When Sharyn Ghidella drive up Mt Coot-Tha on Monday, she’s relieved to know Channel 10 is the first of the three Brisbane stations her car will reach.
After all, she’s spent 17 years driving to Seven’s Brisbane studio. If old habits die hard, she could be forgiven for inadvertently taking a wrong turn.
“I’m a bit worried about that as to where I’ll end up,” she tells TV Tonight.
“But the good news is 10 News First is first. I’ve set the GPS to make sure that I only go as far as 10 now, but my old security pass that I had from the 1990s, I’m told doesn’t work anymore.”
Ghidella returns to the network where her career commenced 38 years ago. Her exit from Seven during a phone call when at the hairdressers (Ghidella confirms her instincts when asked to meet with Seven News Director Michael Coombes thwarted their plans for face to face) drew plenty of headlines. Ghidella is arguably as Queensland as pinapple pie but her absence from screens is thankfully short-lived, strategically hired by 10 in a move to relaunch their locally-produced bulletin, axed in 2020.
Nor was Ghidella ready to sail off into the sunset just yet, thanks.
“I must say, there were moments after what happened to me where I did think, ‘Is this the end of my television career?’” she admits.
“When I first started in television news back in the late ‘80s, there weren’t a lot of women on air over the age of 40. But I didn’t want it to end that way. I wanted some new beginning.”
“Next minute, I was signing a contract.”
It was a call from Erin Edwards, Executive Editor 10 News First Queensland, just days after her exit from Seven that canvassed her interest.
“I just thought it was a lovely, friendly ‘Sorry about what’s happened to you’, but she was forward-planning and thinking ahead. She got straight on to (10 Head of Broadcast News) Martin White.
“I think by the next week, Martin had called me, and it was like, ‘Can we meet?’ Next minute, I was signing a contract.”
While a Sport presenter is yet to be announced, Liz Cantor (pictured above) joins as Weather Presenter and a new set has been rapidly assembled.
“They have brought some pieces from Melbourne and Sydney, and put it all together in record time. It looks fantastic, it’s modern, it’s fresh, it’s bright, it’s everything about 10 that you see in Sydney and Melbourne and other places. It really is a fresh approach, and I’m extremely happy with what they’ve been able to do in such a very short period of time. Getting a television studio up and running again is not an easy task!”
When it airs across Queensland from Monday, it will also go head to head in the Gold Coast market against local Seven and Nine bulletins, at least from 5:30pm. Ghidella is hoping it will make inroads in Gold Coast and wider.
“It will be interesting. I mean, you never know what the ratings are going to be like and who’s going to tune in. But I must say, I have had the most positive response to this 10 News First bulletin coming out of Brisbane. I can’t tell you how many people, when I’m out and about, have come up to me and said, ‘It’s great 10 is bringing local news back to Queensland, we’ll be tuning in!’” she continues.
“There seems to be a real desire out there for straightforward news”
“So I am crossing a lot of fingers and toes that those viewers will be there. There seems to be a real desire out there for straightforward news, a really strong bulletin, sound journalism, a lot of local as well as national and international news. That’s what 10 does so beautifully.”
If the ‘straightforward’ inclusion is any clear reference to recent changes to news with comedy and horoscopes, Ghidella (a Sagittarian) isn’t saying. But she is forthright about how she wants her News.
“For me News sells itself,” she insists. “News should be the focal point of any bulletin, and that’s what 10 is committed to doing. I don’t think you need to promote news. I don’t think you need to necessarily try and sell it in any way or run stories or anything else to get people to watch. News sells itself because it’s interesting and it impacts our lives.
“If we can just do a really solid news bulletin with really sound journalism, which I know we can, I think that’s what the viewers want right now. I’m just hoping that they all tune in for Monday and give it a go, because I think they’ll really enjoy the product that we’re going to put out.”
Signed to a two-year contract, Ghidella is also confident 10 is committed to local news, which is encouraging given the bulletin has been read by Sandra Sully from Sydney studios.
“I have no reason to believe that they aren’t. Everyone here is so excited about the fact that we’re bringing the presentation of this bulletin back to Brisbane for Queensland.”
She adds, “I have great faith in 10 and Martin White in particular, as well as Erin, they are very committed to making this bulletin work.”
And at least this time around, the phone call didn’t interrupt a hairdressing appointment.
“Not this time, no, but my hair was looking nice from the last time.”
10 News First Queensland with Sharyn Ghidella begins 5pm Monday on 10.
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