Siobhan Duck: The one thing Today needs to be a success
It really shouldn’t matter that Deborah Knight and Georgie Gardner are both women — but the duo needs just one thing to be an entertaining team on Today, writes Siobhan Duck.
Opinion
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It really shouldn’t matter that they’re both women.
What’s far more important is whether Deb Knight and Georgie Gardner can make an entertaining team on Today.
And, frankly, I have my concerns about just that. Not because they’re unqualified, or not talented. Or even that they are, shock horror, female.
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It’s because genuine on-air chemistry can be hard to find. Just ask former Today host Karl Stefanovic.
It wasn’t until he was paired with Lisa Wilkinson that he created TV magic. Before that, the show fell flat.
We have seen the same problem occur on The Footy Show with a revolving door of hosts failing to make their mark.
The Front Bar, meanwhile, is kicking goals with viewers because Mick Molloy, Sam Pang and Andy Maher bring out the very best in each other. Ditto Sunrise’s Kochie and Sam Armytage.
For every one of these success stories there are far more that bomb. Who could forget Ten’s woeful brekkie show Wake Up? Or the diabolical panel program created by Mia Freedman, The Catch Up?
These programs, and others, failed largely because the teams didn’t make each other shine.
Nine’s decision to appoint two women as hosts instead of a man and a woman is a groundbreaking moment for Australian entertainment.
A cynic may argue it is well timed given the current climate.
After all, it comes hot on the heels of the #metoo movement and Wilkinson’s defection to Ten over a dispute with Nine about pay parity with Stefanovic.
Wilkinson jumping ship marked the start of Today sinking in the ratings, not to mention golden boy Stefanovic’s popularity plunge.
While Nine denies the move is political, there is no doubt it hopes to lure back female viewers who switched off, supposedly in protest against Stefanovic’s tumultuous personal life.
Surely it is foolish to believe females will watch the show simply because two women are hosting.
Yet expect to see the new Today get a ratings bump this week when people tune in to see what all the fuss is about. What will be more interesting is whether Knight and Gardner can keep those viewers coming back.
I hope to see them succeed. Both women are hard working, experienced and dedicated. And we must make allowance for the enormous pressure of brekkie ratings that will be on them.
Experience, dedication and goodwill will count for nothing, however, if they don’t quickly display that on-air chemistry.
— Siobhan Duck is a Sunday Herald Sun columnist
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