Australian Financial Review’s political editor moves to TV after 35 years as a print reporter

This article is more than 2 years old

This article is more than 2 years old

The Fairfax political journalist Laura Tingle has been appointed chief political correspondent of the ABC’s primetime 7.30 program.

A seasoned print journalist, Tingle is now the political editor of the Australian Financial Review and this will be her first full-time job in television.



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“After 35 years as a print reporter, I am looking forward to exploring the very different opportunities that television provides to report on, and shine a light on, the workings of Australian politics and policy,” Tingle said.



The ABC’s director of news, Gaven Morris, said Tingle was “one of the great political journalists of her generation”.



“More than ever, audiences want political analysis that clearly explains what is unfolding in the political arena, provides analysis of the why, and puts it all into context – and no one does that better than Laura Tingle.



“Laura joins Australia’s strongest political journalism team, alongside Andrew Probyn, Sabra Lane, Antony Green, Annabel Crabb and the best Canberra bureau.”

Probyn, another newspaper reporter, replaced Chris Uhlmann, who resigned to join the Nine network last year when Laurie Oakes retired.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Tingle enjoying the televised leaders’ debate during the 2016 federal election. Photograph: Mike Bowers/The Guardian

Tingle’s role is dedicated to 7.30 while Probyn is a roving political editor across all ABC news and digital platforms. Tingle will also write a weekly column on Australian federal politics and the country’s major policy debates for the ABC’s website.

Her appointment is the first major move by John Lyons, who left the Australian newspaper last year to take up the newly created role of head of investigative and in-depth journalism.



“Boosting 7.30’s editorial firepower is one of ABC News’s priorities this year and Laura is a crucial part of that. Laura brings a depth, sharpness and perspective which helps viewers make sense of these extraordinary times we are living in.”



A former Four Corners producer, Justin Stevens, was appointed executive producer of 7.30 in December. “This year we want to confirm 7.30 as the unmissable daily destination for current affairs,” he said on Monday.