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Melissa Doyle departs Seven network

End of an era as Melissa Doyle leaves Seven after 25 years.

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The Seven Network has today announced Melissa Doyle will be leaving the network after 25 years.

Her final day is today.

From her early days in the Canberra bureau and the Sydney newsroom, Melissa has held presenting and hosting roles on 11AM, Today Tonight, Sunrise, Seven News, Sunday Night and most recently The Latest.

During that time, she has covered stories including the Beaconsfield mine disaster, Olympic Games in Sydney, Athens and Beijing, the National day of mourning for the victims of the Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 tragedy, the Lindt café siege, the Paris attacks, Centenary of ANZAC commemorations in Gallipoli, the Royal Weddings of Prince William and Catherine Middleton and later Harry and Meghan and multiple state and federal elections.

Melissa Doyle said: “For 25 years, I have called Channel Seven home. I’ve had the privilege to share stories that mattered, meet incredible people and be there for significant moments in history. I am incredibly proud of the work I have done and appreciative of the trust and warmth our viewers have shown me. I want to thank the consummate professionals I have worked with along the way, in particular our Chairman Kerry Stokes for his constant support. I leave Seven with a great deal of pride, satisfaction and gratitude.”

CEO and Managing Director Seven West Media, James Warburton, said: “Melissa has deserved every success that’s come her way and has been a huge part of the Network. On behalf of everyone at Seven West Media I want to wish Mel the very best and thank her for everything she’s done for the Seven Network.”

Seven Network Director of News and Public Affairs, Craig McPherson, said: “From reporting to presenting to mentoring her colleagues, Mel has been a fundamental part of the Seven Network’s News and Public Affairs team for more than two decades. Classy, professional and a delight to work with, Mel leaves us with a history she should be enormously proud of. On behalf of all her former and current colleagues here at Seven, I’d like to thank her for contributing so much to our successes and wish her every success in her next endeavour.”

Seven is yet to confirm if Melissa Doyle resigned or they did not renew her contract. Tonight the network will broadcast a special farewell in Seven News at 6.00.

In a further statement on her website Melissa Doyle said:

I have some personal news to share…after twenty-five years I am leaving the Seven Network.

For half of my life I have called Channel Seven home and in that time I’ve had the privilege to share stories that mattered, meet incredible people and report on some of the greatest moments in history.

I am incredibly proud of the work I have done and so grateful to have worked with some of the very best in my industry.

And I am so appreciative of the trust and warmth our viewers have shown me. They have been part of my family – through Today Tonight, Sunrise, Seven News, Sunday Night and the multitude of programs I’ve been part of at Seven.

I want to thank the consummate professionals I have worked with along the way, and in particular our Chairman Kerry Stokes for his constant support.

Whilst I am sad to be leaving, I do so with a great deal of pride, satisfaction and gratitude.

Every ending is a beginning and I’m excited for what comes next.

Thank you.
Melissa

44 Responses

  1. I have nothing but respect for the work Melissa has done for Seven over the years. She was a massive reason why we stuck with Sunrise for several years (this household didn’t connect with it after she left) and she has always told her stories with tremendous poise, professionalism and warmth. I hope we get to see what’s next for her.

  2. Another good women gone from our screens…..
    Seems all we get now are young women who all look the same….saving $$$ I guess….
    Still some to be found on the ABC…for now…

    1. I’m so glad someone has noticed the frantic phasing out of middle aged women for younger models on Australian TV at the moment, Wilkinson not withstanding.
      Bizarre considering the fact that the only people watching fta television these days are over 50s, but then tv execs could never be accused of being on top of the zeitgeist, could they?
      Good luck to everyone. May the sacred “accidental Wilkinson budget” leave something for everyone else at the end of the day, hey?

  3. Just thinking out loud here….
    Ten could recruit Mel Doyle and Lisa Wilkinson to host a new version of Studio 10. Would be a bold move and very credible. Sarah Harris could swap with Lisa and move to the Project….

  4. You can just tell with Mel when you watch her on the tv that she is a kind warm hearted generous soul and someone who comes across really nice.

    It’s a shame she won’t be on 7 anymore but no doubt she will be somewhere on our screens soon. She may also want to take a break to and have a rest.

  5. Mel Doyle has helped turn things around for 7. In Aug 2004, Sunrise started broadcasting from Martin Place. They start to become competitive against Today in breakfast rating wars. 2005 was an interesting year with Sunrise beating Today in ratings. When Karl replaced Liebmann as male host on Today, the ratings started to drop. That year saw 7News take the victory over 9 in news ratings wars. Sunrise has continued its dominance over Today in breakfast ratings.

  7. I think Mel is one of the best live news anchors in the country. The way she can cross live and interview a different reporter for 10 stories in a row is very impressive. She’s calm, confident and knowledgeable. She has the kind of gravitas anchoring that can’t be taught.

    I felt so bad for her when they decided to ‘refresh’ the lineup and ditch her for Sam while keeping Kochie. It showed just how sexist the old boys club of Australian TV is. Men get ‘more experienced’ while women get replaced. Sam Armytage shouldn’t get too comfortable – they could decide to do another ‘refresh’ any moment.

    Today newsreader would be weird fit – I don’t think she would care much for the buffonary they get up to. Studio 10 would be a huge step down.

  8. She would be good on Studio Ten. She would also be a good news reader. Hope she gets a good position on one of the other networks. Even Channel 2 must have a suitable position for her.

  9. Very sad to see she is leaving. Another original TV person gone. She was a good reader and always presented well. I hope she finds something else that suits her and that makes her happy.

  10. Her on screen persona has been warm, smart and attractive. Change is a good thing. I think her TV life may be over, just gotta wish her all the best in whatever she does next….

  12. I like Melissa, professional, sharp along with a kind and fun personality so she will be missed. Ten should grab her if they can she would fit perfectly with the Ten Team.

    2. Even if 10 did make her an offer, I sense Mel would be smart enough to read the room and determine that coming in, on a presumably large salary, when many are being made redundant wouldn’t be great optics for her.

  14. Melissa Doyle was pivotal in helping turn Seven’s fortunes around. With David Koch, she and that team changed breakfast television forever in Australia. The success of Sunrise trickled through to primetime on Seven and helped the network make a tonne of money- more than she ever would have commanded by way of salary. Sunrise was under siege when she left and was replaced by Samantha Armytage but I can’t help but wonder if men in television are given more slack and time to turn things around when it comes to programs performing poorly. How is Mark Ferguson still hosting the 6pm Sydney news? Same goes for Peter Mitchell in Melbourne. Both can’t take leadership in those key markets, yet remain in their roles. I think it’s a shame Seven have lost this true star and could not find value out of her huge following, the audience that trusts and loves her. Now who are their top female…

    1. Melissa should be the main newsreader in Sydney and who thinks Mike Amor will end up with the main job in Melbourne. So much better than Peter Mitchell.

  16. All the networks seem to be on a news cull at the moment which is interesting because it’s the cheapest thing to make. someone suggested she go to Today as a news reader, that seems a bit beneath her.

    She will probably end up on Sky News or something, it won’t be a small role and it obviously won’t be at Seven.

    Tarsh would be great on Today she did well on Wake Up.

  17. I wish Melissa all the best. Mel and Kochie made a great on air duo. She can be heard weekend mornings on Smooth FM. Interesting fact: her middle name is Jane and shares the name birthday as Seven Adelaide News’ Jane Doyle which is Feburary 10.

  18. I’ve got a few thoughts on the matter. The fact she was moved from Sunrise, to Sunday Night, to News, to The Lastest (I’ve definitely missed others) signifies the lack of value 7 have for Mel. She made Sunrise no.1 and deserves to made a priority for the network.

    I’m unsure of where she will land – the media landscape has been wiped out. 9 don’t have room, especially if they didn’t snap up Natarsha Belling – and 10 …well, need I say any more.
    I can’t claim this opinion, but the best we could hope for is a role at the ABC for Mel.

    A great loss and wish her every success. Show 7 what a mistake they’ve made Mel.

  19. Melissa is one of the best we have seen on TV. Unfortunately add her to the list of talented journalists based presenters that have left commercial networks due to lack of investment in news and current affairs and the need to cut costs due to lack of ratings. Ray Martin, Jana Wendt and and Hamish McDonald just to name a few.

  20. In a period of accurately five years, Seven has seen the departure of Chris Bath (July 2015), Sally Obermeder (June 2020), Jim Wilson (July 2020) and Melissa Doyle (August 2020). This one hits me hardest since she is one of the Sunrise “originals”. She is the full package, and one of very few on-air personalities who has marked success in both commercial radio and television. I hope she’s clever enough not to go to Nine because she is capable of a better employer who won’t use her defection as a catalyst for taking pot shots at Seven. All the best Ms Doyle.

  21. 9 would be mad not to consider her for Today newsreader if she would be willing to take the role. Would almost guarantee a ratings boost. Maybe that’s why they strongly denied the Natarsha Belling rumour.

  22. I’ve been watching Melissa Doyle since she presented the local Canberra news on Prime Television in the early ninety’s. It’s very sad to see her go. Hopefully she’ll remain as a SmoothFM presenter.
    The issue I had with The Latest is the programmers are not showing the show the respect it deserves. Moving it’s timeslot to different times on different days and sometimes having the show on as late as 11pm at night which is too late if you have to work the next day even if you are working from home. It’s not that hard to prioritise the show show it is on at around the same time every night. I have always said she could be a good 6pm annoucer for the Sydney news replacing Mark. Even a duo with Michael Usher could be a good option as well.
    Did she take a redundancy or did she leave on her own? Very sad to see her leave.

  24. One of the best. Professional, empathetic, astute. Everything a journo and presenter should be. Always particularly loved her early days of Sunrise with Kochie, before it became the juggernaut they made it and Adam Boland wasn’t afraid to take risks and see what landed and what didn’t.
    Something tells me she won’t be on the market for long, can’t wait to see where she lands next.

  25. Since the end of ‘Sunday Night’ there didn’t seem (to this mere viewer, at least) to be an obvious role for someone of her ability and stature. She was deputising on ‘The Latest’ in recent months and nothing else on screen at least to my knowledge.
    Melissa Doyle is a first class journalist, presenter, journalist and big part of Seven for those 25 years, so giving her a decent send-off on the main news tonight seems entirely appropriate.

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