‘Let’s bloody well try something’: Seven news boss explains newsroom changes as new 7NEWS presenters revealed
The newly-announced Sydney 7NEWS line-up is the latest in a string of movement in Seven network’s newsroom, and according to Anthony De Ceglie, those changes are all about taking the company in a new direction.
As announced on Sunday, the flagship 6pm bulletin in Sydney will now be co-anchored by Mark Ferguson and Angela Cox from Sunday to Thursday every week.
It comes after the last few months has seen some big changes, including Hugh Whitfield taking on director of the 7NEWS national news desk, Sean Power as the of director of news for Seven Sydney, the recruitment of former ABC News presenter, Karina Carvalho, and most recently, Natalie Wolfe to the role of Editor of 7NEWS.com.au
Appearing on the latest episode of Mumbrella’s one-on-one podcast, De Ceglie – the director of news and current affairs and editor-in-chief at Seven West Media – admitted he likes to “move fast”.
“My absolute goal is always to get the right leadership team around me,” he told host Neil Griffiths.
Mark Ferguson and Angela Cox (photo Jeremy Piper)
“I’m very big on the fact that I’m not always going to have the right answer. I’m rarely going to be the smartest person in the room. And so what I like to do is ensure the leadership team around me is as dynamic, as forward thinking, as excitable as what I am.
“For some reasons, people left for family reasons and some people left because they knew it was time to move on, but what it meant was we moved fast to get a really good, dynamic leadership team at Seven.”
While he said the number of staff coming and going at Seven was not necessarily pre-meditated since he took on the news boss role in April, De Ceglie believes that “people will see where I’m taking or where I’m trying to take the direction of things”.
“Some people will be on board the bus and some people won’t. But by and large, I think everyone has been excited because [we] have a team of people who want to try something different. And I think right across the spectrum of media at the moment, I think there is a natural urge to try something different.
“I think we’re all sitting there, whether it’s in radio world, my contemporaries at other TV stations, people in the digital space, everyone is kind of thinking the same thing – it’s now or never. Enough of the negativity, enough of sleepwalking into oblivion. Let’s bloody well try something, give it a crack. If it works, fantastic. If it doesn’t work, let’s try something else.”
Listen to the full episode with De Ceglie here.
Anthony De Ceglie took part in Mumbrella’s first ever Media Mayhem column. Check it out here.
Keep up to date with the latest in media and marketing
Got a tip?
Neil Griffiths is the Managing Editor of Mumbrella. He joined the company in October 2023.
Linkedin
topics
7news
7News 6pm
7News bulletin
Angela Cox
Anthony De Ceglie
Hugh Whitfield
Karina Carvalho
Mark Ferguson
Mark Ferguson Angela Cox
Natalie Wolfe
One-on-one podcast
Sean Power
Seven
Seven Network
Seven redundancies
How about dropping the stories that aren’t news or aren’t relevant. Often they are international stories that just don’t matter here. If there isn’t enough quality content for 60 minutes go back to a shorter show.
User ID not verified.
Not sure what Der Ceglie is actually doing ‘different’ or ‘ground-breaking’ with his fast-moving team, full of new ideas. Horoscopes and comedians have been used in the past during news programs on rival networks … and been chopped out. Maybe he’s hoping that today’s loyal-viewer generations are suffering dementia, and new viewers will be wowed.
User ID not verified.
If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it!
Because if you do, your audience will change channels!
De Ceglie is going in the right direction to find out the hard way!
User ID not verified.
I moved to Ch 7 because of 1 newsreader . Why have 2 who read 5 words each. And sorry Angela needs to take breathing lessons.
User ID not verified.
Deceglie has undone decades of reputation with some of his silly and childish segments in the news. And he’s lost the battle versus channel 9 for news ratings the first time in almost a decade. Quite surprised that mumbrella wouldn’t have questioned about that.
User ID not verified.
I have watched 7 news Brisbane all my life. I now watch 9. Enough said.
User ID not verified.
Channel 7 has lost the plot, the news has gone to sh*t. We are going to channel 10 as we and not happy with horoscopes and comedy nightmare on Friday night, the sacking of their most experienced news readers. It has gone from top to bottom real fast.
[Edited]
User ID not verified.
Cut the bullsh*t and bring Mark Fergo and Angela back. Horoscopes and someone who is not funny
Please cut it out.
[Edited]
User ID not verified.
De clegie stuffed the West Australian by nearly doubling the price for half the content what more could you expect from him at 7
User ID not verified.
Angela.needs.take.a.brake.but.Mark.back.it.was.4
User ID not verified.
I am completely disgusted when this was announced.
I’ve been watching 7NEWS since I was 12 years old (2018), and I always see Fergo presenting the programme, and I liked him a lot, especially through breaking news.
My routine has ruined with De Ceglie’s changes to the nightly news that I watch all the time, especially having Fergo ‘solo’ on a weeknight, which I’ve enjoyed the most, since I started watching back in 2018.
I literally prefer Fergo to present news the way he was, and not being touched by some kind of manic who also modified the network with horoscopes, and Mark Humphries for the 6:57pm news, and as well as sacking other staff that 7NEWS had lost (I would’ve broke silence if De Ceglie decided to sack Fergo).
This ongoing bloodbath must be stopped, and put things back to the way it was (in my opinion, I prefer Fergo, once again to present the news solo on weeknights, and Michael and Angela to present weekend editions).
User ID not verified.
Have your say