Seven’s Queensland news director announces exit
The Seven News director for Brisbane and the Gold Coast has announced his departure from the network.
According to the Courier-Mail, Michael Coombes notified staff in an email last week that he would not be renewing his contract and will depart Seven after 28 years on October 31.
Coombes also dismissed speculation about an “abrupt” family holiday prior to his anouncement, insisting that the vacation was “planned for a long time”.
“I have known for sometime that I won’t be renewing my contract. Officially, I finish up on October 31. But, thankfully, I have a staggering leave balance and will remain on leave until then,” Coombes’ email read.
“I am sure there will be speculation, but I want you all to know that, despite what you may read, my decision is in no way connected with any negative inferences which may be thrown about. Quite simply, it’s time.”
A Seven Network spokesperson told Mumbrella in a statement: “After 28 great years with Seven, including the past 18 months as Director of News for Brisbane and the Gold Coast, Michael Coombes leaves with our sincere thanks and the very best wishes for the future.”
Coombes first joined Seven in 1997 as a news reporter and producer, before taking on the director role in June last year.
Coombes’ exit is the latest in a number of high-profile movements at Seven. Just earlier this month, the network also announced the appointment of Peter Charles to the new role of managing director, Victoria.
Appearing on a recent episode of Mumbrella’s one-on-one podcast, Anthony De Ceglie – the director of news and current affairs and editor-in-chief at Seven West Media – addressed the many newsroom changes which has also included 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 Natalie Wolfe to the role of editor of 7NEWS.com.au.
“My absolute goal is always to get the right leadership team around me,” he told host Neil Griffiths.
“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.”
Listen to the full episode with De Ceglie 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
Have your say