TODAY TONIGHT

'''Today Tonight''' is an Australian tabloid television current affairs program, broadcast on the Seven Network every weeknight at 6:30pm in direct competition with ''A Current Affair'' on the Nine Network and indirectly with ''The 7:30 Report'' on ABC Television.
There are three different versions of the program: Rosanna Mangiarelli fronts the South Australian edition of the show. Monika Kos is the presenter in Western Australia, and Anna Coren presents the show that is networked to Melbourne, Brisbane, Sydney and Tasmania.
The program's use of sensationalist journalism has proved popular among a large section of its target audience, and has been a ratings success for the Seven Network.

Contents

History

East Coast

South Australia

Western Australia

Achievement

Criticism

Christopher Skase controversy

Promoting racist attitudes

Dole Army hoax

The "Serial Single Mum" controversy

Contempt of court allegations

The "Wa-Wa" controversy

Defamation of Mark McGaw

Chain stunt

Mercedes Corby deception

References

External links

History

''Today Tonight'' was a program first aired in Brisbane in the late 1970s on the Nine Network,^[1]. The current series evolved on Seven from ''Real Life'', which was hosted by Stan Grant. At the beginning of 1995, the program was replaced by ''Today Tonight'', with local editions produced in each of the main metropolitan markets (Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth). In the early 2000s, the Sydney and Brisbane versions were cancelled, and were replaced with the Melbourne-produced bulletin. In 2007, production of the east coast bulletin was shifted to Sydney. Adelaide and Perth continue to air local versions of the program.

East Coast

''Today Tonight'' started broadcasting to the east coast with three separate bulletins: a Melbourne edition hosted by journalist/columnist Jill Singer, a Sydney edition hosted by Neil Mercer, and a Brisbane edition hosted by Carolyn Tucker. Over summer it was usual for ''Today Tonight'' to present a summer edition, which consisted of a single edition broadcast across the entire east coast. In the early 2000s, the Sydney and Brisbane editions were replaced with the Melbourne-produced bulletin.
In 1996, Singer collapsed on-air and was rushed to hospital.^[2] Singer subsequently took leave for a number of months and was replaced on-air by Naomi Robson. Singer returned in late 1996 but was replaced once again by Robson in January 1997.^[3].
The Sydney program was presented by a myriad of presenters from 1995 until 2001. Neil Mercer initially fronted the Sydney edition, later succeeded by Helen Wellings (1996)^[4][5] and Peter Luck (1997-1998)^[6] Stan Grant, ex-host of ''Today Tonight''-predecessor ''Real Life'', returned in 1999 following the departure of Peter Luck.^[7] Grant was sacked by the Seven Network in 2000 after it was exposed he was having an affair with another then Seven Network personality, Tracey Holmes,^[8] and was subsequently replaced by Melissa Doyle. When Doyle went on maternity leave in 2001, the Melbourne edition of ''Today Tonight'' hosted by Robson was broadcast into Sydney. This was intended to last only 12 weeks, but the Melbourne-presented version rated higher in Sydney as the local version.^[9] This led to Seven Network executives axing the Sydney edition in favour of an East Coast Edition. Doyle returned at the end of 2002 to present the summer edition.^[10]

The Brisbane edition of ''Today Tonight'' was fronted by three different presenters in the course of its 7-8 year run, with Lexy Hamilton Smith and Michelle Reiken presenting after Tucker. On December 9 2002, Michelle Reiken went on maternity leave over the summer non-ratings period. During this time, the Melbourne/Sydney edition was broadcast into Brisbane. When the 2003 ratings period commenced, Seven Brisbane continued to air the Melbourne/Sydney edition instead of returning to a local version with an alternate presenter. Although the Seven Network announced that a local edition would return when Reiken returned from maternity leave, this never happened. In May 2003, Seven Brisbane officially axed its local version.^[11]

Until late 2006, the east coast edition of ''Today Tonight'' continued to be hosted by Naomi Robson. In November 2006, Robson announced she would be leaving ''Today Tonight'' to pursue other projects. She was also suspected to have been asked to leave, after a mishap on-air involving swearing at the auto-cues. She presented her last show on December 1. 2006.^[12] According to news reports on January 27 and 28, 2007, Anna Coren was appointed Robson's permanent replacement after six weeks of filling in as the show's summer host.^[13] Earlier reports suggested the network had been seeking ''A Current Affair'' host Tracy Grimshaw for the role. ^[14]
Samantha Armytage is the substitute anchor for the program.

South Australia

Since the program's inception in South Australia in 1995, Leigh McClusky has remained to front the South Australian edition of the program, only taking leave over summer and to give birth to her son in 2002 (John Riddell filled-in^[15]) and to have a daughter in 2006 (Rosanna Mangiarelli filled in^[16]), until 2007. When the program first started it rated 100,000 behind it's competitor, ''A Current Affair'', although ratings steady increased under McClusky. In 2001, ''Today Tonight'' began outrating ''A Current Affair'' in what would become a 4 year winning streak.^[17]
Leigh announced on 6 February 2007 that she will leave Today Tonight Adelaide to have twins, but unlike previous occasions when she gave birth to her son and daughter, she will not return. She presented her last show on 17 August 2007. Rosanna Mangiarelli began as anchor on Monday August 20 2007 after several years as substitute anchor.^[18]

Western Australia

The Western Australian edition of ''Today Tonight'' was originally hosted by Yvette Mooney. In 1997, Mooney resigned from her presenting role,^[19] and was replaced by Monika Kos.

Achievement

Today Tonight nationally was the last program to win the Logie for 'Most Outstanding Public Affairs Program' before that award was discontinued.
The Adelaide edition has also won the ratings in Adelaide for now over 250 consecutive weeks. This achievement was announced to coincide with the departure of host Leigh McClusky^[18]

Criticism

Like ''A Current Affair'', ''Today Tonight'' is notorious for its sensationalist reporting similar to ''Inside Edition'', and is an example of tabloid television where stories rotate around sensationalised community issues i.e. diet fads, miracle cures, welfare cheats, shonky builders, negligent doctors etc. For this reason the program is constantly under criticism and ridicule, especially by satirical groups such as The Chaser. The show has also been known to have complaints from the public to the [1]ABA (Australian Broadcasting Authority) regarding misrepresentation of facts leading to investigations of such claims^[21]. The show is sometimes sarcastically referred to by Media Watch and The Chaser as ''Barcelona Tonight'', a sarcastic reference to the Christopher Skase Controversy.

Christopher Skase controversy

ABC TV's ''Media Watch'' program revealed that ''Today Tonight'' had fabricated much of a report about disgraced Australian businessman Christopher Skase. ''Today Tonight'' sent producer Chris Adams and reporter David "Sluggo" Richardson, along with a camera crew, to pursue Skase who was claiming that his health prevented him from being tried. Richardson alleged that because the ''Today Tonight'' crew's videos showed that Skase was in good health, Skase used his connections to the Mallorcan authorities in order to establish police roadblocks to seize the ''Today Tonight'' crew's videotapes. The only support for these claims was a video of Dave Richardson driving past police, exclaiming "Roadblocks! Let's get out of here". ''Media Watch'' proved, through examining the broadcast report, that this footage was in fact shot in Barcelona, not on the island of Mallorca. The "police" that Richardson was passing were in fact Spanish urban guards, who use roadblocks to control traffic flow in the centre of the city.^[22]

Promoting racist attitudes

On 8 May 2007, Today Tonight reported about a welfare cheat, Dat Van Vu; though using the generalised title "Vietnamese Sting" and using the opposed Vietnamese flag, the Socialist Republic of Vietnam flag. Both resulted in anger amongst the Australian Vietnamese community. ^[23]

Dole Army hoax

On 4 February 2002, ''Today Tonight'' and their main rival ''A Current Affair'' both broadcast stories about a so-called "Dole Army" operating from Melbourne's subterranean stormwater drains, and recruiting for an organised effort to defraud the Australian government of unemployment benefits. The next day, an anarchist group claimed they had sold both programs a hoax story, and due to lack of research and a desire to vilify the unemployed, both networks had fallen for the elaborate prank.^[24]

The "Serial Single Mum" controversy

On 18 July 2004, ''Today Tonight'' screened a report by David Richardson about "Australia's Serial Single Mum". The report was about a single mother named "Mary-Anne", a private citizen who lives in suburban Sydney. The program asserted that Mary-Anne "had five children to five different men and pocketed tens of thousands in welfare" from Centrelink. It was later revealed by ''Media Watch'' that Mary-Anne was working full-time and had the children to four fathers not five.
Media Watch described the exchange between Richardson and Mary-Anne as an "appalling attack", and "Another offensive beat up from Dave 'Sluggo' Richardson".^[25]

Contempt of court allegations

In 2004, ''Today Tonight'' picked up on a story published in Melbourne's ''Sunday Herald Sun'' about a boy allegedly "divorcing" his mother. ''Today Tonight's story was subsequently discussed on Seven's breakfast television program ''Sunrise'' program. In 2005, journalists, editors and producers from all three media outlets were taken to the Sydney Magistrates' Court for breaching the Children and Young Persons Act 1989 for allegedly naming the child in question. Host Naomi Robson was found not guilty of contempt of court, as the magistrate found she did not have editorial control over the story, but producers of the show were fined.^[26][27]

The "Wa-Wa" controversy

On 13 September 2006, Naomi Robson and a ''Today Tonight'' crew were detained by Indonesian authorities in Papua for working as journalists despite entering the country on tourist visas.^[28]
The Seven Network claimed that its team was sent to the region to do a story on Wa-Wa, a young boy who was apparently in danger of being ritually killed by his tribe, the Korowai (according to a ''60 Minutes'' story on the Nine Network some months earlier). Seven also claimed that their rivals at Nine had sabotaged their story and their mission to "rescue" Wa-Wa from his tribe (who are believed to practise cannibalism), by informing the Indonesian authorities of their visa arrangements. Nine refuted Seven's claims and threatened legal action. Seven alleges that a Nine reporter offered about $100,000 to a guide not to help Seven with their story. Seven's director of news and current affairs, Peter Meakin said "There is evidence to support the claims that, in particular, this man Cornelius was offered $100,000 not to rescue the boy." "I think the phrase was 'name your own price'", he said.^[29]

Defamation of Mark McGaw

On 2 November 2006 the Supreme Court of New South Wales awarded former ''Gladiator'' and rugby league star Mark McGaw $385,000 for a defamatory story ''Today Tonight'' broadcast in June 2003. The Supreme Court jury found that the story made two defamatory imputations: that McGaw was "a man of dangerous domestic violence", and that he "bashed his lover so severely that she was hospitalised with horrific injuries".^[30]

Chain stunt

On 20 February 2007, Today Tonight led with a story about an 84-year-old nursing home resident who was fighting attempts to evict her. The story featured footage of her chained up in her room, and the reporter, Nicolas Boot, said she was "refusing to budge, chaining herself to her room".^[31]

Truth the missing link in chain stunt Jano Gibson

In response to the airing of that story, the following day Federal Government officials visited the nursing home. According to a spokesman for the Minister for Ageing, they were told by the resident that the chains had been brought along by the crew, and the process of chaining her up had been instigated by the program.
In response to this incident, host Anna Coren was forced to read an apology to viewers on 21 February, and announced that Nicolas Boot had been stood down pending an internal investigation. The following day, Seven released a statement indicating Boot had left his employment with the Seven Network.^[32]
However, no announcement was made as to any actions taken against off-camera staff, such as producers, over this incident, which Seven Head of News and Current Affairs Peter Meakin described as "one of the more embarrassing" incidents which he has had to deal with.

Mercedes Corby deception

On 14 March 2007, ''Today Tonight'' host Anna Coren admitted hiring a private investigator who had lied about being an official to set up Mercedes Corby, sister of convicted drug trafficker Schapelle Corby.^[33]

References

1. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=clpnhYupMu8
2. The Media Report Transcript
3. Jill Singer's departure described as amicable Sian Watkins
4. Seven '96 news attack Jane Freeman
5. Wellings steps down as Today Tonight host Monique Farmer
6. Peter to try his luck against old foe Martin Rachel Browne
7. Granted, Seven's down on its luck
8. Private affair ends in public sacking for Stan Grant
9. Networking Kylie Miller
10. Doyle can sleep in Kathryn Torpy
11. Seven dumps local show and host Emma Chalmers
12. Naomi Robson signs off after a year to forget Daniel Ziffer
13.
End of a casual affair
14. Grimshaw tipped for Today Tonight chair Ellen Connolly
15. Ready for pregnant pause Simon Yeaman
16. Leigh's baby joy
17. Channel 7 40 years: Hard-line tactics win in current affairs war Simon Yeaman
18. Leigh leaves TT on a high
19. Things look up for a moody Madson Brown
20. Leigh leaves TT on a high
21. http://www.smokinghat.com.au/bush/1358.pdf
22. Sluggo in Baghdad Tonight
23. A Sting in the Tale Mark Tamhane
24. Group owns up to media hoax Mark Tamhane
25. Sluggo takes the high moral ground, darling
26. Court fines journalists Vanessa Burrow

27. Journos divorced from the courts
28.
Robson detained in Indonesia Maria Hawthorne
29.
Robson may return to Papua
30.
Today Tonight hammered for 5,000
31.
Today Tonight reporter suspended over chain stunt

32.
Chain TV reporter gets the boot Michael Gadd

33.
Today Tonight admits private eye lied to Corby

External links

★ Official network websites

★
★ East coast edition

★
★ Adelaide edition

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★ Perth edition

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★ Today Tonight at the National Film and Sound Archive