Nine has done really well thus far; those local election debates are great. Just a shame they’re out of prime time and many may miss out on seeing them.
Good to see some sustained state political coverage beyond a 1:30 package every night.
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Yes, but by the looks of it, Melbourne will get a separate local edition this weekend.
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Doubt it.
Don’t understand why he isn’t anchoring their coverage
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He’d be terrible. He’d chortle and giggle his way through.
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I agree, although at least having Peter Hitchener read a rare Saturday night bulletin will be good for Melbourne viewers…along with the many SCA Nine Regional Victorian viewers who probably still miss seeing him on weeknights! 
But Peter Hitchener is the main face and voice of Nine News in Melbourne - the presenter the network should want on board covering the big events (of which, State Elections are one) that affect their viewers.
Similar deal with Peter Overton & Nine News Sydney - barring the possibility of something unprecedented (IIRC, Overton didn’t cover the last NSW Election due to the back pain which saw him out of action for a few weeks around March/April 2015) I’ll definitely be asking “Where is Pete?” if he isn’t involved in Nine’s coverage of the NSW State Election come March next year!
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Oh please put it in context he giggles occasionally on fluff stories and chatting to Livinia.
He is always very professional with serious news!
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I’ll take your word for it. Found it very off-putting and stopped watching Nine Mews years ago.
That said, they always used a network personality like Stefanovic or Martin for state elections in the past.
As @KnowItAll said earlier, It all depends on the anchor’s strengths and versatility. Some are quite comfortable at just reading the autocue while others are able to ad-lib and importantly on things like election nights, fill time until the next important thing.
Election coverage is not the same as the likes of a terror attack or natural disaster where you can keep rolling coverage by cutting to vision, feeds or reporters, elections require a lot more ad-libbing and back-and-forth.
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I’ve been watching Hitch for 30 years so take my word!
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It makes sense to have Alicia and Tony. Both of them have excellent radio experience which is what an election coverage is like and what it needs.
Apart from Balck Saturday, when was the last time Hitch did anything out of the ordinary? He’s one of the last of a breed of anchors, rather than rolling news journos.
He would be out of his depth on election coverage. He’s never done it and he shouldn’t.
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Then would agree with me when I say he’s not the newsreader he was even 10 years ago, let alone 30?
Good point, he’s not actually a journalist is he?
If he is, it’s been a very long time since he reported. He’s been behind the desk since the 1970s.
It’s not a criticism - Peter Mitchell is a bit the same.
Wouldn’t agree with any of your comments about Hitch.
So you wanna start what l call is age discrimination… you calling him terrible is just so insulting to someone who has the respect of his colleagues and viewers for over 50 years in the industry.
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Think everyone might be overlooking something. Maybe Hitch was asked to present but he chose not to?
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Absolutely not. He’d be terrible on an election night, that’s nothing to do with age. Personally I think Tony Jones is worse. I’m always surprised when I hear Hitch’s age, he’s always seemed much younger.
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I agree with this.
I’m guessing that he simply didn’t want to host it - he’s in his 70s remember!
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Unlikely. Nine management is aware of his limitations.
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I think it is wise to have Pete at 6pm. Then he can go head to head with Peter Mitchell on Seven.
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