Mark Humphries will join 7NEWS from Friday night to present a weekly satirical segment, The 6.57pm News.
The new segment will air tonight and will continue every Friday at the end of Seven’s 6pm bulletins. It will be broadcast live on Channel Seven and 7plus.
“After five years sullying the good name of the ABC’s 7.30, I’m delighted to now be sullying the good name of 7NEWS,” said Humphries.
“This isn’t some radical shakeup of the news, it’s just a three-minute segment at the end of the week. There’ll still be plenty of time for the program to talk about football matches that have already happened and football matches that haven’t happened yet.
“I believe I’ve been hired due to my vague resemblance to network star Dr Chris Brown. I’m looking forward to playing the back of Chris’ head in reverse shots on Dancing With the Stars.”
He continued: “With Matt Shirvington, Matt Doran and Matt Carmichael all working out of Seven’s Sydney studio, I’m here to prove that Seven does occasionally hire people who aren’t called Matt.”
Humphries first gained prominence as a presenter on ABC’s satirical news show The Roast and later on 7.30. Last August, the comedian and his 7:30 team – co-writer Evan Williams and director of photography/editor Chloe Angelo – were let go. ABC executive producer Joel Tozer blamed “a tight budgetary environment” for the decision.
Humphries has also appeared on The Feed on SBS, hosted Network Ten’s quiz show Pointless, and has been a regular on ABC’s Insiders since 2016.
Seven’s director of news and current affairs and Seven West Media’s editor-in-chief, Anthony De Ceglie, commented: “When the nightly news is done well, it’s always been about more than just breaking stories, the latest crime incidents, sports highlights or world events. It’s also about making you think, sometimes making you cry and hopefully making you smile.
“Mark’s new segment will use satire to cut through political spin and translate current affairs in the universal news language of taking the piss. We are thrilled to have his talents join the 7NEWS family.”
The news follows Seven West Media’s announcement of up to 150 job cuts in late June. Subsequently, three of its top staff – chief revenue officer Kurt Burnette, chief marketing officer Melissa Hopkins, and head of sport and managing director of Seven Melbourne Lewis Martin – announced their departures from the company.
See also: Seven West Media redundancies: Three of network’s top executives exit
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Top Image: Mark Humphries