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Horoscopes set to debut on Seven News

The future is zodiac starsigns in Seven News from tonight ...

From tonight, Horoscopes are set to screen on Seven News, The Australian has reported.

“Astro Tash’s segment begins on Monday night and will air on weeknights in a 20-second slot during the 6pm bulletin,” it reported.

It was previously reported the slides created by The Morning Show contributor Natasha Weber will not be introduced, but screen after the Weather.

Showbiz reporter Peter Ford told 6PR, “It literally goes for 20 seconds. There’s three slides, I think there’s four star signs on each slide. You’ve got to be pretty quick to read it, actually.”

But news cuts and changes, which have seen a Friday satire segment added, have not been universally embraced with ousted presenter Sharyn Ghidella telling her Facebook followers,“I’ve seen the toll it’s taken on those who’ve left, those delivering the pain and those still there, and when it comes to witnessing this heartache, I think I’m done.

“I’m also not one to have my evening news served up with humour and horoscopes either, so, to be honest, it is time to go.”

News boss Anthony De Ceglie told news.com.au “We’re not going to be afraid to innovate and we’re only just getting started.

“One thing that will never change is our absolute commitment to telling the stories that matter to our viewers.”

What do the stars say about horoscopes in News?

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15 Responses

  1. I saw them tonight and it was text only, I thought they were being read by a clairvoyant so not as bad as I thought. I am not offended by star signs, there is truth to them, there are guides in our universe, fate and more, and the different personality traits in your signs are usually bang on, but a snippet in the 6pm news doesn’t do them justice. The News is somewhere people go to watch serious and groundbreaking stories, it’s a neutral ground for all cultures and religions to come together and watch what’s going on in our country and in the world.
    Not everyone like me believes in star signs, so why should they have to watch them in their news bulletin.
    Nine are already closing in on 7 nationally, but with these comedy skits and star signs it will tip them over to be number 1 very soon, and 10, ABC and SBS will benefit too. Seven are going down bitch!

  2. I just don’t understand why Seven News would voluntarily risk so much more reputation damage for the sake of a 20-second horoscope segment that will only be of scant interest to a minority. Most of us dismissed astrology long ago. Is it some sort of product placement thing where it’s just an ad for some sort of astrology website or something but disguised as a news segment? (I noticed long ago that the horoscope columns in certain newspapers are now just thinly-veiled ads for commercial astrology sites)

    If they want to turn the back end of the 6.00 hour into a lighthearted mix, just re-use the set of The Morning Show to make The Evening Show and have as much fluffy stories like horoscopes, comedy sketches, etc as they like. The news brand should justify some sort of demarcation from this sort of thing.

  3. What a load of shite…for those not into horoscope ..how about Seven try something “entertaining “ like Jemma Packington in the UK who is the only “Aspagramancer” (I kid you not) in the world …who throws asparagus spears in the air and interrupts how they land..apparently she can predicted anything from divorces..elections..wins with football matches..world leader deaths..to a female US president …she has even appeared on This Morning show with her airborne asparagus to show her skills…even though they are questionable.

  4. Many people are spooked by horoscopes. Some take them too seriously. I don’t think its a good idea at all. News is for news. Find some more news with good life stories.

  5. Ironically up until five or so years ago, Channel 7 news was only 30 minutes, with Today Tonight and others taking up the other half hour.

    And 57 minutes (or 59 minutes and 40 seconds) is still a lot more than 30 minutes.

  6. Just when I thought I couldn’t think any less of mainstream news, they sure know how to set that bar at new all-time lows. A 20 second prayer would have been more sensible than this crap.

    This stinks of something straight out of the documentary – excuse me – comedy film Idiocracy.

    How long before we have “fortune tellers” on the news to “predict” future events? God, I’d hate to give these jokers any ideas.

    1. On Media Watch they showed the UK election coverage with one morning show in the UK having an asparagus psychic on to predict the winner. Imagine that in the main flagship bulletin? Noooooo.

  7. It’s not serious news most of the time so extra woo will fit right in. If they consult the mystic they might get told it’s a bit silly unless they get paid.

  8. I’d rather see a 20 second clip of a “cat stuck in a tree” or a “flock of ducks crossing the street” type of filler stories than Horoscopes.

  9. Oh good God I was hoping this was just something they were putting out there.

    The 7News brand just keeps getting pulled through the manure.

  10. I think it’s okay to have some lighthearted stories, especially when many stories are negative. That’s what I do in the workplace when there are difficult issues, it’ll be balanced with talk about holidays or something interesting, like pets. But is astrology a step too far? It still doesn’t have widespread support or belief in it in Australia, and it could make viewers switch channels because of the genre clash.

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