Does anyone remember random reality contestants?
I watched The Mole but I can honestly say I do not rember a single one.
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No they normally open with entertainment news followed by a human interest interview. Today do news headlines at 9am before they finish and the Morning News presenter comes on at 9.30.
The used to open with news headlines with the Morning News presenter. Think they started doing that in 2017 and stopped when they moved to North Sydney.
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A few contestants who appeared on The Mole later made it big in the media (or, in one case, was well noted):
- Abby Coleman, the runner-up on the first season who just recently turned 42, is now a radio presenter on B105 FM in Brisbane.
- Michael Laffy, the season two Mole, played 26 games for Richmond in the AFL. Shane Jolley from that season also hosted a show on Channel Seven which I canāt remember the name of.
- Liz Cantor, weather presenter on 7NEWS Gold Coast, won over $200,000 in prize money on the 2005 season (which was hosted by Tom Williams).
FWIW, here is Yasmin in action on the 2002 season:
Courtesy: TheMoleKing
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And you actually remember they were on The Mole or you had to google it?
I knew Liz was on The Mole, having watched her season as a teenager in 2005. Same goes for Yasmin and the season on which she appeared.
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Thatās what I meant, as per your original post. I think thatās better than news.
I miss Gretel on WS, btw.
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Yeah I like their rundown on Extra. It was a bit weird when they did the news headlines after the Today Show did their 9am headlines in the old joint then it was entertainment.
So itās good that they started straight to E-News then News Headlines on 9:30 in 2020
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How much better was television (or free to air) back then? So much more money to play around with on sets, studios ets.
Now itās just one big large sterile and lifeless screen.
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This show hasnāt been the same since Glenn Wheelerās tragic accident and he was forced to leave, it seems more and more advertorial space too, less Larry and Kylie plus more ad breaks as well
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It isnāt as fun as it used to be
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Is it the same for Today Extra
They backed it up today with an upload from 2015. You can see they started to move towards a newsier first 20 minutes. But, just the top story is the reporter cross (that they now do for the whole first segment), followed by newsier interviews.
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Yeah. I think the news angle brings the vibe of the show right down.
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Agree, comparing it to the 2009 clip above, It felt like a better show.
I guess itās cheaper to comment and discuss news events rather than producing entertainment / lifestyle based content.
You can do segments that are topical. Itās the 10 minutes of reading out news stories and reporter crosses (which are usually look-lives anyway) that Iām not keen on.
Then crossing to Peter Ford ever hourā¦ 
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I feel they need to axe Peter Ford bring in someone new and refresh
How long has he been doing it for?
Former Today Tonight host Naomi Robson was also one of the guest hosts that week.
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Nice to revisit Ann Sanders in her old role of reading the news updates and her banter with Larry and Kylie. These days, we donāt get to see much of her personality as sheās somewhat restricted doing the Morning News and Sydney Afternoon News.
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