Karl Stefanovic leads Today against David Koch, Samantha Armytage on Sunrise
Karl Stefanovic couldn’t resist a reference to ‘egotistical’ hosts as Today and Sunrise fired up their breakfast TV battle.
The Australian morning TV breakfast wars have kicked off again with the return of Karl Stefanovic to the Today Show, head to head with David Koch and Samantha Armytage on Sunrise.
Stefanovic made an early comparison of his career with the popular fictional TV show, Morning Wars, joking that he could not stand it and said it was full of “egotistical” hosts.
“Lucky there are none of those here,” new co-host Allison Langdon said.
Stefanovic responded with a smile and the rest of the crew laughed.
“You just made that really awkward,” Stefanovic said.
Karl and I will be live tomorrow from 7am, to share the latest news on Australia’s bushfire emergency. pic.twitter.com/EIo4PPv9R8
— Allison Langdon (@AllisonLangdon) January 3, 2020
After poor ratings and a year spent attempting to mix cultures of the former Fairfax with Nine, Stefanovic returned to our screens on Saturday – a week and two days ahead of schedule – with special coverage of the bushfire crisis.
But Monday marked his full-time return to the gig.
The Today Show’s arch rival, Sunrise, matched the first timetable shuffle, recalling hosts Sam Armytage and David Koch from holidays a week early.
Both shows covered similar content throughout the morning, with coverage dominated by updates and live crosses to correspondents in NSW, South Australia and Victoria for updates on the catastrophic bushfires scorching parts of those regions.
At one point, just before 7am, both programs hosted a media panel of two journalists each to discuss Scott Morrison’s performance throughout the bushfire crisis.
After Stefanovic called the Prime Minister “arrogant” on Sunday for not personally informing the NSW RFS Commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons about a plan to deploy 3000 defence personnel to bushfire affected zones, he praised Morrison today for admitting that he had made a mistake in a discussion with broadcaster Gus Worland.
“He acknowledged that he had made a mistake and got on with it. That’s what we need from our PM,” Stefanovic said.
As Stefanovic wrapped up the panel discussion, Worland noted that he was “doing well an hour in”.
“It’s actually an hour and a half,” Stefanovic laughed as he corrected the broadcaster.
Sunrise opted to deliver audiences further special coverage of the bushfires, dedicating their whole program to updates on what many political leaders and emergency chiefs are calling an “unprecedented” crisis.
David Koch interviewed NSW Emergency Services Minister David Elliott, asking him if he felt “guilty” for going on holidays while bushfires destroyed homes and property in his state.
Mr Elliott fielded the question and said he didn’t go to Europe as planned after “getting the call” and turning around.
The breakfast programs differed in their entertainment coverage, with the Today Show dedicating prime time to predicting winners the Golden Globes ahead of the red carpet event today.
Stefanovic was sacked in December 2018 while on his honeymoon with new wife Jasmine Yarbrough, with Nine executives blaming his personal life for plummeting ratings.
Stefanovic’s younger brother Peter and sister-in-law Sylvia Jeffreys also lost their jobs in the drama.
BBC apologises to staff over Russell Brand sex complaints
Some employees had stayed silent about the behaviour of the comedian and actor because they believed he ‘would always get his way’, a BBC director said.
Questions about ABC platforming ‘radical fringe Jewish voice’
Jewish groups have questioned why the national broadcaster has chosen to platform and ‘mainstream’ a Jewish ‘radical fringe voice’, in its coverage of anti-Semitic events in Sydney.