Today Tonight saved
Today Tonight staffers are today celebrating after fighting off a serious executive push to drop the consumer affairs program.
Executive heads at Seven wanted to incorporate its content into a one hour news bulletin, which would have led to job losses of more than 50 in the national show’s staff.
But a senior producer at the program told Mumbrella today that TT would return to air on Monday, after a three week experiment by Seven of running a one hour news bulletin from 6pm.
“We’re not going anywhere,” the TT source said.
“We have been working hard and have stock-piled a heap of stories, and we will be all ready to go on Monday.”
The 6.30pm program was dropped by Seven during the bushfire crisis, but stories produced by Today Tonight staffers were included in the one hour bulletin.
Ten days ago a senior network executive told Mumbrella that TT’s future was up in the air.
The speculation came just as Seven hired former Ten newsreader Helen Kapalos to host the Sydney and Melbourne editions, while Sharon Gadhela will front the Brisbane version.
the stockpile of stories – I bet I can guess what they are
Part of me is happy that people aren’t going to be losing their jobs, part of me is desperately sad that Today Tonight will continue to exist.
I was very much looking forward to NOT having to argue with people who get their undisputed factual accounts from TT. A great day for sensationalist journalism.
Awesome, now I’ll still have something mindlessly stupid to watch at the gym! Thanks Channel Seven!
Helen’s very hot
Have to admit; a good, strategic, emotive promo from 7!
A stockpile of stories or a stockpile of cheap, loosely wallpapered infomercials.
The promo for Helen Kapalos fronting TT in Melbourne is as overdone and parochially sickening as the current one for Sharon Ghidella fronting the news and current affairs hour on Seven in Brisbane. In fact the style and words are almost identical with the main difference being the location of Brisbane instead of Melbourne as the city where the host loves living. I suspect most audiences will see through the smog screen and not be fooled by the same diet of weight loss and consumer affairs presented in this time slot.
wow thats a relief, i needed to watch the “great Aussie Pizza Challenge” before I made my purchase decision. To keep really up to date, I read Zoo magazine during the day, and then TT at night.!!!
Yes, sad that TT is still on, but this outcome is actually the lesser of two evils: the phrase ‘Executive heads at Seven wanted to incorporate its content into a one hour news bulletin’ is an even more frightening prospect. @James: it would give those people just the ammo they need — “But I saw it on the news…”
Sometimes it is just kinder to let things die.
Phew, where else would I find the latest reviews on fake tan and push-up bras!
yay – Today tonight, where people get ripped off for being stupid!
Will they do a story about the fat cat big business executives trying to crush the little Aussie battler TV show?
This is terribly sad news for Australian culture.
Overweight, love-shark, dodgy contractor neighbours beware!
So, Helen loves Melbourne. What’s that got to do with journalism?
One day we might go to war. It is shows like Today Tonight that keep the potential soldiers warm and thus keep us safe!!
Come on, it is?!! The viewers are all working class, yet think Alan Jones and Tony Abbott are dead set legends…
Crazy world.
Both TT and ACA need to update their content and be harder hitting. Maybe opportunity in election year
RE the “stockpile of stories” we wont need to see them as ACA has already shown them!! Wouldnt it make sense to have Derryn Hinch front Today Tonight rather than Helen Kapolos. She is a newsreader not a journo and will lose badly to Tracy Grimshaw. What TT needs is Derryn Hinch.Why sign him on and thenWhat a load!!1
Darcy: what to ACA and TT have to do with journalism?
How would have OZ viewers coped without their daily diet of neighourhood disputes, cat trapped up a lamp post and stories of silly people stockpiling garbage in their front yards or in the house!!. Cheque book journalism is alive so people can ring up with boring yarns and have the 2 shows outbid each other, then 60 minutes swoop in and outdo them all
Truly shocking and tragic news.
Blimey:
http://uncyclopedia.wikia.com/wiki/Naomi_Robson
quality journalism-1: dole bludgers-0
Wow, the hypocrisy of the comments here by people throwing rocks from fragile glass-houses is mind-blowing… below even the usual lack of courage of anonymous online critics.
@ Jim Shomos
Hi Jim. So you would argue that Today Tonight is an informative, neutral, quality and highly topical programme, oozing credibility, ethics and morals? A show of real pinnacle importance to our society?
I would be interested in hearing your point of view sir.
Dear Mad Axeman,
You confirm one of my points by hiding behind this online name that doesn’t deserve an adjective. The other points you missed. I don’t watch public affairs TV shows. I do detest gutlless gutter-bitching, which is an unfortunate paradox of “social” media.
The TT team is brand new from top to bottom. We have no idea what the show will be like. You say the viewers are ALL working class as a put-down, yet you must be a regular viewer to justify your comments. If you aren’t you have no right to make the comments. Some of the smartest, highly successful and most unexpected women I know love reading “trashy mags”… I doubt your elitist guess on the audience for this type of show is anywhere near accurate. The only difference is I admit I’m not sure, rather than make an outrageous claim.
My other point is that few people in ad agencies and other marketing roles would be able to stand up to the lofty ideals preached by many of the commentators above – especially yours. Even if what you say about TT is true, all you are doing is mirroring that beahviour on this forum.
Oh Jim… What are you!? An online Producer or a Researcher for TT? Can you not read THE LINES! Today Tonight has little credibility as a source of Journalism, and there would be few raised eyebrows if they announced Rebecca Brooks as the new host.
This whole thread has made me wonder what ever happened to the quality of 60 minutes? When did it start sliding into the quagmire of cheque-book journalism?