Veteran Channel 7 anchor Sharyn Ghidella informs staff of her immediate departure from network

A veteran Seven anchor has informed staff of her abrupt departure from the network - and made a savage comment on Facebook.

Veteran Channel 7 anchor Sharyn Ghidella has issued a scathing parting shot at the network after being sacked.

Following an almost two-decade career at the broadcaster’s Brisbane bureau, the 58-year-old evenings co-presenter announced she was leaving effective immediately in an all-staff email on Friday, which was seen by news.com.au.

In a separate, lengthy statement posted on her Facebook page, Ghidella made a pointed comment about the raft of changes Seven has undergone recently, including introducing a comedy segment and horoscope report to its national news offering.

“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.

Sharyn Ghidella is leaving Channel 7.

Former newspaper editor Anthony De Ceglie, who replaced Craig McPherson as the network’s news director in April, has made a series of radical shakeups since he started in the role.

In a statement to news.com.au earlier this week, the 38-year-old defended his decision to introduce an astrology segment amid mounting backlash.

“We’re exploring new ideas and concepts to bring in new audiences so that we can showcase them this journalism,” De Ceglie said.

“We’re not going to be afraid to innovate and we’re only just getting started.”

News.com.au understands the seasoned journalist was offered the opportunity to farewell viewers formally, with the network preferring she remain on-air for several more weeks. Ghidella declined, with her co-presenter Max Futcher primed to host the show solo in the interim.

Earlier, Ghidella said in an all-staff email her exit hadn’t panned out the way she’d hoped.

“After 17 years at 7, apparently, my time is up,” she wrote.

“It’s not quite how I expected it to end after 38 years in the industry, but hey, that’s TV.

“I will certainly miss the friendships and the fun we have had, around what is, the serious business of news.”

“I’m making a clean break, and I probably won’t get the chance to bid you farewell in person,” Ghidella continued in her email.

“But please know that I have held all of you in the highest regard during my time on the mountain and I thank you all, from the bottom of my heart, for everything you did to ensure we made it to air each night.”

Ghidella, pictured with co-presenter Max Futcher, has worked with the network for 17 years. Picture: Tara Croser

De Ceglie commended Ghidella for her “significant contribution” to the station.

“We are grateful for her hard work and are sorry to see her go. She leaves with sincere thanks from everyone at Seven and our very best wishes for the future,” De Ceglie said.

Seven Brisbane’s Director of News Michael Coombes added, “For 17 years, Sharyn has been a welcome guest in loungerooms across Queensland – always professional, always reliable, always warm.

“But for all of us, she is so much more. A mentor, a colleague, a friend. I have nothing but admiration and gratitude for Sharyn. And we wish her every success for the future.”

The Seven Network has been hit with redundancies in recent weeks. Picture: AAP/Paul Miller

Ghidella, pictured here in 2000, is an Aussie TV veteran.

Ghidella began her presenting career as a reporter at Channel 10 in Brisbane before moving to Nine.

The mother-of-two officially joined Seven in 2007 as weekend presenter, shifting to her current role as a co-presenter of the nightly bulletins in 2013, which she hosts with Futcher.

Her high-profile departure comes weeks after Seven’s beloved Gold Coast weather reporter Paul Burt was let go.

He was just one of around 150 staff who were reportedly sacked from the business as the Australian media industry grapples with mass redundancies.

Originally published as Veteran Channel 7 anchor Sharyn Ghidella informs staff of her immediate departure from network