George Negus
George Negus | |
|---|---|
 Negus in October 2011 | |
| Born | George Edward Negus 13 March 1942 |
| Alma mater | University of Queensland |
| Occupation(s) | Television & Radio presenter Journalist |
| Years active | 1967−present |
| Known for | 60 Minutes (1979 - 1986) Today Australia (1986 - 1990) Dateline (2005 - 2010) The Project (2009 - present) 6.30 with George Negus (2011) |
| Website | negusmedia |
George Edward Negus AM (born 13 March 1942) is an Australian author, journalist and television presenter specialising in international affairs. He most recently presented 6.30 with George Negus on Network Ten. He remains a director of his own media consulting company, Negus Media International.[1]
Education
Negus attended Indooroopilly State High School located in the Brisbane suburb of Indooroopilly in Queensland. He studied arts and journalism at the University of Queensland.
Career
Negus was a high school teacher before writing for The Australian and The Australian Financial Review. He served as press secretary for Attorney-General Lionel Murphy during the Whitlam government.[2][3]
TV journalism
He became most prominent, however, as a reporter for This Day Tonight, a pioneering current affairs show on the ABC which began in 1967 and continued through the late 1960s and into the 1970s. Later, he was a correspondent for the Australian 60 Minutes program in from 1979 until 1986 and then co-hosted Today Australia until 1990.
From 1992 until 1999, Negus hosted the ABC's foreign-themed current affairs Foreign Correspondent. After this project he went to live in Italy for 15 months on a professional sabbatical but produced a book entitled "The World From Italy -- Food, Football and Politics" which was published in 2001.
In 2002, Negus returned to the ABC to facilitate a pre-election panel and audience discussion program "Australia Talks" before commencing 3 years as host of the early evening timeslot George Negus Tonight covering "trends and issues with an Australia-wide team of reporters and producers".[citation needed] The show was cancelled in November 2004, due to changes in regional funding to the broadcaster.[4]
In 2005, Negus went on to host Dateline on the SBS network.[5] In this role he became known as one of Australia's most respected journalists.
After becoming a regular on TEN's evening news program The Project, produced by Roving Enterprises In 2011, he began hosting 6.30 with George Negus on Network Ten, however this venture only lasted for nine months.
Books
Negus has also written several books, including one based on his time in Italy, and co-wrote a six-part series of children's books with Kirsty Cockburn, his partner, in the early 1990s. His latest book is "The World from DownUnder -- A Chat with Recent History" and published by Harper Collins Australia. His best selling The World from Islam, published in 2004, an investigation of the Islamic world as seen from Negus's travels in the Middle East. In The World from Islam, Negus defends Islam from claims of extremism, citing Islam's diversity.[6][7]
Controversy
On the 28 February 2012 episode of The Circle, Negus along with Yumi Stynes, made comments about a photo of Corporal Ben Roberts-Smith, a Victoria Cross and Medal for Gallantry recipient, coming out of a swimming pool.[8] After tabloid criticism,[9] they personally contacted Roberts-Smith who accepted their apology and agreed there was no malicious intent.[10] Negus said his comments were taken out of context and he was not referring personally to Corporal Roberts-Smith.[11]
On 13 September 2014, Fairfax newspapers issued an apology to Ms Stynes and Mr Negus, stating "Our interpretation was wrong and we accept that both Mr Negus and Ms Stynes were not referring to Cpl Roberts-Smith personally."[12] News Limited publications, The Daily Telegraph, Herald Sun and news.com.au also retracted the incorrect allegations.[13]
Personal life
Negus lives in Bellingen. His children were raised on a farm near Bellingen on the New South Wales northern coast, where he lived for 15 years with his wife, Kirsty Cockburn, herself a journalist and a collaborator on many of Negus's projects. Negus' son, Serge Cockburn was the child actor who played Mikey Dundee alongside Paul Hogan in Crocodile Dundee in Los Angeles.[14] Negus is a fan of association football and a former board member of the national governing body Soccer Australia, as it was known at the time.[15]
Honours
Negus became a Member of the Order of Australia in the 2015 Australia Day honours.[16]
References
- ^ "Negus confirms he will take 6pm job at Ten". The Spy Report. Media Spy. 9 October 2010. Archived from the original on 12 October 2010. Retrieved 9 October 2010.
{{cite news}}: Unknown parameter|deadurl=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help) - ^ David McKnight. Australia's Spies and Their Secrets. Allen & Unwin. St Leonards, N.S.W. 1994.
- ^ "Negus speaking at Fourth Annual Lionel Murphy Memorial Lecture at the National Library Canberra" (PDF). 13 November 1990: 6.
{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires|journal=(help) - ^ Miller, Kylie (8 September 2005). "Hits and misses". Melbourne: The Age. Retrieved 8 September 2005.
{{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ "Negus joins Dateline". The Sydney Morning Herald. 20 January 2005. Retrieved 20 January 2005.
{{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ "The World from Islam: A Journey of Discovery through the Muslim Heartland". Amazon.com. Retrieved 25 February 2013.
- ^ "The World from Islam: A Journey of Discovery through the Muslim Heartland". Writer on Writer. Retrieved 25 February 2013.
- ^ "Hate campaign continues". The Sydney Morning Herald.
- ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 19 October 2013. Retrieved 1 September 2013.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|deadurl=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help)CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ "VC recipient accepts appolgy". The Sydney Morning Herald.
- ^ "'I feel sick': Circle host shocked at backlash over soldier's 'dud root' slur". The Sydney Morning Herald.
- ^ http://mumbrella.com.au/fairfax-apologises-stynes-negus-stories-linked-comments-soldiers-sexual-prowess-use-ivf-251512
- ^ http://yumistynes.net/NEWSLIMITED_RETRACTIONS.pdf
- ^ "Serge Cockburn". IMDB. Retrieved 13 August 2017.
- ^ "Soccer match generates excitement in Melbourne". ABC World Today. Retrieved 25 February 2013.
- ^ Australia Day honours: NSW residents recognised with Orders of Australia
External links
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Artists | |
| People | |
| Other | |
- Use dmy dates from September 2010
- 1942 births
- 60 Minutes correspondents
- Australian journalists
- Australian male writers
- Australian non-fiction writers
- Australian television presenters
- Living people
- Logie Award winners
- Special Broadcasting Service
- Members of the Order of Australia
- Writers from Brisbane
- Writers from Sydney