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WIN sacks Nine News Adelaide presenters

WIN-owned Channel Nine Adelaide has sacked two News presenters, Georgina McGuinness and Michael Smyth.

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WIN-owned Channel Nine Adelaide has sacked Nine News presenters Georgina McGuinness and Michael Smyth.

Contracts for both will not be renewed.

McGuinness, who presents weekend bulletins, has been with Nine since 1987. Smyth, who presents the weekday Nine news bulletin with Kate Collins, joined in 2008.

Collins will present the weeknight bulletin solo from December 1st and a new weekend presenter will be announced shortly.

Nine’s Adelaide General Manager Graeme Gilbertson said, “These moves fall in line with a network restructure and I sincerely thank both Georgina and Michael for their outstanding contribution to Channel Nine Adelaide”.

Smyth added, “I have really enjoyed my time at Nine News, and wish my colleagues all the best for the future. They are a talented and dedicated group who deserve every success. I’m eagerly looking forward to the next chapter in my career.”

Last week WIN-owned Nine News averaged 75,390 viewers to Seven’s 133,518 viewers.

The official Press Release did not quote McGuinness.

31 Responses

  2. Cameron (5:35pm), Nine Entertainment Co have never been interested in buying the Adelaide station, only the Perth one in 2007. WIN Corp are in a postion where they have to follow a network-wide script dictated by Sydney while dealing with a local audience that seem to have their television sets fused to Seven News. Even if Nine-proper did own the Adelaide station, I suspect they wouldn’t have been so patient with the low ratings & would’ve shaken things up there a long time ago – just ask their Brisbane viewers.

    But I agree with one thing you wrote; 7pm ABC News is best.

    Walter (10:13pm), you try putting out 24 seperate local bulletins around the country without making things look stretched. Please name another network (regional or metro) that invests as much as WIN does in local television news…

  3. What a loss for Channel 9 News! What are you doing sacking the best weekly newsreader in Adelaide? Won’t be watching 9 News anymore after Mike Smyth leaves! Good luck Michael – you deserve better than that. All the best too, to Georgina – another talented newsreader. A massive mistake by Channel 9!

  4. When i read this story on the bus on the way home i could not understand why they did this. It hadnt even been three years or even half a decade and they pull the pin. I dont think changing the news readers or doing a cosmetic overhawl will do it. If Nine adelaide is to seriously challenge 7 then they need a restructure of the kind of stories they do, or maybe go back to what made them number one before 7 took that mantle.

  7. They’re certainly giving Chris a chance to attract more viewers at present… although I tend to agree – Sydney’s 7 News is regularly being beaten by Sydney’s 9 News – and Kerry doesn’t like that!

  8. @stevesydney – Chris Bath will not be reading weeknights here in Sydney next year. Mark Ferguson has done his time and I expect will be in the chair after the summer hiatus. Watch this space ….

  9. Most of the quotes on press releases from those sacked are not written by them at all. Network spin doctors and publicity departments make it look and sound better than it is.

    I can assure you that the last thing on-air talent is concerned with once being “boned” is contributing nice words to a network press release.

  11. This is nothing more than cost cutting, getting people on half the pay of the incumbants to do the same job!

    Won’t be long before NWS and SES News are one and the same, as they now come out of the same studio now back to back since the SES studio was closed down last year. Why not just cut the 2nd only to SES half hour and be donw with it WIN!!. And then give it another year, cut what News is left at NWS and relay TCN or the more AFL centric GTV News on delay, just like what Tasmania is starting to experience on weekends since the axing of TVT News, replaced with a relay of GTV News.

    WIN are an industry disgrace!!

    Whilst Nine Adelaide and Nine Perth burn, the cash registers are ringing ever more in tax free Bermuda!

  12. @Kathy We all have our favourites and all have different tastes in what we like and dislike. I personally think she is great. Even if I didn’t like her I would still be angry as she did not deserve to be sacked. Who would if they did nothing wrong. She is only on twice a week for around 45 weeks of the year.

    For many years the weekend news delivered very stong ratings and still won weekends throughout the late 00s. I even heard that many years ago (1990s?) Nine News won on over the 7 days combined. Nine News lost weekdays but won by enough on weekends to put them on top.

    She is close to celebrating 25 years there at Nine and getting sacked now is the worst time to go. Kate Collins has a chance to make it 25 years but only if she is still there in 2031.

  14. I doubt changing Newsreader will increase ratings…

    Although in saying that… here in Sydney, I for some reason don’t warm to Chris Bath which is why I stick to Nine with Peter Overton. I even like Georgie Gardener on Fridays and Saturdays. I don’t like Wendy Kingston though, go figure

  15. Win Television is a disgrace throughout the country.
    They pay junior reporters the mininum with out any overtime at all offered and just don”t have the resources and money to be quality. Just watch WIN TV how many phone interviews do they do with talent just because they don’t have the time to travel in country areas because of the early deadlines. Its a disgrace! The news director of WIN TV does have a lot to answer for to the viewer and they seem to set unrealistic goals for staff to achieve.

  17. I must be the only one happy with ‘some’ of this news…

    I have never been a fan of Georgina McGuinness hence I never tuned into her timeslot.

    Cameron said “This is a disgrace. Two of Adelaide’s best newsreaders given the flick”.
    Are you serious? She was far from the best mate.

  21. Sad news, however most States now only have 1 newsreader on weeknights and weekends. How about we look at the staff that are left behind and work hard despite the situation.
    At the end of the day, News should be about integrity, not ratings. Also, they still outrate 10 so lets not talk about this like it is the end of the world. It is the cycle of TV.

  22. I thought it was such a shame that Michael left the ABC for Nine a while back. He was the best news presenter we had here in Adelaide for ABC (both TV & radio). I only ever watch ABC or SBS news the rest pretty awful.

    Poor old Michael – I bet he wishes he never stepped foot in that travesty of a tv station that is Nine…..

    The little I’ve seen and heard of Georgina McGuinness has not made me a fan.

  23. This is a terrible shame as I thought both did a terrific job. Michael Smyth in particular is an excellent newsreader – highly professional and pleasant to listen to. I recall his time when he was on the ABC fronting the ABC news desk on ocassion. I recall thinking he did a great job there also. My best wishes to both of them in their future careers.

  24. This is a disgrace. Two of Adelaide’s best newsreaders given the flick. After Rob Kelvin retired, Nine Adelaide had a great opportunity to establish a long term news team which had the potential to become number 1 in given time. However Win decided to axe Postcards which was a great lead in the the Sunday news which Nine regularly won. Nine also had local programs on Saturdays at 5:30pm as well. Georgina has been a very strong news presenter for Nine and I have a feeling she was axed due to low ratings which were Win’s fault and not hers. Weekend weather presenter Xavier was also axed at the start of the year. Too much change at a time is a bad move which will no doubt work against Nine. If the ratings dip further blame it on Win.

    Nine Network should increase Win’s affliation fees to make up for the low ratings in Adelaide and Perth and to make up for low new ratings. If Adelaide and Perth were O&O stations the ratings would less likely to be as bad. Southern Cross in SA can’t even broadcast Nine News from Adelaide and instead shows Sydney news.

    With all the changes and tabloid trash the best news comes from the ABC!

  25. “These moves fall in line with a network restructure”
    what? to lose all the time or to penny pitch everything??
    Stupid, Stupid, Stupid, WIN. Sell WIN and stick to regional television

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