So now Seven are again trying to copy Nine with converting each of their sports presenters over to news.
Baz has filled in occasionally before on 4pm News. Its no big deal.
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What are you on about? No one invented the idea of âconverting each of their sports presenters over to newsâ.
They mightâve had Baz on the 4pm news so that he can raise his profile beyond sports (he presents Weekend Sunrise now donât you remember?).
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Iâm not overly familiar with Basil Zempilasâ presenting style, probably because Iâm not in Perth and donât watch that much of Sevenâs sport coverage (where if Iâm not mistaken, his presenting style is about as popular as that of Hamish McLaughlinâs - ie, not very).
Overall, I personally think some presenters are probably capable of reporting out on the field and presenting news, sport and weather. But there are others who really should stick to what theyâre best at. There is a very good reason why weâd most likely never see someone like Mike Dalton or Tim Bailey do even fill-in presenting on news bulletin, for instance! 
Tim Webster kind of went the other way (from news to sport presenting) though didnât he?
I daresay many older Sydneysiders would remember seeing/hearing âPeter OvertonâŚNational Nine Newsâ signoffs during Ken Sutcliffeâs sport segment during the 1990s! 
Exhibit A: Brian Henderson. I donât think he was ever a journalist by trade and was the presenter of youth-targeted music program âBandstandâ in the 1960s but of course, Sydney loved and respected him as a newsreader on Nine for decades.
However, it has to be said that the type of TV presenters who could do almost any program in the 1950s and '60s are somewhat different to the more specialised presenters we seem to want/expect on our screens today. Itâs really hard to imagine a TV landscape where viewers and networks donât want or at least expect to see newsreaders whoâve cut their teeth by reporting on big national/international stories, football coverage presenters who have a deep passion and knowledge of the game, kids show presenters who are like a cool adult brother or sister, etc.
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From what Iâve seen of his presenting style, heâs better than Tony Jones, Stephen Quartermain and Michael Thomson at presenting the news. Reminds me of a younger Matt White.
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I believe she done this briefly at Nine after completing her journalism qualification then she moved into regional news. So it wasnât like she became a newsreader out of the blue.
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Off topic, but I liked Tim Webster. Him and Ron Wilson on the Early News 
Frank Coletta was good too.
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Seven are prob skilling him up for weekend sunrise. Also Seven are having budget cuts so maybe perth couldnât have a freelancerâŚthey canât even afford a setâŚi wont bring that up again.
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Letâs not forget that Basil is a host of a breakfast radio show in Perth that covers news and lifestyle, so a switch to Sunrise and TV news wasnât actually out of the blue.
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Anyone remember Sandy Roberts filling in for David Johnson on the 4.30 News? I think he did it for 3 weeks.
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Also did 6PM
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Really?? I donât recall Baz presenting any form of news bulletin before today.
And @Tom_TV7 of course I remember about him presenting WS!! Thatâs why Iâm saying they are gradually turning him over to news with WS and filling in on Sunrise first and now formal news bulletins. I can only picture him in sports related roles, not as a news presenter. Surely Iâm not the only one that thinks this. It would be just as strange as like Mel McLaughlin, Tim Watson, Shane Webcke or Bruce Abernerthy presenting a news bulletinâŚ
Some of us may even be old enough to remember him reading sport reports on 2GB in the 1980s.
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Itâs hardly a Channel 9 invention. Gosh even SBS has sports presenter Mike Tomalaris fill in as newsreader from time to time.
And Sevenâs Peter Mitchell was a sports reporter and presenter at Nine before he joined Seven. Itâs nothing new.
And it could be said that one of the most valuable skills in the media is to be versatile. Some of our most successful newsreaders have come from non news or journalistic backgrounds.
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Also, how many trained journalists have presented the weather?? the list goes on.
Even back in the 80s he was reading news if someone was away
Shock horror. You havenât seen every single bulletin output from 7 Perth.
Chill TF.
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Brian Henderson comes to mind - known nationally as the host of Bandstand but also (initially) as the weekend news reader to TCN viewers.
And just to be totally different, Jacki Macdonald who read the TVQ news for a short period as well as host of childrenâs TV and Hey Hey.
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And of course, the late Brian Naylor was also the host of âBrian and the Juniorsâ in the 70s at Seven (mentioned above).
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Jane Bunn will be at the Melbourne International Flower and Garden Show next Thursday (March 22) according to Seven News Melbourneâs FB page. She will be at the Channel 7 Flower Wall within the Royal Exhibition Building on Thursday from 2.15pm to 3.15pm to take photos and say hi to her fans.
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