20 years ago today (24/9/2001), the ABC has relaunched its Canberra TV news bulletin. It marked a return to local TV news for the ABC in the Nation’s Capital after its previous incarnation was axed in August 1991, in which it had instead relayed the NSW bulletin for just over a decade.
The relaunched bulletin was fronted by Virginia Haussegger, who had been fronting the bulletin until 2016, when she left to take up a role at the University of Canberra. Since then, Dan Bouchier took over the role.
When the bulletin was first relaunched, it only aired on weeknights, with the NSW bulletin airing on weekends. In January 2003, after the major bushfires engulfed the capital, the ABC introduced a local weekend bulletin for Canberra (as well as one for the NT), fronted by Craig Allen.
Today, 20 years on, ABC News is now the only local news bulletin in Canberra to be locally-read & produced, since WIN shifted studio production of its Canberra bulletin to Wollongong in July 2013.
24 September 1993: In the early hours of the morning, the Seven, Nine and Ten networks cross live to Monte Carlo for the announcement of Sydney as host city for the 2000 Olympic Games. Ten’s coverage went from 2.30am-5am while Seven went from 3.15am-9am and Nine 3am-9am.
In the evening, Nine presents the first prime-time edition of The Footy Show – an NRL version in Sydney and an AFL version in Melbourne – as previews of both leagues’ grand finals. It was a precursor to both AFL and NRL versions being extended to weekly prime-time shows in 1994.
Gem was intended to start programming from the 24th, possibly to try and steal the thunder from 7mate’s debut on the 25th, but “technical difficulties” saw it postponed to begin on the 26th.
1 October 2007 — Seven News Perth presenter Chris Mainwaring was found dead in his Cottesloe Home, aged 41. Basil zempilas and Susannah Carr presented the news on that day.
1 October 2011 — Channel 10 televised its final AFL match, the AFL GF between Collingwood and Geelong (where Geelong smashed the Collingwood by 38 points). However this was not the final AFL-sanctioned broadcast (because channel 10 also had the International Rules Football telecast) As well Channel 10 ended its statewide weekend bulletins after 8 months. George Donikian read his final news bulletin for 10 after 20 years.
1 October 2016 — Dennis Cometti commentated his final AFL match on Channel 7, 2016 AFL grand Final.
The first supplementary commercial TV licence launched on this day in 1997. MTN9 Griffith was granted the licence with the callsign AMN31. The new service was a relay of Prime Television Orange, with local advertising inserted accordingly and The Simpsons was screened in place of Prime Local News. MTN was owned at the time by Associated Media Investments (AMI), of which the callsign is derived from.
I do believe so. From what I understand, it was a partly off-air feed from Mt Canobolas received at a high point somewhere between Orange and Griffith and then relayed to Griffith via a microwave link.
