★★★★★ 0/5

TEN axe falls on Ron Wilson, Bill Woods, Craig Smart.

Updated: TEN is discussing the future for Brisbane's Georgina Lewis as it moves towards solo-hosted News bulletins.

87
Leave a comment

More key names have been sacked by TEN as the network moves towards solo-hosted News bulletins.

Ron Wilson, who has been with TEN for thirty years, was given notice today. He joined as a newsreader on Good Morning Australia in 1982 but is best known for his TEN News presenting. He has most recently been presenter of TEN Morning News.

Bill Woods has been with TEN since 1989 including on Sports Tonight, RPM, Thursday Night Live and TEN News.

On the weekend TEN denied Bill Woods had been sacked -but it was an ominous  sign of what was to come. Woods also said at the time nobody had discussed his departure with him.

A TEN spokesperson today said, “As a result of changes in TEN’s News and Operations division, Ron Wilson and Bill Woods are leaving the company.

“Both are highly regarded and respected news presenters and reporters, and have been a key part of the TEN team for many years.

“Both Ron and Bill leave TEN with our best wishes. We sincerely thank them for their significant contribution to the company.”

Meanwhile TEN News presenter in WA Craig Smart will also exit, after joining from ABC late last year.

“As a result of the changes in TEN’s News and Operations division, Craig Smart is leaving the company,” a Network TEN spokesperson said.

“Craig is a highly regarded and respected news presenter, and has been a key part of the TEN team.

“Craig leaves TEN with our best wishes and sincere thanks for his significant contribution to the company.”

Earlier today TEN announced both Breakfast and TEN Morning News would wrap on November 30.

UPDATED: The Age reports: “Ten is still in discussions with Georgina Lewis (Brisbane) about her future role.

87 Responses

  1. @Benji77 – agreed.
    So many weepy comments because a few talking heads got boned! I mean, yes it’s callous, Ten’s PR was lamentable and I’m slightly sorry for them (after all they must have made pots of money over the decades for doing bugger-all) but unless you are related to these newsreaders or you work intimately with them at Ten why are you all so upset?
    You folks really love your newsreaders! I’m sure none of them would give a toss if any of you were sacked.

  2. I just love everyone’s faux outrage and threats to never watch ten again – “I’m taking my bat and ball and going home”.

    No news on Brisbane’s news room yet?

  3. @alex – “just like what happened when they poached another long standing and well respected newsreader Roscoe”.
    Ian Ross retired/resigned from Nine. Seven lured him out of “retirement” for a few years. Peter Meakin (now at 7) was Ross’s boss at Nine. Mark Ferguson was lured from 9 to 7 when Peter Overton was promoted to 6pm news at TCN9.

  4. I cannot understand Network 10. Why don’t they get rid of that dreadful raspy-voiced and stupendously overrated Sandra Sully. She is a guaranteed ratings loser: when her various news programs have folded due to poor ratings, other more competent newsreaders are conveniently bumped aside in favour of her!

  5. Ron Wilson is still a fantastic newsreader – even in the last few weeks he’s been doing stand-in shifts as co-reader on the national weekend Ten News at Five bulletins, and still doing a great job.
    Let’s just hope that these most recent sackings of Ron, and others too, were handled with a lot more sensitivity and respect than how Ten Melbourne news management apparently handled the firing of Helen Kapalos last week. By all accounts that was a complete and utter disgrace.

  6. Absolutely outraged at this, how can Ron Wilson and Bill Woods, two well respected long standing news readers get the axe just like that? Whereas Hamish McDonald and Matt Doran continue on despite the late news continuing to languish in the ratings. You’ve lost me Ten.

    Now is a good chance for Seven News Sydney to get Ron Wilson to front their 6pm bulletin which may see a turnaround for them, just like what happened when they poached another long standing and well respected newsreader Roscoe.

  7. @smit0847?

    Thoroughly confused with this comment, not because of the topic, but it seems to contradict your earlier comments, where you suggested names of news readers that would give cred to news segments?

  10. For people saying that these newsreaders that are being let go ‘have experience’ and ‘are credible’, all they do is read from a teleprompter. They dont write what they read, they are given a script and simply read it. The journalists write the intros to their stories and the news directors decide what is shown.
    I know for a fact certain 7 newsreaders turn up for work 20 minutes before their first on-air news update and dont bother to read anything until the teleprompter starts up.
    It might be sad to see your favourite face leave the screen but their replacement will be reading out exactly the same thing – the only skill newsreaders possess is the ability to read. They dont have to even understand what they are saying.

  11. I don’t understand all the fuss being made about these celebrities being made redundant…people working in factories are made redundant all the time and nobody gives a hoot…..

  12. Correct me if I am wrong, but Lachlan Murdoch was almost single-handedly responsible for commissioning Breakfast (into a market I predicted would then be flooded across 4 networks) and was also responsible for personally selecting Paul Henry as host.

    I believe Lachlan also had a major hand in James Warbuton’s appointment as CEO. I think the accountability lies there. And to initially cancel one of their few real assets “The Circle” over that awful Breakfast program beggars belief. What the hell is going on at Ten?

  15. Rufus said it first – those media releases are a disgrace and a real slap in the face for someone who is supposedly “highly regarded and respected”.

    I bet the last one just had Bill Woods crossed out and Craig Smart written above it. Cheap and nasty, just like the network has become this last year.

    I don’t believe that the world will end in December this year but Ten might.

  16. This may well be the last sympathy I had for Ten gone. Ron Wilson is one of the few news presenters I have absolute respect for. Struggling to see any light at the end of this long dark tunnel for the station now.

  17. Whaaat. I grew up with these newsreaders. As a five year old, I knew that Bill Woods’ face heralded bedtime. Disappointed.

    Remember when Channel Ten had like five news shows in a row? Now journos are sloughing off one after another.

  18. More fail…… If so many experienced anchors are being let go nationally, surely the person responsible for sticking with Breakfast while losing so much $$$ can be shown the door too right?
    It all started with ONE HD (expensive and lengthy contracts for poor rating baseball, basketball, NFL, Netball and those dismal commonwealth games) and hardly a win since then. The ref should stop the fight!!!

  20. ABC’s move into 5.30 news is looking pretty good now. Especially for WA having their own bulletin. Will not be watching 10 any more because what they are doing is utterly disgraceful.

  22. Staff at 7 must be smiling cos Warburton could have been their boss – had he not been willing to become Murdoch’s henchman/lapdog at Ten How soon before the network gets the boot

  24. Really sad day for the media industry as a whole to have such proven, reliable and respected TV news personalities lose their jobs because of very bad and misguided management decisions. Hopefully, and I am sure they will, that competing networks will pick up this talent and in no time at all will grace our screens again. Maybe the Ten Network HR department need some training in HR management.

Leave a Reply