Mike Munro | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | Michael Kenneth Munro 12 April 1953 Sydney, New South Wales, Australia |
| Other names | Mike Munro |
| Education | Sacred Heart Marist Bros School Mosman Marist College North Shore |
| Occupations |
|
| Years active | 1982−present |
| Notable credits | |
| Spouse | Lea Munro |
| Children | 2 |
Michael Kenneth Munro, AM (born 12 April 1953), is an Australian journalist and television presenter.
Munro cites a tough childhood—with an abusive and alcoholic mother—as one of the main reasons behind his motivation to succeed. [1] Munro attended Sacred Heart Primary School in Mosman, New South Wales, and Marist Catholic College North Shore in North Sydney. [1] He began his career at 17 as a copyboy on The Daily Mirror in 1971. [1] [2] He stayed in newspapers for 7 years, before trying television and not liking it. So he returned to newspapers when Rupert Murdoch sent him to New York to work in the NewsCorp bureau writing for newspapers in Great Britain and Australia. [2]
In 1982, he returned to Sydney and television, where he started as a senior reporter in the Channel 10 newsroom. In 1984, he joined the Nine Network and Mike Willesee on the Willesee current affairs program. [2] Two years later he replaced George Negus as the fifth male reporter on 60 Minutes , where he remained for the next seven years, becoming well known for his interviews with celebrities, including Madonna, Barbra Streisand, Bette Midler and Katharine Hepburn. [2]
Munro became a reporter and later the host of A Current Affair . [2] In 1996, Munro was the reporter at the centre of the infamous Paxton family expose. Munro was replaced as the host of the show in 2003. His then boss, Peter Meakin subsequently described Munro's situation/demeanour at that time as "a little on the nose, a little out of favour, a little too brash". [1] Meakin added that he did "really admire his (Munro's) courage and his grace" ... "in those last few months at A Current Affair because he did a brilliant job" even when he knew he was going to lose the role. [1] Munro said he lost the job because he was continually complaining to management about A Current Affair becoming 'A Consumer Affair' and no longer doing serious investigations, instead focusing on consumer and diet stories. For Munro, the final straw came on the night he had to introduce another reporter's story on a toothbrush survey. [3]
He is synonymous with the biographical show This Is Your Life , which he hosted from 1995 until 2005 and then again in 2008. [4]
In 2005 he replaced Georgie Gardner on National Nine News Afternoon Edition . In 2006 he stepped down from National Nine News Afternoon Edition but continued to present Sydney's National Nine News weekend news, he remained in this position until 2008.
Also in 2006, Munro hosted the television series Missing Persons Unit and What a Year , alongside Megan Gale, which first aired on the Nine Network on 2 October 2006. But in 2007, they were replaced by Bert Newton and Julia Zemiro and since then the show had been axed.
On 26 October 2008, Munro resigned from the Nine Network after 22 years with the network.
On 7 January 2009, he signed a three-year contract with rival Seven Network to become the founding host of a new current affairs program Sunday Night . [2] [5] In addition to this, he also substituted for David Koch on the top-rating breakfast show, Sunrise .
In January 2014, Network Ten announced that Munro had joined the network. On 9 February 2014, he commenced as the presenter of Ten Eyewitness News Weekend . [6] Munro later resigned in protest from Network Ten, after completing his 12-month contract, due to dozens of staff being retrenched from the news department. [7]
In 2014, Munro was made a member of the Order of Australia for his community work and services to journalism. [8]
In 2017, Munro hosted and helped to produce a four part science-based documentary [9] series for Foxtel's History Channel on Bushrangers. Lawless - The Real Bushrangers The four episodes featured the crime scenes of Ned Kelly, Ben Hall, Captain Moonlite, and the Kenniff brothers. One of the one-hour specials included Munro's great uncles, Paddy and Jimmy Kenniff, one of whom was hanged in Brisbane jail in 1903 after being convicted of murdering a police constable and a station manager in the Carnarvon Ranges in Queensland.
In 2018, Munro hosted Mateship – Australia & USA: A Century Together, a one-hour documentary on Foxtel's History channel celebrating 100 years of the close bonds that unite Australia and America. Since 4 July 1918, the United States of America and Australia have never fought a major war without each other. It is one of the longest alliances in modern history. [10]
In August 2019 HarperCollins published Munro's book, The Last Bushrangers: When History Becomes Personal — The Story of the Murderous Kenniff Gang. [11]
In the 2014 Queen's Birthday Honours List, Munro was appointed as a Member of the Order of Australia (AM), for "significant service to journalism as a television current affairs reporter and presenter, and to the community as an ambassador for a range of charitable organisations". [8]
Munro is married to Lea, and they have two children. [1]
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.
A Current Affair is an Australian current affairs program airing weeknights and Saturday nights on the Nine Network. The program is currently hosted by Allison Langdon and Deborah Knight (Saturday).
Seven News is the television news service of the Seven Network and, as of 2021, the highest-rating in Australia.
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.
Steve Liebmann is an Australian retired television presenter, journalist and radio broadcaster.
Robert Edward Brough is an Australian journalist, television presenter and rugby league coach.
Tiffany Cherry is an Australian sports broadcaster, best known as the Australian Football League (AFL's) first female boundary rider on the original Fox Footy. She was the co-host of the Foxtel 2010 Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver as well as a Presenter of the Network's ASTRA Awards winning 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi and Logie Award winning 2012 Olympic Games in London. Cherry also co-hosted a daily Olympic Drivetime show for the UK's national pop and rock radio station, Absolute Radio, live from Hyde Park throughout the duration of the Games with English broadcaster, journalist and television and radio personality, Johnny Vaughan. Cherry hosted the prime time week night sport on Sky News Australia alongside news presenter, Michael Willesee, Jr. between 2010 and 2012 before leaving the network to host and produce her own sports radio program, The Hen House on Melbourne's SEN 1116.
Allison Langdon is an Australian television presenter, journalist, reporter and author. She is currently the host of A Current Affair and previously co-host of breakfast television program Today and Weekend Today. Langdon also is a reporter and presenter on the localised version of current affairs program 60 Minutes.
Monika Kos is an Australian journalist and television presenter.
Michael Willesee Jr. is an Australian television journalist, who has worked in both print journalism and broadcasting.
Michael Usher is an Australian television presenter and reporter. Usher presents Seven News Sydney on Friday and Saturday with Angela Cox and The Latest: Seven News.
Peter Jeremy Meakin is an English Australian journalist who has worked as news/current affairs director for all three of Australia's commercial television networks.
Deborah Hutton is an Australian media personality. She is a television presenter, magazine editor, ambassador, and spokesmodel. She is a supporter of several charities including The Skin Cancer Foundation Inc.
Hamish Macdonald is an Australian broadcast journalist and news presenter. As of 2023 he is a presenter on the TV panel show The Project on Network 10, and on ABC Radio National's RN Breakfast.
Rose Jacobs is a weather presenter, travel expert and television host.
Terence Joseph Willesee is an Australian retired journalist and television and radio presenter.
Michael Robert Willesee, was an Australian television journalist, interviewer and presenter.
Patrick Kenniff was an Australian bushranger who roamed western Queensland, Australia, with his brother James Kenniff (1869–1940). They were primarily cattle thieves, but the brothers were found guilty of murder and Patrick was hanged in Boggo Road Gaol in 1903.
Paul Makin is a South Australia based television and radio journalist. He started as a cadet journalist at Radio 5KA Adelaide in 1973 joined Radio 2UE Sydney in 1976 before moving to television; he is currently a freelance presenter for Channel 7 Adelaide.
Peter Stefanovic is an Australian journalist, reporter and television presenter.