‘Big shoes to fill’: ABC unveils Michael Rowland replacement on News Breakfast

James Glenday has been unveiled as the new co-host of ABC TV’s national morning program News Breakfast.

Outgoing host Michael Rowland introduced his replacement to viewers on Monday morning. “If I had a baton I’d hand it to you, but congratulations,” Rowland said. “You are the best person for the job, in my view.”

Michael Rowland (centre) announces James Glenday (left) will replace him as co-host of News Breakfast, with Bridget Brennan.Credit: ABC

“Big shoes to fill,” said Glenday, who will start in the role on January 20. “Bit nervous, I must admit, coming on the couch like this next to greatness.”

Glenday is the former host of the 7pm news bulletin in the ACT but has been a fill-in host for Rowland over the past three years. His appointment was widely expected after ABC announced last month that he was leaving the Canberra job for “an exciting new project next year”.

Glenday will share the couch with Bridget Brennan, who joined the show in August. Both joined the ABC in 2010.

“I’m a little bit sad about moving to Melbourne, Canberra’s the beating heart of Australia,” Glenday joked on Monday morning’s program. “But I hear Melbourne’s been working on becoming more attractive.”

Speaking to this masthead immediately after the on-air announcement, Glenday said he looked forward to taking on a role in which he could flex a range of muscles normally kept in check as a nightly newsreader.

James Glenday says he’ll enjoy the variety he didn’t get to explore presenting a nightly news bulletin. Credit: ABC

“It’s genuinely a really fun job,” he said of the hosting role, as the toppling of Syrian president Bashar al-Assad continued to dominate the morning’s news. “You do the really serious news of the day, and then you do some lighter stuff as well, and sport and all sorts of things, massive variety, which I think really does suit my personality and keeps it very interesting. You get into this routine of ‘the unpredictable always happens’ and you just need to be ready for it.”

It has been all change for News Breakfast in recent months. Lisa Millar departed after five years as co-host in August. In October, Tony Armstrong announced he was leaving after three years of early starts. The departure of Rowland, who joined the line-up in 2010, completes a clean sweep.

Also joining the team full-time in January is popular sports presenter Catherine Murphy. Roving reporter Charles Brice remains part of the line-up, as do Emma Rebellato (newsreader and Friday presenter) and Nate Byrne (weather).

From next January the lineup will not only be fresh, but considerably younger.

“Bridget and I, and also Tyson Shine [executive producer], are all turning 39 next year,” Glenday observed. “Emma and Catherine and Nate are all in their early 40s. So it does feel like a new era for News Breakfast, which I’m very excited about.

“I’m not saying it’s a pivot to younger audiences or anything like that,” he added. “But we know a lot of Millennials and Gen Xs wake up with News Breakfast, so it’s good to be reflecting that.”

The ABC will hope its new lineup resonates with viewers, young and old. News Breakfast consistently rates last among the three free-to-air morning news magazine shows, behind Nine’s Today and Seven’s Sunrise, the leader by some margin.

Last Monday, Sunrise averaged 405,000 viewers on linear and on demand, Today managed 298,000 and News Breakfast was watched by an average 236,000.

Ratings are important to Glenday, though he points out that there are other priorities for the show.

“I want as many people as possible to be watching it, but I also think it has a really important role in the ABC network for breaking stories, getting the biggest interviews, because there’s a repeater effect, in that what you see on News Breakfast you’ll also see throughout the day and online, and even on the news at night,” he said.

“One of the metrics of success is getting big gets and getting big interviews so that you can really drive that content and news elsewhere in the ABC. Its reach is broader than just what goes to air [on the show itself].”

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