failed with state based news
I really enkoyed this style of current affairs reporting. Reminding what it used to be like years ago, before TT & ACA turned it into a barage of infomercials on how to save money, who is being ripped off and sensationally biased stories. In contrast 6PM and 6:30PM provided educational and informative journalism. Cheers and Thanks!
I reckon if Today Tonight changed to a format and tone like 6:30 it would still come first in the timeslot. It doesn’t have anything to do with the show. It’s Channel Ten. People just automatically tune into TT or ACA at 6:30. I don’t even think viewers will switch to The Project which is sad.
I just hope George (and the team) gets to do reports under The Project banner, we need more than the crap served up nightly on ACA and TT.
he finished the show with editorial when one of the biggest turn offs of the show was his painful editorial and banter between stories.
“I think we proved our point” ahh no you didn’t George. If the show had been successful then yes, point made. But getting axed kinda proves the opposite.
It’s a shame 6:30 didn’t seem to work. I remember the ACA of Jana Wendt days and seem to recall it was much more hard-hitting and respectable – certainly nothing like the ACA of today. Is it just that our need for useless, light, infotainment is higher in 2011? I guess the big question is whether (despite all the whinging about the need for a proper current affairs programme each weeknight) people didn’t watch 6:30 because it was too serious or they just didn’t gel with George? Oh well, I guess it’s back to wonder bras, the newest diet fad and shonky real estate agents for us all……
But George, we were watching you. It was the bogans addicted to the recycling garbage on TT and ACA that weren’t watching.
at least they gave it a good go. you just can’t stop the ignorant folk who tune into trash
See my previous.
The “no idea” remark is not just aimed at the other networks, the Project has fallen in to this hole as well with more glib one liners per minute than most, they may as well add canned laughter.
Sorry to see you go George, you will be missed but sadly it’s the “no idea” version of current affairs that sells these days !
The show could have still be on the air had producers, network management, Ten News division and Negus himself listened to the marketplace.
This show was too high brow for Ten and the 6.30pm timeslot audience.
It needed to be more local, less Middle east, more australian stories and more accessable.
Ten also marketed this show terribly. I dont think anyone really new if it was meant to be news, current affairs or what.
While Negus is seemingly staying at Ten for now, it would be great if SBS could pick up an equivalent show with Negus.