Channel 7 axes Gold Coast news bulletin in yet another major shake-up

The Seven Network has made yet another huge change to its news offering, axing the popular Gold Coast nightly bulletin.

Channel 7 has axed its Gold Coast news bulletin in the latest drastic change to be rolled out at the network’s news division.

While the station’s bureau will remain in the regional city, with reporters still located on-the-ground, Seven has scrapped its 5.30pm local bulletin, which was co-hosted by Amanda Abate and Steve Titmus, with retired Olympian Sally Pearson presenting sport.

Their final show will be on Thursday.

From then, the network will move to infuse Gold Coast news in its statewide 6pm bulletin, hosted by Max Futcher and Sarah Greenhalgh, which is broadcast from Seven’s Mount Coot-Tha studio in Brisbane.

Steve Titmus and Amanda Abate present the Gold Coast news bulletin for Seven.

It’s understood Abate and Titmus, who is the father of swimmer Ariarne Titmus, will remain with the network, though their roles are currently unknown.

In a staff-wide email sent on Tuesday morning, Seven’s Director of News and Current Affairs Anthony De Ceglie said:

“This morning we have spoken to our news teams on the Gold Coast and in Brisbane about some changes to our news operations in Queensland. Our Gold Coast newsroom will be streamlined to run as a multifaceted bureau, with its award-winning stories and hot button issues to be given more prominence in the nightly metropolitan news at 6.00pm”

7News Brisbane’s Max Futcher and Sarah Greenhalgh will now deliver Gold Coast news in the metro bulletin. Picture: Paul A. Broben.

It’s a significant blow for local viewers on the Gold Coast, which is Australia’s sixth largest city, and comes after prominent anchor Sharyn Ghidella was let go from her presenting position in July, following an almost two-decade career at the broadcaster’s Brisbane bureau.

Ghidella, 57, has since defected to Channel 10.

At the time of her departure, Ghidella made a pointed comment about the raft of changes Seven has undergone this year, which included introducing a comedy segment and a horoscope report to its national news offering.

Ghidella was let go from Seven in July.

“I’m also not one to have my evening news served up with humour and horoscopes either, so, to be honest, it is time to go,” Ghidella wrote on her Facebook page.

De Ceglie, who replaced Craig McPherson as the network’s news director in April, has made a series of radical shake-ups since he started in the role.

He defended the decision to pull the pin on the Gold Coast bulletin, saying the network remained “committed” to servicing local viewers.

“This is about bringing together and modernising both our Gold Coast local news and Brisbane’s unrivalled 6.00pm bulletin hosted by Max Futcher and Sarah Greenhalgh,” he said, per Courier Mail.

“This change in direction in no way diminishes our commitment to news coverage on the Gold Coast. Quite the opposite.

“For viewers, it means more people across the region can get home from work, school and play in time for 6.00pm, and the issues and stories that matter to them most will have an even stronger voice in the all-important nightly news.”