Inside the ‘revolutionary’ show replacing The Project

Denham Hitchcock, one of the journalists tasked with reviving Network 10 news in the wake of The Project’s axing, reveals new details about the story he says TV rivals “would kill for.”

Television journalist Denham Hitchcock believes the daily news and deeper investigations of prime-time news show10 NEWS+ will cut through and reach wider audiences than other programs, like the recently-cancelled The Project.

The Project aired its last episode on Friday and will be replaced by 10 NEWS+ from Monday, which will be the first commercial free-to air news program to also be available as a video podcast via global streaming service Spotify.

“That’s the great unknown,” Hitchcock told Stellar in a new interview.

“The journos, the network [are] fully behind it. No-one is half-hearted about this show. And the platforms it will be on is also revolutionary in a way.”

Television journalist Denham Hitchcock. Picture: Steven Chee for Stellar

The 48-year-old will co-anchor the show with his former Seven Network colleague Amelia Brace. Both Hitchcock and Brace were poached from Seven by Network 10.

The father of two is looking forward to being “let out of the gate” on stories and revealed he had one up his sleeve for months.

“It’s an absolute blockbuster,” he teased. “It’s a story 60 Minutes, Four Corners and Spotlight would kill for.”

While he is excited to get started, his dad Kevin, a former Network 10 news anchor himself, is possibly more excited.

“[Though] God forbid I get any of my grammar wrong,” Hitchcock said. “’Cause he’s the first one on the phone.”

Growing up watching his father work on news investigations like the Lindy Chamberlain trial, Hitchcock was destined to follow in his footsteps.

Network 10 has announced the launch of its premium, in-depth news, current affairs and insights program, 10 NEWS+, co-anchored by Hitchcock and Amelia Brace. Picture: 10 News

“Dad would sometimes get me to write news stories and he would sub them at the dinner table for fun,” he told Stellar.

“One day he got extremely upset because I finished a story with ‘time will tell’. He hates the cliché. I always knew I wanted to be a journalist, even at a very young age.”

Starting off his career straight out of high school in 1995, Hitchcock answered phones and filled the biscuit barrel for Today Tonight on Seven.

His work as a reporter took him all over the world, and he went on to work as a foreign correspondent at the Nine Network before returning to Seven to launch current affairs program Spotlight.

“To truly try and make a difference and enrich the lives of the people you come across is what I’m most proud of,” Hitchcock said of his 30 years on the road.

“I’ve managed to do that in a lot of cases, and that gives me the most amount of hope. There’s still beauty amongst the rubble and devastation. You just have to look for it.”

Originally published as Inside the ‘revolutionary’ show replacing The Project