From Nine’s golden boy to Ubergate: A timeline of Peter Stefanovic‘s rise and fall at Nine
He was once Nine’s golden boy and their most recognisable foreign correspondent. Now, Peter Stefanovic has left amid reports he was about to be fired. This is how his career at Nine fell apart.
He was once Nine’s golden boy and the network’s most recognisable foreign correspondent.
But Peter Stefanovic has now sensationally been dumped by the network after 15 years.
The announcement was made last night following speculation that he was set to be dropped from his role co-hosting Weekend Today.
The bombshell revelation came just days after Nine denied a Daily Telegraph report suggesting he was about to be axed.
It’s understood Nine bosses still largely blame Peter — the younger brother of Karl Stefanovic — for Ubergate, which saw the network’s dirty laundry aired thanks to a leaked phone call between the brothers.
Peter, 37, began his journalism career at 23, rising up the ranks at Nine to plum roles as the network’s US and europe correspondent.
This is how his career at Nine developed before his dramatic exit.
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RISE TO FAME
2002: Peter began his TV career with WIN, reporting for WIN News Rockhampton and Canberra.
2004: He then joined Nine as a reporter for Nine News and A Current Affair. Later, he became a foreign correspondent at the network’s Los Angeles and London bureaus. These stints cemented him as one of Nine’s most recognised reporters, covering major stories across the US, Europe, Africa and the Middle East.
2012: The Stefanovic brothers unite while covering the 2012 London Olympics. Peter had been an overseas correspondent for Nine for more than a decade.
PERSONAL LIFE
2014: Peter started a relationship with Nine co-star Sylvia Jeffreys after hosting Weekend Today’s Christmas show together. He later returned to Australia to work as a senior reporter and presenter for Nine News.
July 2014: His relationship with Jeffreys got serious. His brother, Karl Stefanovic, revealed that she had met his mum and visited the family home in Queensland. Karl said she was a hit at the Stefanovic Sunday roast.
“She has been around a couple of times when Pete is home from London and everyone likes her,” Karl said.
“She is a beautiful woman and super smart and most importantly, from Queensland. It is a big thing to cope with the in-laws, usually there is always a dodgy uncle but she has the crazy brother-in-law. It is early days and I don’t want to put pressure on it, I wish them all the best.”
PETER’S FIRST BOOK
2016: Hachette Australia published his bookHack in a Flak Jacket: Dispatches From an Aussie Foreign Correspondent on its website. The publisher states it is “a startlingly honest account of experiencing war and terrorism from the frontline by Peter Stefanovic”.
“During that time he witnessed more than his fair share of death and destruction, and carried the burden of those images — all while putting his own personal safety very much in the firing line. From flak jackets to tuxedos. From the funerals of world leaders and icons, to war zones and natural disasters. This is a thrilling account of a life lived on camera, delivering the news wherever it happens, whatever the risk.”
2016: Peter is announced as co-host of Weekend Today alongside Deborah Knight.
PETER’S ENGAGEMENT TO SYLVA
July 2016: He announced his engagement to Jeffreys while they were away travelling together. He proposed on a vineyard in France. He told fans: “Asked my missus to be my wife and she said yes,” Stefanovic wrote in a post on Instagram.
2017: He later joined 60 Minutes as a reporter.
PETER AND SYLVIA’S WEDDING
2017: Peter and Sylvia tied the knot at Ooralba Estate in Kangaroo Valley. It was a star-studded affair, with many of the pair’s Nine colleagues at the event.
2018: He then returned to Nine as co-host of Weekend Today alongside colleague and friend Allison Langdon.
UBERGATE
March 2018: An Uber driver recorded and then recounted a phone call between Peter — who was in the car with his wife, Sylvia — and Karl, who was on speaker phone. The driver claimed Peter complained at length that he “hated his job” in an explosive 45-minute attack on colleagues including Richard Wilkins, Georgie Gardner, Mark Burrows and other Nine heavyweights.
Peter was largely blamed for the leaked Uber call. This sparked speculation Peter would be dumped from Weekend Today amid poor publicity and viewer backlash.
Nine also sent Peter out to cover the bushfires for the Today show afterwards. Sylvia was also not in her usual newsreader chair.
The Stefanovic brothers apologise in an exclusive interview with The Sunday Telegraph.
NINE AND FAIRFAX MERGE
November 2018: The impending merger of Nine and Fairfax passed its final hurdle — approval in the Federal Court. Speculation begins about possible changes to Nine’s on-air schedule and talent roster due to the controversial media merger.
A DRAMATIC DEPARTURE
December 2018: Peter served as best man at his brother Karl’s much-publicised wedding to Jasmine Yarbrough in Cabo, where he delivered a speech.
December 11, 2018: News Corp reported Peter’s days as host of Weekend Today were numbered.
December 18, 2018: Nine announced his departure. In a statement, the network said: “Nine and reporter Peter Stefanovic have mutually decided to part ways after 15 years.”
“Peter has decided to explore new opportunities and is looking forward to spending weekends with his wife.
“He has been a respected member of the Nine News team and Weekend Today, and we wish him all the best for the future.”
Peter and Sylvia were travelling overseas in the US after going to Karl’s wedding.
Peter and Sylvia have now touched down in Australia.
December 19, 2018: According to The Australian, Nine insiders were “in shock” over the news, describing Peter as a “decent fellow” and a “bloody good reporter”.
‘‘Everyone is in shock, but it’s Ubergate that’s done him in,” one Nine insider told The Australian.
“Today has been spiralling out of control. And they bone people.”
Fans have unleashed on social media, saying Peter was the wrong brother to go — his brother Karl should’ve left the network instead.
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