Network 10 today informed staff about a restructuring of its News and Operations department. As part of the restructuring, the presentation of the weekday 5.00pm to 6.30pm 10 News First bulletins will be centralised in Sydney and Melbourne.
• Presentation of the weekday Sydney, Brisbane and Perth 5.00pm to 6.30pm news bulletins will take place in Sydney.
• Presentation of the weekday Melbourne and Adelaide 5.00pm to 6.30pm news bulletins will take place in Melbourne.
Network 10 will also move to a national weekday weather model. A new national meteorologist will be announced soon. 10 News First bulletins will remain locally produced and will continue to employ local reporters, news crews and operations staff in Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth. The changes to the Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth weekday news bulletins are expected to be effective from Monday, September 14. National weekend bulletins will not be affected. The Project is not affected. There will also be some changes to the presentation of Studio 10. It will continue to air weekdays from 8.00am to 12.00pm.
As a result of the restructuring, some on-air presenters, journalists and operations staff will leave Network 10. The network would like to thank those people for their dedication and hard work. Network 10’s Network Director of News Content, Ross Dagan, said: “The decision to make these changes was a very difficult one and I want to express my sincere thanks and gratitude to our friends and colleagues who will leave the network. “It is in no way a reflection of their talent, contribution or passion. They are exceptionally gifted people. We are incredibly proud of them and their work. There is no doubt they will be missed. “These painful changes reflect the state of the media industry in recent years and the need for all media companies to achieve new efficiencies. “While our viewers in Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth will see some on-air changes, we will continue to produce local news and employ local reporters, camera operators and production staff in those cities,” he said.
Beverley McGarvey, Chief Content Officer and EVP, ViacomCBS Australia and New Zealand, said: “These decisions are not being made lightly, however, they are essential to future-proofing our business.” A redundancy program has commenced in Network 10’s News and Operations department. No further details are available at this stage.
Those reported to be leaving by the SMH are: Studio 10 co-hosts Kerri-Anne Kennerley and Natarsha Belling; Brisbane newsreader Georgina Lewis and weather presenter Josh Holt; Adelaide newsreader Rebecca Morse, weather presenter Kate Freebairn and sports anchor Will Goodings; Perth newsreader Monika Kos and weather presenter Michael Schultz; Sydney weather presenter Tim Bailey and Melbourne weather presenter Mike Larkan.