'Attack dog' Trioli vows to retain Faine's hard-news bent

When Jon Faine announced his retirement from ABC Melbourne – he’ll step down as mornings host at the end of this year – his audience grew worried.

Would management replace him with an FM-style chatterbox? Would the program lose its hard-news focus?

"I’m afraid you've got attack dog Virginia Trioli," says the woman confirmed as Faine's replacement on Wednesday.

"It is an agenda-setting news program and that's never going to change. So for all of those people who are concerned: stand down, all will be well."

Trioli will finish as co-host of ABC News Breakfast later this year, beginning her new role in early 2020.

She's a familiar voice to loyal ABC Melbourne listeners; between 2000 and 2005, when the station was called 774 ABC, she presented its drive shift.

Virginia Trioli, co-host of ABC News Breakfast, will take over from Jon Faine next year as presenter of the mornings program on ABC Radio Melbourne.Credit: ABC

Though Trioli's political interviews drew the most attention, she strove for "light and shade" in each program – as she intends to do next year.

"You've got to have a balance," she says.

"You’ve got to continue what Jon has always called 'the contest of ideas' – that's what I've always hoped to do at News Breakfast as well – and you’ve got to have fun.

"You have people dipping in and out of the show from various circumstances – some are in the car rushing to work, some are at home, some are streaming us online – and you have to provide something for all of them."

While Sunrise and Today have lost viewers in recent years – along with most established TV programs – News Breakfast, which Trioli hosts with Michael Rowland, has increased its ratings.

Trioli's replacement is yet to be announced, while Rowland is tipped to take over from retiring Insiders presenter Barrie Cassidy in June.

Trioli is also in contention to front Q&A, with current host Tony Jones moving to China after the appointment of his partner, Sarah Ferguson, as ABC’s local bureau chief.

"If the ABC wanted me to do Q&A from time to time – as I have done while hosting News Breakfast – and if that could work with my primary responsibility of mornings, I'd be more than happy to do that," Trioli says.

"I've never been afraid of hard work and I'll always do what I can."

An ABC spokesman confirmed Trioli's radio program will continue in the 8.30am-to-midday slot, including a local "Conversation Hour" segment at 11am.

Trioli last did full-time radio in 2007, hosting ABC's mornings program in Sydney.

"What's changed is that views that were once more marginal have come to the centre," she says.

"I live and die by the belief that you should always listen to people who have different ideas to you, and you should always have friends who think differently to you – and with whom you don't agree.

"You have to keep an open mind but for me, there has to be a framework around hate speech. You'll never hear hate speech on this program for the purpose of ratings."

Trioli began her journalism career at The Age in 1990 and joined the ABC in 1999. She has won two Walkley Awards and a Melbourne Press Club Award.