News Breakfast

Australian TV news programme

Not to be confused with Breakfast News, the 1989–2000 British morning news programme that aired on BBC One.

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News Breakfast

Logo used since August 2024

Genre| Breakfast news program
Presented by| James Glenday
Bridget Brennan
Theme music composer| Colin Kiddy
Country of origin| Australia
Original language| English
Production
Executive producer| Tyson Shine
Production locations| Melbourne, Victoria
Running time| 180 minutes (3 hours)
Original release
Network| ABC Family (2008–2011)
ABC News (2010–present)
ABC TV (2011–present)
Release| 3 November 2008 (2008-11-03) –
present

News Breakfast is an Australian news breakfast television program. It is broadcast on ABC TV and ABC News channel from 6:00 am to 9:00 am AEST or AEDT on weekdays and is hosted by James Glenday and Bridget Brennan. The program is also streamed live on ABC iView to anyone in Australia, and the ABC Australia channel for those in the Asia-Pacific region.

## History

[edit]

The program commenced broadcasting on 3 November 2008 as ABC News Breakfast on ABC2, with hosts Virginia Trioli, Barrie Cassidy (Monday-Thursday) and Joe O'Brien (Friday), sport presenter Paul Kennedy and weather presenter Vanessa O'Hanlon.[1][2]

News Breakfast is currently hosted by James Glenday and Bridget Brennan and is broadcast on ABC TV and ABC News. They are joined by news presenter Emma Rebellato, sport presenter Catherine Murphy and weather presenter Nate Byrne. Tyson Shine is the program's executive producer.

In January 2009, O'Brien replaced Cassidy as a full-time co-host with Cassidy continuing to appear on the program providing political commentary.

In June 2010, Michael Rowland replaced O'Brien, who moved back to Sydney to present ABC News Mornings on ABC News 24.

In May 2011, the program moved to the ABC, with children's programming moving to ABC2 and ABC3.

In November 2011, it was announced that the ABC News Breakfast brand would expand to the weekend with Weekend Breakfast hosted by Andrew Geoghegan and Miriam Corowa.[3]

In January 2014, ABC News Breakfast had an extensive makeover, launching a larger new and improved set with three different individual presenting areas. The set includes a news desk, a newswall presenting area and a soft set with seating. The new set kept the existing couch that has been seen on air since the show's launch.

In April 2017, following the refresh of the ABC News brand, the show rebranded to News Breakfast.[4]

In May 2019, Trioli announced she will leave News Breakfast to replace Jon Faine as the Mornings presenter on ABC Radio Melbourne.[5]

In June 2019, the ABC announced that Lisa Millar would succeed Virginia Trioli, commencing on 19 August.[6] Trioli finished on the show on 16 August.[7]

In November 2023, the ABC announced that Bridget Brennan will join the show as news presenter and co-host the show one day per week whilst Lisa Millar works on other projects.[8][9]

In July 2024, Millar announced she would leave News Breakfast, to focus on other projects across the ABC. Her last show was on 23 August 2024.[10] Bridget Brennan was then announced as Millar's replacement.[11]

In November 2024, Rowland announced that he would leave News Breakfast after almost 15 years to focus on other parts of his career within the ABC.[12] His last show was on 13 December 2024. In December 2024, ABC announced that former ABC News correspondent and ABC News ACT presenter James Glenday would replace Rowland from 20 January 2025.[13] Catherine Murphy also joined the team as sports presenter in 2025.

## Format

[edit]

News Breakfast covers the latest news, analysis, debate, finance, sport and weather. It draws upon the resources of ABC newsrooms and radio programs across Australia and the world.

The program is broadcast live on ABC TV and ABC News channel in the states of New South Wales, Australian Capital Territory, Victoria and Tasmania all-year round. It is broadcast on a 30-minute delay in South Australia (all-year) and the Northern Territory (wintertime). On wintertime, Queensland broadcasts the program live, while Western Australia airs the program on a two-hour delay.

During summer, when only some Australian states adopt daylight saving time, Queensland receives the program on a one-hour delay, a 90-minute delay in the Northern Territory and on a three-hour delay in Western Australia. Either way, the ABC News channel broadcasts the program live across Australia from 6:00 am AEST/AEDT.

### Weekend Breakfast

[edit]

Weekend Breakfast is a mix of live breaking news and discussion, interviews with newsmakers and the weekend sport and weather hosted by Johanna Nicholson and Fauziah Ibrahim.[14] The show began on 4 February 2012 and airs from 7:00 am to 11:00 am on weekend mornings on the ABC News channel. It is simulcast on the ABC TV on Sunday mornings from 7:00 am to 9:00 am.

### The Breakfast Couch

[edit]

The Breakfast Couch is a highlights show which covers the best arts and entertainment chats from the previous week on News Breakfast. The show began on 12 August 2017.

## Presenters and reporters

[edit]

### News Breakfast

[edit]

Presenter  | Role  | Tenure

|
|

James Glenday  | Co-host  | 2025–present
Bridget Brennan | Co-host  | 2024–present
Emma Rebellato  | News  | 2024–present
Catherine Murphy  | Sport  | 2025–present
Nate Byrne  | Weather  | 2017–present

### Weekend Breakfast

[edit]

Presenter  | Role  | Tenure

|
|

Johanna Nicholson  | Co-host  | 2019–present
Fauziah Ibrahim | Co-host  | 2020–present
Jared Coote  | Sport  | 2019–present
Daniela Intili  | Sport  | 2019–present

## Fill-in presenters

[edit]

Current presenters who have been fill-in hosts or co-hosts of News Breakfast in recent times include Emma Rebellato, Stephanie Ferrier, Stephanie March, David Speers, Catherine Murphy, Margaret Paul, Iskhandar Razak and Daniel Ziffer.

Fill-in presenters for other roles:

* News: Charles Brice,[a] Sana Qadar and Thomas Oriti
* Sport: Charles Brice, Arianna Levy, and Tom Maddocks
* Weather: Stephanie Ferrier and Danny Tran

Other presenters who have filled in presenting News Breakfast in the past include Ali Moore, Jeremy Fernandez, Kumi Taguchi, Del Irani, Paul Kennedy, Emma Alberici, Hamish Macdonald, Bridget Brennan, Mary Gearin, James Glenday, Madeleine Morris, Zoe Daniel, John Barron, Georgie Tunny, Greg Jennett, Sara James, Beverley O'Connor, Fauziah Ibrahim, Tracee Hutchison, Frances Bell, Karina Carvalho, Melissa Clarke and Tamara Oudyn.

## Former presenters

[edit]

### News Breakfast

[edit]

Presenter  | Role  | Tenure

|
|

Barrie Cassidy | Co-host  | 2008
Joe O'Brien | Co-host  | 2008–2010
Virginia Trioli | Co-host  | 2008–2019
Lisa Millar | Co-host  | 2019–2024
Michael Rowland | Co-host  | 2010–2024
Vanessa O'Hanlon | Weather  | 2008–2016
Paul Kennedy | Sport  | 2008–2021
Del Irani | Finance  | 2015–2019
Madeleine Morris  | Finance  | 2019–2023
Tony Armstrong | Sport  | 2021–2024

### Weekend Breakfast

[edit]

Presenter  | Role  | Tenure

|
|

Miriam Corowa  | Co-host  | 2012–2018
Andrew Geoghegan  | Co-host  | 2012–2019
Josh Szeps | Co-host  | 2019

## Regulars

[edit]

The program features a number of regular segments and guests which appear each morning discussing the latest news and politics.

* Alice Zaslavsky – Food
* Barrie Cassidy – Politics
* Katherine Tulich – Entertainment
* Sose Fuamoli and Lucy Smith – The Beat
* Zak Hepburn – Films

## Notes

[edit]

1. ^ Brice, an Adelaide wheelchair athlete,[15] announced in July 2025 his intention to handcycle from Perth to Sydney, a distance of 4,000 kilometres (2,500 mi), fund-raising for spinal injury charities.

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Knox, David (3 October 2008). "Meet the new team for Breakfast". TV Tonight. Retrieved 26 August 2018.
2. ^ Rowland, Michael (4 November 2013). "Inside the absurd world of breakfast TV". ABC News. Retrieved 26 August 2018.
3. ^ Knox, David (2 December 2011). "Ali Moore quits Lateline, host changes at 7:30 and News Breakfast". TV Tonight. Retrieved 26 August 2018.
4. ^ Knox, David (8 April 2017). "New-look ABC News ditches News 24". TV Tonight. Retrieved 26 August 2018.
5. ^ "Virginia Trioli to leave News Breakfast for major gig on ABC Radio Melbourne". ABC News. Melbourne. 1 May 2019. Retrieved 1 May 2019.
6. ^ "Lisa Millar to take over from Virginia Trioli on ABC News Breakfast". ABC News. 18 June 2019.
7. ^ "Lisa Millar announced as new host of ABC News Breakfast". 18 June 2019.
8. ^ "Bridget Brennan joins News Breakfast | TV Tonight". tvtonight.com.au. 1 November 2023. Retrieved 1 November 2023.
9. ^ Laidlaw, Kyle (1 November 2023). "BRIDGET BRENNAN appointed to newsreader position on ABC NEWS BREAKAST". TV Blackbox. Retrieved 1 November 2023.
10. ^ "Lisa Millar to farewell ABC News Breakfast". ABC News. 2 July 2024. Retrieved 3 July 2024.
11. ^ "'An important moment for my mob': Bridget Brennan to co-host ABC News Breakfast". ABC News. 14 August 2024. Retrieved 15 August 2024.
12. ^ "Michael Rowland leaves News Breakfast after 15 years but will stay at ABC". ABC News. 1 December 2024. Retrieved 2 December 2024.
13. ^ "James Glenday to replace Michael Rowland as News Breakfast co-host in 2025". ABC News. 9 December 2024. Retrieved 9 December 2024.
14. ^ "The Drum launches in prime-time; new roles for Patricia Karvelas and Josh Szeps; ABC NEWS channel unveils 2019 line-up". tv.press.abc.net.au. Archived from the original on 28 February 2019. Retrieved 30 January 2019.
15. ^ "Journalist Completes Hand-powered Road Trip". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 19 October 2019. Retrieved 22 July 2025.

## External links

[edit]

* Official website
* "Meet the new team for Breakfast", TVTonight.com.au

* v
* t
* e

Breakfast television news shows in Australia

* ABC: News Breakfast
* Seven Network: Sunrise
* Nine Network: Today
* Sky News Australia: First Edition

* v
* t
* e

ABC (Australia) local programming (current and upcoming)

Primetime|

* Anh's Brush with Fame (since 2016)
* The Assembly (since 2024)
* Austin (since 2024)
* Bay of Fires (since 2023)
* Catalyst (since 2001)
* Compass (since 1988)
* Fisk (since 2020)
* Gardening Australia (since 1990)
* Grand Designs Transformations (since 2024)
* Gruen (since 2008)
* Guy Montgomery's Guy Mont-Spelling Bee (since 2024)
* Hard Quiz (since 2016)
* Harrow (since 2018)
* House of Gods (since 2024)
* Ladies in Black (since 2024)
* Monday's Experts (since 2024)
* Mother and Son (1984–1994, since 2023)
* Muster Dogs (since 2022)
* Mystery Road (since 2018)
* The Newsreader (since 2021)
* Question Everything (since 2021)
* Rage (since 1987)
* Return to Paradise (since 2024)
* Spicks and Specks (2005–2011, 2014, since 2018)
* Stuff the British Stole (since 2022)
* Troppo (since 2022)
* Utopia (since 2014)
* The Weekly with Charlie Pickering (since 2015)
* You Can't Ask That (since 2018)

News|

* 7.30 (since 2011)
* ABC News (since 1956)
* ABC News at Noon (since 2005)
* News Breakfast (since 2008)
* Australian Story (since 1996)
* Foreign Correspondent (since 1992)
* Four Corners (since 1961)
* Insiders (since 2001)
* Landline (since 1992)
* Media Watch (since 1989; intermittently)
* Offsiders (since 2006)
* One Plus One (since 2010)
* Planet America (since 2012)
* Weekend Breakfast (since 2012)

* v
* t
* e

ABC News programming

Current|

| Daytime|

* News Breakfast1
* ABC News Mornings
* ABC News at Noon
* Australia Wide
* Afternoon Briefing
* The Business
* ABC Late News
* Insiders1
* Weekend Breakfast1

|

Primetime|

* The Drum
* One Plus One
* Planet America
* The World
* ABC News Evenings

Former|

* Matter of Fact
* Q&A1
* Lateline

1 Simulcast with ABC

* v
* t
* e

Television news and current affairs in Australia

ABC|

* ABC News
* News Breakfast
* ABC News at Noon
* 7.30
* Australian Story
* Foreign Correspondent
* Four Corners
* Insiders
* Landline
* Media Watch
* Offsiders
* Q+A
* Weekend Breakfast

ABC Entertains/ABC Family|

* Behind the News
* BtN Newsbreak

ABC News|

* ABC News
* News Breakfast
* Weekend Breakfast
* ABC News Mornings
* ABC News at Noon
* Afternoon Briefing
* ABC National News
* The Business
* Planet America
* China Tonight
* India Now
* The World
* The World This Week

Seven Network|

* Seven News
* Sunrise
* Weekend Sunrise

Nine Network|

* Nine News
* Today
* A Current Affair
* 60 Minutes
* Weekend Today

Network 10|

* 10 News

SBS|

* SBS World News
* Insight
* Living Black
* Dateline

NITV|

* NITV News
* The Point

Regional|

* Southern Cross Austereo
* Tasmania
* Spencer Gulf and Broken Hill
* Other regions
* WIN News

Sky News|

* Agenda (AM • PM • Sunday • Weekend)
* First Edition
* NewsDay
* Weekend Edition

Other|

* Fox Sports News
* Sky News Weather Channel

Past|

* The Project
* One Plus One
* Flashpoint (WA only)
* GWN7 News
* Lateline
* Nine News Now
* Prime7 News
* Sports Tonight
* Stateline
* Sunday Night
* The Drum
* The Feed
* The Friday Show
* The Mix
* Today Tonight

* Television in Australia
* Regional television in Australia
* List of Australian television presenters
* List of Australian TV news presenters year by year
* News ratings in Australia

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