7NEWS has confirmed a major restructuring of its news operations in Queensland, marking the end of the Gold Coast’s local 5.30pm news bulletin in a significant shift to modernise the delivery of its prime-time metropolitan coverage.
The change will see the Gold Coast news operation streamlined into a multi-faceted news bureau that will continue to produce award-winning stories and cover key regional issues, but with a shift in focus towards integration into the 6pm metropolitan bulletin, which is already a cornerstone of Seven’s programming.
This restructuring means the 5:30pm local news bulletin will be axed, with the final Gold Coast-focused broadcast scheduled for this Thursday. Viewers will now tune in to a revised lineup that includes a full hour of Seven’s Afternoon News at 4pm, followed by The Chase Australia at 5pm, before transitioning to 7NEWS live at 6pm with presenters Max Futcher and Sarah Greenhalgh.
In a statement, Anthony De Ceglie, Seven Network director of news and current affairs and editor-in-chief at Seven West Media, said the changes reflect the evolving landscape of news delivery. “This is about bringing together and modernising both our Gold Coast local news and Brisbane’s unrivalled 6pm bulletin hosted by Max Futcher and Sarah Greenhalgh,” De Ceglie said.
“It’s an exciting evolution, and it in no way diminishes our commitment to the Gold Coast. Quite the opposite. The creation of a dedicated Gold Coast news bureau will allow us to inject the most crucial local stories and issues directly into the metropolitan 6pm news every night,” he added.
Local 7News Gold Coast presenters Amanda Abate and Steve Titmus will stay with the network.
Max Futcher and Sarah Greenhalgh from 7News Brisbane will now present Gold Coast news as part of the metropolitan 6pm bulletin.
A shift to the bureau model
The shift to a consolidated bureau model will ensure that Gold Coast stories — including key regional issues — will still feature prominently in the nightly news cycle, with a greater focus on delivering those stories to a wider, metropolitan audience. The new setup aims to improve the reach and impact of Gold Coast news by giving it a “stronger voice” within Seven’s larger, state-wide programming, reaching a broader viewership in the process.
While the change affects the local 5.30pm bulletin, most staff from the Gold Coast newsroom are expected to remain in the new bureau, with some transitioning to the Brisbane office. Other teams based on the Gold Coast — outside of the news department, including sales teams — are not impacted by the changes.
“This change will allow us to deliver more comprehensive and timely coverage of the stories that matter most to the Gold Coast community,” De Ceglie added. “It’s about making sure viewers in the region have access to the most important local and metropolitan news as they sit down for dinner at 6pm.”
Impact on viewership
For Gold Coast viewers, the restructured news schedule offers a more consistent, metropolitan-focused lineup, ensuring that 7NEWS at 6pm remains the focal point of evening news. With more people now able to tune in at the 6pm timeslot, Seven is positioning its broader coverage as more accessible to a larger, more diverse audience.
This announcement comes just a week after Seven’s 2025 Upfront presentation, which showcased a strategy centered around live-streamed sports, expanded news offerings, predictive AI insights, and a new ad-buying system that focuses on audience members rather than channels.