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Today
Genre	Breakfast News Program
Starring	Co-hosts Kellie Connolly, Karl Stefanovic
Country of origin	Australia
No. of episodes	unknown
Production
Running time	180 minutes (three hours)
Broadcast
Original channel	Nine Network
Original run	1982 – present
Links
Official website

Today is an Australian morning television program broadcast weekdays from 6am on the Nine Network.

Contents 1 History 2 Hosts 3 Today Traffic Watch 4 News 5 Other Presenters 6 Competition with Sunrise 7 Today on Saturday 8 External link

Today premiered on the Nine Network on 28 June 1982, and is Australia’s longest-running breakfast television program. Its format is based on the American version aired on NBC.

The original hosts of the program were Steve Liebmann and Sue Kellaway. They spent four years together before Liebmann left to read evening news for Network Ten in Sydney. Former 60 Minutes (Australian version) reporter George Negus took over the male anchoring role on Today.

After four years, Steve Liebmann returned to Nine, hosting Today with Liz Hayes and Tracy Grimshaw.

In December 2004, 60-year-old Liebmann suffered a mild heart attack, prompting him to retire from the stresses of breakfast television. During the closing minutes of his final show on 11 February 2005, Liebmann said "it has been an honour and a privilege and it has been a great journey".

Former WIN TV Rockhampton reporter, TVNZ New Zealand reporter/news presenter, Optus TV entertainment presenter, Ten Network Brisbane reporter/presenter, Nine Network Brisbane, Sydney and US-based reporter Karl Stefanovic took over from Liebmann as co-host. Tracy Grimshaw left Today at the end of 2005 to take over from Ray Martin as host of A Current Affair.

It had been widely speculated in the Australian press that Seven Network news presenter Chris Bath would co-host Today with Karl Stefanovic from January 2006. However, the position went to former Network Ten news presenter Jessica Rowe.

Jessica Rowe has had a baptism of fire as co-host of Today with viewers and media commentators attacking her because of her dress-sense and her apparent over-happiness, citing her constant nervous laughter. Rowe had a controversial start to her TODAY career, following her court case against Channel 10, Rowe was subjected to comments from the media and viewers, that she should be sacked and was not right for the role of Today.

Rowe's replacement whilst on maternity leave was Sarah Murdoch and it is currently Kellie Connolly.

• Steve Liebmann and Sue Kellaway (1982-1985)
• Steve Liebmann and Patrice Newell (1986)
• George Negus and Patrice Newell (1986)
• George Negus and Liz Hayes (1986-1990)
• Steve Liebmann and Liz Hayes (1990-1996)
• Steve Liebmann and Tracy Grimshaw (1996-2005)
• Karl Stefanovic and Tracy Grimshaw (2005)
• Karl Stefanovic and Jessica Rowe (2006)

Jessica Rowe is on maternity leave until Mid-2007. Sarah Murdoch filled in from December 2006 to Marh 2007, with Kellie Connolly filling in from April 2007.

Substitute presenters have included Richard Wilkins, Sharyn Ghidella, Leila McKinnon, Kim Watkins, Helen Dalley, Ali Moore, Amanda Paterson, Peter Overton, Michael Usher, Ken Sutcliffe, Jennifer Keyte and Terry Willesee.

• Sydney - Sola Winston
• Melbourne - Loretta Tolman
• Brisbane - Bistin Rouge
• Adelaide - Danny Coute
• Perth - Meghan Dowling

The Today show features news updates every half hour. News readers have included Eric Walters (1982-1991), Ian Ross (1991-2001), Leila McKinnon (January 2005-June 2005). Former Newsreader Sharyn Ghidella was with the program since 2001, except for the 6 months in 2005 when she was moved to the National Nine Early News which was later axed. Ghidella was the main relief presenter if Jessica Rowe was away in 2006.

However, Ghidella left Today in December 2006 after signing a deal with the Seven Network in Brisbane to anchor the state-wide weekend news bulletin. Ghidella is originally from Queensland. Kellie Connolly is now the Today newsreader.

Georgie Gardner, who usually presents National Nine Morning News is the relief news reader. Other relief presenters have included Majella Wiemers, Kim Watkins, Ben Fordham, Helen Kapalos, Chris Smith.

During December Georgie Gardner presented the news but then went on leave. Kellie Connolly has now assumed the role of news anchor. Allison Langdon will present the news while Kellie co-anchors the show.

The Today weather presenters do weather updates every half hour. Weather presenters have included Brian Bury,Monte Dwyer, Sami Lukis and now Steve Jacobs.

Other presenters on the show include entertainment editor Richard Wilkins, and Cameron Williams presenting sports news.

Since the 2002 revamp of the competing Sunrise on the Seven Network, Today suffered a slump in its ratings. In an effort to improve these ratings, the Nine Network attempted to make radical changes to the program's format.

The first sign of the attempts to revitalise the program was the replacement of weather presenter Sami Lukas with Steve Jacobs, host of the hidden-camera program Just Kidding! in the mid-1990s.

In a move that drew heavy criticism and allegedly was the reason for further reductions in ratings, newsreader Sharyn Ghidella was removed to an early news program, and replaced with Leila McKinnon, the wife of the network's then-CEO, David Gyngell. The early news started weekdays at 6am and Today commenced one hour later. This experiment ended on 15 July 2005 and Today returned to a three-hour format from 18 July 2005. Ghidella, who still remained popular among the show's viewers, was returned to her former role.

The Nine Network has employed a large budget re-vamping and shifting the Today set several times, in an effort to find a formula that can compete with Sunrise's Sydney CBD street-side setting. Despite this large expenditure, Seven's Sunrise has achieved greater financial and viewing success.

For 20 years, Today consistently won the early morning ratings period. In recent years, Sunrise has won the ratings battle, averaging almost twice as many viewers as Today.

After the initial success of Today, a Saturday edition was produced in the early nineties. Today on Saturday was hosted by Tracy Grimshaw, who at the time was also hosting the reality series Animal Hospital. Grimshaw was followed by Tara Brown and Richard Wilkins, before Sunday reporter Helen Dalley joined the program in 1996. Today on Saturday ran from 8am to 9am, and featured more political and economical reports. Newsreaders included Michael Usher, Anna Coren and Mark Burrows. Due to budget cuts by the Nine Network, Today on Saturday was cancelled in 2002. Helen Dalley returned to the reporting for "Sunday" but has since left the network, and Mark Burrows again reported for National Nine News, where he is a senior correspondent.

• Today at ninemsn.com.au

Presenters of The Today Show
Steve Liebmann - Sue Kellaway - Patrice Newell - Liz Hayes - George Negus - Tracy Grimshaw - Karl Stefanovic - Jessica Rowe - Sarah Murdoch - Kellie Connolly