Who is George Negus
George Negus is an Australian journalist and television presenter. He gained prominence for his reporting on Nine’s ground-breaking 60 Minutes program in the 1970s and 1980s
George Negus was born in Brisbane, Australia on March 13, 1942, Negus was a high school teacher until his late 20s, he started his career in journalism in the 1960s
Alzheimer’s disease
George Negus suffered from Alzheimer’s disease for five years and he died aged 82 after a long battle with Alzheimer’s disease. He was a respected figure in Australian journalism.
He had lived in an aged care facility in Sydney since late 2021. Negus’ family confirmed His death on Wednesday on social media.
George Negus’s Family said
His family said Negus “passed away peacefully surrounded by loved ones” and thanked Australian healthcare workers for supporting him “in the best possible way” during his final moments.
“Despite the challenges diseases like Alzheimer’s inflict on families, we still shared beautiful times, laughter, and happiness in recent times,” the family said.
“We also learned a lot.”
His family said that while Negus would be celebrated for his “unique contribution to journalism, football, and the environment” he would also want to be remembered for the “incredible family man he was”.
“Indeed, we will remember him for those wonderful contributions to the world AND the rich life experiences he shaped for us,” the family said.
Negus’s son remarked
Last month one of his sons, Ned, said his father was in an aged care facility and was mostly “non-verbal”.
“For those of you who don’t know, my dad was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s around five years ago,” Ned wrote. “He’s now non-verbal most of the time (mind-blowing for me but also any of you that know him).”
George negus said
Negus, of the signature open-necked shirts and thick mustache, ushered in a new, energetic, and unequivocally Australian era of television journalism.
“Somebody once said to me that they thought the greatest contribution I made to Australian journalism was not to go to the jungles and deserts with a coat and tie on. So I took them off,” he said.
Negus, co-hosted the news and current affairs for seven years during which the programs became a significant ratings success in Australian television due to his interviewing style as it became a leading figure in Australian journalism.
On the switch to commercial television, Negus said addressing the everyday Aussie became his passion.
“It became important to me—a lot of Australians weren’t being treated with the right respect—they were being treated like they were idiots because they watched commercial television,” he said.
“But what we’re doing turned out to be a little bit better than idiotic.”
A close friend and a former colleague
Negus: “Why are people in the street telling us that Margaret Thatcher isn’t just inflexible, not just single-minded, sometimes just plain pigheaded and won’t be told by anybody?”
Thatcher: “Who precisely is stopping you in the street, George, give me their names”.
Close friend and a former colleague on This Day Tonight, Kerry O’Brien, said Negus was an “extraordinary, generous human being”.
“I think one of George’s great strengths for television was that the person you saw in the frame was a replica of the man,” O’Brien told Guardian Australia.
The first host of the ABC
At its peak in the 1980s, “The 7.30 Report” attracted a massive audience, with about a third of the national TV viewership tuning in on Sunday evenings. This success contributed significantly to Negus’s reputation as a trusted journalist.
Later, Negus would become the first host of the ABC international current affairs program Foreign Correspondent, where he worked from 1992 to 1999. Negus’s contributions to journalism left a lasting impact, and he became a household name in the process.
“I guess it sounds a bit pretentious, but I would describe myself as an anti-war correspondent,” the news veteran said when reflecting on a career that spanned five decades.
“I’m a committed coward. I’d go so far as to say I was a gutless wonder. I didn’t get a buzz out of that kind of journalism at all.
“I did it because you have to get close enough to tell people why you shouldn’t be there at all.”
George Negus was known for his ability to break down complex political issues and present them in a way that was accessible to a wide audience.
“If you can throw some light into dark corners for people who don’t necessarily have as much opportunity to work out why the hell things happen … that’s why I ended up being a current affairs person,” Negus said in 2015
George Negus had a productive career in Australian television. In addition to his work on “The 7.30 Report” and “Foreign Correspondent,” he also presented Nine’s “Today Show” and SBS’s “Dateline” Program. He was a regular contributor to: “George Negus Tonight” on ABC and “6.30 with George Negus” on Ten
“I’ve always been fascinated by what makes places and people and politics in particular tick,” he said.
George Negus’s most memorable interview
Indeed one of the most memorable interviews was a 1981 sit-down with the UK Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, dubbed “the most powerful woman on the planet.”
During this high-profile sit-down, he began with two of his pre-approved questions, Negus went off-script, asking the Iron Lady why the British people considered her “plain pig-headed.”
This disrespectful and engaging style of questioning, always delivered with a twinkle in his eye, was authentically Negus, on and off screen.
“People say to me ‘When I meet you, you’re just like you are on television.’ I say ‘no, you’ve got it wrong: on television, I’m just like I am,’” he said.
“If you think you know me, you do.”
ABC managing director David Anderson said
ABC managing director David Anderson said he learned of the death of George Negus with great sadness, adding that audiences saw him as a giant of Australian television and journalism.
“Among his many career achievements are his contributions to the ABC as a reporter for This Day Tonight in the 1960s and 1970s and as the founding host of Foreign Correspondent in the 1990s,” Anderson said.
“Australian audiences loved not only his natural charm but also his intellectual curiosity for the world around him.
“On behalf of everyone at the ABC, I extend our deepest condolences to his family and friends.”