Post by Flash on Jun 6, 2008 16:15:49 GMT -5
FOREIGN correspondent Peter Lloyd and Lateline co-host Virginia Trioli will anchor the ABC's ambitious Breakfast TV news program starting on ABC2 in September.
From 6am to 10am every weekday, Breakfast will carry news from the ABC's extensive network of television, radio and online journalists, including footage of live radio interviews with politicians as well as breaking international news.
The program is certain to put pressure on pay TV's Sky News, as well as the free-to-air news shows on commercial television, such as Sunrise on Seven and Today on Nine.
ABC managing director Mark Scott has taken a personal interest in developing Breakfast as well as in building the Continuous News Centre - the ABC's first purpose-built, 24-hour multi-media newsroom, in Ultimo, near the Sydney CBD.
"If Sky News can deliver a 24-hour news service with a fraction of the number of journalists working in ABC newsrooms, then it stands to follow that the ABC is capable of producing a 24/7 news service for our audiences: we just need to work smarter to deliver it," Mr Scott said earlier this year when announcing the CNC.
Broadcast from Melbourne, Breakfast will have a dedicated Canberra political correspondent as well as access to all the other journalists for breaking news.
Cameras will be installed in dozens of ABC radio studios across the country to film live interviews with politicians.
ABC2 is a free service available in all homes equipped with a free-to-air digital set-top-box or a subscription TV platform, currently estimated to be about half of all homes.