He must be the hardest working man in media right now.
Juggling his TV and radio commitments, Clint Stanaway is working 7 days a week.
“I’m seven mornings a week, yeah,” he tells TV Tonight. “The Radio / TV double has been so addictive. I’m really enjoying it.”
For Nine Melbourne-based Stanaway flies to Sydney every Friday in readiness for hosting Weekend Today on Saturday and Sunday. He flies back to Melbourne on Sunday to present Sport in the 6pm News alongside Peter Hitchener.
On Monday and Tuesday he files Sports items for the 6pm News.
In further commitments, Stanaway is part of the top rating Nova 100’s Jase & Lauren Breakfast show from Monday – Friday (the show that made way for Kyle & Jackie O. and now outranks it).
“I’m not getting a day off as such, but I treat my afternoons and evenings on non-Television days as my days off. I make sure I treat myself be it an infrared sauna or I go for a swim. I make sure I stay pretty active and hit the gym just to skeep the mind healthy and all the rest.”
It’s a hectic pace for anybody to maintain but Stanaway believes in making the most while the stars align in his favour. After more than 20 years in television he has never been in more demand, nor more favoured by Nine execs.
His start came by accident after a GTV9 operations manager, who was friends with his father, offered some some casual work.
“At that stage, I had no intention or real interest in television or media. I was wanting to play a Jerry Maguire-style role in the world of sport management. But I accepted it because I needed some cash,” he recalls.
“I went in as a News Librarian two days a week, and then almost instantly was hooked. Then I worked my way up from there, went to WIN in Bendigo to earn my stripes as, I guess what you could say was, then a cadetship. (News Director) Michael Venus brought me back to Nine Melbourne as a general news reporter. From there I did a lot of court reporting, court rounds, crime reporting. I went overseas as Europe correspondent for a couple of years, and then came back in Sport. So it’s been a lot of variety.”
He joined the Today show in a sports capacity in 2019, becoming Weekend Today co-host in 2023.
“The work I do on Weekend Today is something I really love. I love being able to use my personality a lot more in a more conversational space.
“I worked so closely with Jane Azzopardi who has just graduated to the Today show, and I’m now working really closely with Sophie Walsh, who keeps me on my toes. She’s so cheeky and fun to work with. I love taking a mini break every weekend, getting up to Sydney. I don’t mind the travel. So while it’s working, I’ll keep keep pushing!”
Stanaway is aware it’s a pace that can’t last forever but so far it’s working for him.
“When that happens, I’m pretty sure I’ll know, but at the moment, I have been rolling with it with pretty good success. Hand on heart there hasn’t been a time where I’ve been burnt out or needing to walk away. But, yeah, I’m pretty sensible about it. If I need time, if I need to get away, I do exactly that.
“The people I work with also understand the complexities of what I’m doing in terms of the juggle. Both workplaces have been really accommodating.
“(Nine Melbourne news director) Hugh Nailon has been really supportive as has (Morning TV boss) Steve Burling as well. Hugh is great when there’s an opportunity for someone in the newsroom, he supports us, and makes it happen. He’s been really supportive especially with the Today show work, and allowing me to do radio as well.”
Stanaway was also in Paris for Nine’s Olympic broadcast and is keen for a role on the upcoming Melbourne Cup broadcast.
“They haven’t finalised my role, but I’ve let them know I’m really keen to get involved, just because it’s an event that I think we will do really, really well. And working with the Wide World of Sports team on the Paris Olympics was certainly a highlight for me, and something that I really treasure. I had a lot of fun in Paris,” he continues.
“I usually take a fair chunk of time in the first part of December leading up to Christmas, or January leading into the Australian Open. So I’ll definitely get a break and I definitely need a break too.”
Weekend Today 7am Saturday / Sunday. Nine News Melbourne 6pm nightly on Nine.
links to content on ABC
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