Personally I don’t want TT to return, if the article is suggesting that it will be once a week, where does that leave TT in Perth and Adelaide? it would be weird having it run 6 days a week with perhaps completely different formatting and branding.
I would like to see the On Assignment brand developed into something as seen on 7NEWS.com.au, get Sean Power to lead it. If executed properly with hard hitting stories, no interviews or stories relating to the royal family I could see it beating 60Minutes which right now I think is in the best position its ever been in.
Annette Sharp (at the very least, Sydney/Sunday Confidential in general) has written some questionable articles about Seven’s news & current affairs department in the past, so I’m probably going to take this latest one with a grain of salt until I hear developments from a more credible source!
I think we will see 7 move out of Sunday night current affairs, and move the True Stories brand to a weeknight before The Latest. I imagine this won’t happen until the 2020 ratings season now.
Bringing back Today Tonight is a good idea in theory, but needs to be done properly. If Mel Doyle were to front it, and they brought the Sunday Night quality to it, I think it would stand a good chance against ACA. They also need to be careful not to do they tacky reality plugs.
As you’re probably aware Today Tonight East Coast went off the air five and a half years ago, so I’d be willing to guess that the Adelaide & Perth editions could (finally) be facing the axe.
While the Adelaide & Perth editions still consistently win their timeslots, they still cost a considerable amount of money to run (probably due to things like having an investigative team, etc.) whereas an extra 30 minutes of news is probably cheaper.
They could extend the WA and SA news to an hour, and fold TT and Sunday Night into a revamped weekly newsmagazine. Call it This Week (ABC US) or something and go hard with the resources and a consistent timeslot! Thursday nights would be a good time to do something different.
I don’t think it’s a good look for Seven if it doesn’t have its own current affairs program. Whether it’s called Sunday Night or something else is not important.
Although this could’ve been avoided (or at least delayed) if Seven didn’t throw so much of their programming money at expensive AFL, Olympics and Cricket Australia broadcast deals leaving not much for other departments at the network such as news/current affairs.
I can’t see Seven letting Nine have that playing field all to themselves. They need somewhere to air those stories that won’t fit into the traditional 6pm news format. If they want to be taken seriously as a new and current affairs outlet, they need to be airing a show that focuses on reporting stories and issues beyond the news of the day.
I think Sunday Night could be revamped in 2020 to allow it to focus more on Australian stories and less on the international, globe trotting reports that established it. I also think they’ll consider renaming it to allow them to replay the show elsewhere in the schedule and get better mileage out of those evergreen crime stories that seem to capture the attention of viewers.
They’re Australia’s real life black widows. Melissa Shaw and Michelle Burgess looked for all the world like ordinary suburban housewives. But in reality, they were ruthless femme fatales who manipulated the men in their lives to commit murder.
Michelle Shaw lived a double life on the Gold Coast. She pretended to be a God-fearing wife and mother. But she was actually a part time prostitute with a string of lovers. When a wealthy businessman fell for Michelle she hatched a diabolical plan to take his life and his money.
Michelle Burgess also yearned for a better lifestyle than her husband, Darren could provide. She seduced Darren’s boss and recruited another of her many lovers to become her personal hitman.
In a gripping investigation, reporter Michael Usher discovers that these women are not only evil; they are completely without remorse for the lives they have shattered.
This edition of SUNDAY NIGHT: TRUE STORIES hosted by Melissa Doyle airs on Sunday at 8.30pm on Seven and 7plus.
Meet the unstoppable Mia Wilkinson. Little Mia was a happy and active four-year-old - no different to any other child her age. Then she came down with the flu.
Over the next 24 hours, Mia got sicker and sicker. Twice her parents sought medical help. But on both occasions, they were turned away. By the time doctors realised that Mia’s flu had become something far more dangerous, the little girl was in the fight of her life. Mia survived but she lost all four of her limbs. The way this little girl has faced up to that challenge is truly inspiring.
This flu season has been one of the worst on record, already claiming more than 230 lives.
Join Sunday Night host and senior correspondent Melissa Doyle as she sits down with Mia’s family. They want everyone to know how to recognise the warning signs when a simple case of the flu turns deadly.
DETECTIVE CARTIER
When Phil Nisbet was found dead, all the signs pointed to suicide. The empty Phenergan tablets on the bedside table, a farewell text message to his wife, and a typed suicide note. But there was one person who refused to believe Phil had taken his own life - his little sister Lee-Anne Cartier.
Lee-Anne was convinced it was murder and that Phil’s wife – Helen Milner – was the killer.
Sunday Night senior correspondent Steve Pennells tells the story of how this single mother reinvented herself as an amateur detective and eventually delivered justice for her brother.
This edition of SUNDAY NIGHT: TRUE STORIES hosted by Melissa Doyle airs on Sunday at 8.30pm on Seven and 7plus.
This is the story of a couple of little miracles. Chloe Kennedy and Nicole Crawford are quadriplegics who shared a dream of becoming mothers.
Nicole was 18-years-old when she was critically injured in a jeep accident on the sand dunes of Kurnell. Unable to move her arms or legs, she thought she would never have a child. But ten years later, she is the mother to a happy, healthy toddler named Reagan. The network of family and friends surrounding Nicole is the village that makes it all possible.
Chloe damaged the spinal cord in her neck during a skiing holiday in Italy. But she never lost her smile. Instead she found strength and ultimately hope, falling pregnant to her partner Antonello just 16 months after her accident. Sunday Night host and senior correspondent Melissa Doyle joins Chloe on her incredible journey to motherhood.
This a heart-warming tale of pure and unconditional love and of two courageous women determined to beat the odds.
BRYAN AND SAM
Bryan Brown and Sam Neill have clocked up more than 160 film and television roles between them. They’ve also been best mates for four decades.
They met while they were building their acting careers in Australia. Sam was suave. Bryan was the rugged bushman. Their onscreen personalities could not have been more different. Yet they were both courted by Hollywood. Bryan found fame behind the bar in ‘Cocktail’. And Sam went on to walk alongside the dinosaurs in ‘Jurassic Park’. Through career disappointments and major health issues, their friendship has endured. As Sunday Night senior correspondent Steve Pennells discovered, it hasn’t all been black ties and red carpets.
This edition of SUNDAY NIGHT: TRUE STORIES hosted by Melissa Doyle airs on Sunday at 8.45pm on Seven and 7plus.
