Mark Ferguson (news presenter)

Last updated

Mark Ferguson
Mark Ferguson.jpg
Ferguson in 2012
Born (1966-02-22) 22 February 1966 (age 58)
Occupation Seven News presenter
Years active1989−present
Children3

Mark Ferguson (born 22 February 1966[ citation needed ]) is an Australian television news presenter, who currently presents Seven News in Sydney on weeknights.

He was previously a senior news presenter with Nine News Sydney.

Career

After working with regional stations in New South Wales and Queensland, Ferguson joined the Seven Network in 1989 and reported for a number of Seven News programs, including 11AM and Hinch.[ citation needed ]

He moved to Sydney in 1991, before moving to the Nine Network in 1992.[ citation needed ] At Nine he became London correspondent and reported from the UK on a number of major stories including the death of Princess Diana.

In 1997, he returned to Sydney as a reporter and in 2001 became a presenter, initially on the National Nine Early News at 6 am, and later the National Nine Morning News at 11 am.[ citation needed ]

In 2003, he became the weekend presenter of National Nine News Sydney , occasionally filling in for Jim Waley on weeknights whenever required. He presented the flagship 6:00 pm weeknight news in Waley's absence in the final quarter of 2003 when he took leave to battle skin cancer, [1] and during the 2004–2005 non-ratings period, in which the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami disaster in south-east Asia occurred. His efforts during this coverage, which drew high ratings for Nine, saw him retain the main weeknight presenting role on a permanent basis, replacing Waley, under whom the bulletin had retained a comfortable ratings lead following the retirement of Brian Henderson in 2002. [2] [3] However, due to dwindling ratings at the Nine Network, Ferguson was replaced by Peter Overton in January 2009 and demoted back to his former weekend presenting role. [4] [5]

In July 2009, it was revealed that Ferguson would move to Seven News from October. [6] Ferguson, who had been with Nine for 17 years, was removed immediately from the weekend bulletin, and was replaced by Georgie Gardner. He continued to present the news on This Afternoon , and then on Nine Afternoon News until September 2009.

In September 2009, he signed off Nine News for the final time, after more than 17 years with the network. He then presented the weekend bulletin on Seven News Sydney , replacing Chris Bath who took over from Ian Ross. [7]

Ferguson also presented Sunday Night while Chris Bath was at the 2012 London Olympics.

In January 2014, Ferguson was appointed weeknight presenter for Seven News Sydney replacing Chris Bath. [8]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">TEN (TV station)</span> Australian TV station

TEN is Network 10's flagship station in Sydney. It was originally owned and operated by United Telecasters Sydney Limited (UTSL), and began transmission on 5 April 1965 with the highlight of the opening night being the variety special TV Spells Magic. It also serves as the Australian headquarters of Paramount.

TCN is the flagship television station of the Nine Network in Australia. The station is currently located at 1 Denison Street, North Sydney. The licence, issued to a company named Television Corporation Ltd headed by Sir Frank Packer, was one of the first four licences to be issued for commercial television stations in Australia. TCN-9 is the home of the NRL coverage and national-level Nine News bulletins.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">ATN</span> Television station in New South Wales, Australia

ATN is the Sydney flagship television station of the Seven Network in Australia. The licence, issued to a company named Amalgamated Television Services, a subsidiary of John Fairfax & Sons, was one of the first four licences to be issued for commercial television stations in Australia. The station formed an affiliation with GTV-9 Melbourne in 1957, in order to share content. In 1963, Frank Packer ended up owning both GTV-9 and TCN-9, so as a result the stations switched their previous affiliations. ATN-7 and HSV-7 joined to create the Australian Television Network, which later became the Seven Network. ATN-7 is the home of the national level Seven News bulletins.

<i>Nightline</i> (Australian TV program) Australian TV series or program

Nightline was an Australian late-night news bulletin television program produced by Nine News for Nine Network. Introduced in 1985 as a 5-minute late-night news summary before becoming a 30-minute bulletin in 1992, it was cancelled in 2008, then was brought back in 2009 before it was cancelled again in July 2010. It aired at around 11:30 pm on weeknights, but was not shown in Perth or Adelaide. Nightline was previously presented by Kellie Sloane. Its main competitors were Ten Late News and ABC News's Lateline, both of which aired prior to Nightline at 10:30 pm.

QTQ is an Australian television station, licensed to, and serving Brisbane, Queensland. It is owned by the Nine Entertainment Co., and is part of the Nine Network. It broadcasts on VHF Channel 8 (digital). QTQ began broadcasting on 16 August 1959 as the first television station in Queensland. QTQ-9 is the home of the NRL coverage.

9News is the national news service of the Nine Network in Australia. Its flagship program is the hour-long 9News bulletin at 6 pm, with editions produced by Nine's owned-and-operated stations in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide, Perth and Darwin; regional editions for Northern NSW and the Gold Coast air under the name of NBN News and are produced in Newcastle. A supplementary regional news program for the Gold Coast in Queensland also airs each weeknight. National bulletins air throughout the day and evening, presented from Nine's headquarters in Sydney.

Seven News is the television news service of the Seven Network and, as of 2021, the highest-rating in Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">10 News First</span> News and current affairs service of Network 10 in Australia

10 News First is an Australian television newscast, produced by Network 10. The network's flagship news program airs at 5 PM on weekday evenings covering local, national and world news, including sport and weather. Weekend editions are presented nationally from Network 10's studios in Pyrmont, Sydney.

Christine Bath is an Australian journalist, radio and television presenter and news anchor.

Sunday was an Australian current affairs, arts and politics program, broadcast nationally on Sunday mornings on the Nine Network Australia. The program covered a range of topical issues including local and overseas news, politics, and in-depth stories on Australia and the world, plus independent film reviews, independent arts features, and independent music reviews. Its final show aired on Sunday, 3 August 2008.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">HSV (TV station)</span> Television station in Melbourne, Victoria

HSV is a television station in Melbourne, Australia. It is part of the Seven Network, one of the three main commercial television networks in Australia, its first and oldest station. It launched in time for the 1956 Summer Olympic Games in Melbourne. HSV-7 is the home of AFL coverage.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ian Ross (newsreader)</span> Australian newsreader (1940–2014)

Ian Charles "Roscoe" Ross was an Australian television news presenter for Seven News in Sydney and for Nine News.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ann Sanders</span> Australian television news presenter (born 1960)

Ann Sanders is an Australian television journalist and news presenter.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peter Overton</span> British-born Australian television presenter and journalist (born 1966)

Peter John Overton, is a British-born Australian television journalist and news presenter. He is currently the presenter for Nine News Sydney from Sunday to Thursday at 6 pm.

Jim Waley is an Australian former television presenter, best known for his work as a news anchor. on the Nine Network and Sky News.

Michael Usher is an Australian television presenter and reporter. Usher presents Seven News Sydney on Friday and Saturday with Angela Cox.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Georgie Gardner</span> Australian journalist (born 1970)

Georgie Gardner is an Australian television and news presenter and journalist.

Nine News Sydney is the local news bulletin for the Nine Network station in Sydney, airing across New South Wales each night.

Jim Wilson is an Australian sports journalist, reporter and radio presenter.

Nine News Queensland is the flagship state-based news bulletin of the Nine Network in Brisbane. It is screened across Queensland on weeknights, while on weekends it is also screened on a half-hour delay in the Northern Territory. Like all Nine News bulletins, the Queensland bulletin runs for one hour, from 6PM every day. It comprises local, national and international news, as well as sport, weather and finance.

References

  1. "Waley's cancer battle". Sydney Morning Herald. 23 October 2003. Retrieved 9 January 2019.
  2. Mascarenhas, Alan (21 January 2005). "Nine dumps Jim Waley". The Sydney Morning Herald . Retrieved 28 May 2007.
  3. "Life after Jim Waley at Nine". Crikey. 23 January 2005. Retrieved 9 August 2018. Nine won the ratings in Sydney for 2003 and 2004, although Seven closed the gap last year, putting pressure on Nine and Waley's performance.
  4. McCowen, David (11 January 2009). "Ferguson ousted from top slot at Nine". Sydney Morning Herald . Retrieved 10 March 2016.
  5. Walters, Conrad (12 January 2009). "Ferguson dumped as Nine scrambles for No. 1". Sydney Morning Herald . Retrieved 10 March 2016.
  6. "Nine star Mark Ferguson defects to Seven". news.com.au . 3 July 2009. Archived from the original on 5 September 2012. Retrieved 8 July 2009.
  7. "Mark Ferguson ditched by Channel 9 has last laugh at Australia's leading TV Network Channel 7". 3 November 2009. Retrieved 29 November 2009.
  8. "Mark Ferguson replaces Chris Bath at Seven News | TV Tonight". tvtonight.com.au. Retrieved 18 December 2022.