Seven continues news team revamp with ABC and News Corp hires
Seven has added former ABC and News Corp staffers to its refreshed news teams.
Former ABC News presenter Karina Carvalho is joining Seven News Melbourne in a presenting and reporting role, starting on Monday evening.
News chief Anthony De Ceglie said of the appointment: “Her experience and expertise speak for themselves, as does the leadership qualities she will bring.”
Carvalho was at the ABC for 17 years, over which time she worked as ABC News 7pm anchor in Western Australia for four years, co host of ABC Melbourne News Breakfast, and news anchor in Brisbane for five years. Prior to this, Carvalho worked at BBC World News.
Seven Melbourne director of news, Chris Salter said: “Karina brings wisdom, credibility and a style of storytelling that we know 7NEWS viewers will embrace. She’s energetic and passionate, and we’re thrilled to have her joining the Melbourne team.”
De Ceglie, added: “We are extremely excited to welcome Karina to the 7NEWS family.
“Her experience and expertise speak for themselves, as does the leadership qualities she will bring not just to our Melbourne newsroom but across the country.”
Carvalho said to join Seven is “a real honour,” adding, “I think across the board, at Seven they are looking to do more news, not less news”.
De Ceglie has also appointed Nicole Waudby as director of commercial strategy for The Nightly, Seven’s new digital publication play.
Waudby will “lead advertising sales and commercial strategies”, and joins Seven after eight years at News Corp where she was general manager of the product integration division, and prior, the general manager of sales for The Australian and News Corp’s ‘prestige titles’ division, which features Vogue, Travel + Luxury, The List and Wish.
Waudby also held senior sales and strategy positions at Time UK, Bauer Media Group, and ACP Publishing.
“I am delighted to be joining the team at The Nightly at such a pivotal time,” Waudby said.
“Its fresh approach and take on digital news is resonating and with the audience rapidly growing, the opportunity to define the commercial strategy hand in hand with the platform’s evolution is very exciting.”
Brent Stewart, Seven West Media WA chief sales officer, said: “I’m so excited to have someone of Nicole’s calibre on board to help drive The Nightly commercial proposition forward.
“Her experience in publisher media and working in partnership with major clients and prestige brands will be such an asset.”
Channel 7 weatherman Paul Burt gave a terse farewell live on air during his final cross on Saturday, saying “If I’d had the opportunity I wouldn’t have wanted to go this way,” Burt said. “It’s what happens when you get sacked”.
Burt, who started at Seven in 1996, later told The Australian he was given “55 seconds to say my goodbyes”.
“I really don’t understand it, why people are being treated this way,” Burt said.
“It was a shock, I was told to come in and have a meeting which I did and I was told my contract was not being renewed. It was rather embarrassing for my wife and children. They found out before I could even tell them. Obviously things get leaked.
“Some of the decisions made lately are quite harsh. I’ve lost a lot of friends who have been made redundant or got the sack.”
There have been a number of staff changes in Seven’s newsroom, and the recent restructuring of its news operations.
High-profile foreign correspondent Hugh Whitfeld is director of the 7NEWS new-look National News Desk, which Seven explained “will be home to a centralised team of journalists whose responsibility as expert editors in their round will be to deliver exclusive content beyond anything seen on television.”
Under the new structure, Whitfeld will act as both national news desk director and foreign editor, federal politics will be led by 7NEWS political editor Mark Riley, and political correspondents Rob Scott, Isabelle Mullen, Ben Downie and Josh Martin.
The national chief correspondent is Chris Reason, the business editor is Amelia Brace, while defence editor is Rob Scott, based out of Canberra.
Since taking over as director of news and current affairs in late April, De Ceglie has also replaced Spotlight’s executive producer, Mark Llewellyn with A Current Affair’s Sydney bureau chief Gemma Williams, and moved Sunrise executive producer Sean Power to the role of director of news in Sydney.
Mark Mooney was also named as the new 7NEWS Adelaide news director, with former news director Chris Salter appointed director of news in Seven Melbourne.
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Nathan Jolly is the Features Editor at Mumbrella. He joined the team in July, 2023.
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