Seven has announced that it will be wrapping up Today Tonight in Adelaide and Perth which were the final two editions of the show currently in production. Both shows will screen their final editions this week:
• Adelaide Thursday 28 November
• Perth Friday 29 November
See also: Melissa Doyle will lead team celebrating Sunday Night on final episode
Today Tonight is hosted in Perth by Monika Kos while in Adelaide the host has is Rosanna Mangiarelli.
The Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane editions were axed in 2014 when Seven News went to an hour at 6pm.
The current affairs show first launched in 1995 and initially had separate editions for each mainland capital. Today Tonight was Seven Adelaide’s weekday ratings machine, and late last year claimed a record 700th consecutive winning week of official ratings.
Today Tonight premiered on January 30, 1995 with Leigh McClusky as host in Adelaide. Over the years Today Tonight’s Adelaide hosts have also included Paul Makin, John Riddell and Mike Smithson. Rosanna Mangiarelli began her role as host in August 2007.
There are still some at Seven who feel the format should be back on air in all metro markets. In a stirring speech in Sydney at the Kennedy Awards in 2018, Seven reporter and producer David Richardson said the format is not dead. It appears it now could be.
Speaking from Perth, Seven’s Director of News and Public Affairs Craig McPherson said: “For 25 years Today Tonight has dominated in Perth and Adelaide. Producing more than 25,000 stories reflecting the good, the bad and everything in between of their constantly growing markets. To end such a successful reign has been one of the toughest decisions but a necessary one as the audiences shift and change along with the economics. I want to thank all both past and present Today Tonighters. Always committed. Always passionate.”
Some staff will be redeployed into the Adelaide and Perth newsrooms as the team’s news operations revert to a one hour format from Monday 2 December.