Craig Hutchison (broadcaster)

Craig "Hutchy" Hutchison (born 4 December 1974 in Warragul, Victoria) is a Melbourne-based sports broadcaster well known for sensationalist stories. Hutchison has covered football commentary and breaking news stories.

Early career

He commenced his career in 1994 as a cadet with the Herald Sun and two years later moved to Sport 927 in Melbourne. There, he was producer of the Kevin Bartlett and Dr Turf Big Sports Breakfast Show for approximately 1 year with his assistant producer, Rhett Bartlett. Hutchison then went on to join Channel Ten as a journalist and broke sport stories including Neil Balme's sacking at the Melbourne Football Club as Senior Coach, Alastair Lynch's drug hearing with the AFL, and the subsequent resignation of the Brisbane chairman following the story.

Seven Network

In 1999 he joined the Seven Network and was promoted to Chief Football Reporter, appearing nationally broadcast Sportsworld every Sunday. He was also "Fill-in" sports anchor for Seven News.

Controversy

In 2004 he was at the centre of controversy when he wrongfully said St Kilda player Justin Koschitzke was being interviewed by police in relation to sexual misconduct allegations. Hutchison said Koschitzke and teammate Stephen Milne were involved, when it was actually Milne and Leigh Montagna. Channel Seven was forced to issue an apology to St Kilda and Koschitzke and issued a retraction.

Radio career

Craig joined Triple M in 1997 and two years later co-hosted the top rating Ralphy and Hutch show, and called AFL games every Saturday night from 1997-2005. Hutchison has shared Sundays with Sam Newman, James Brayshaw, Stephen Quartermain and Jason Dunstall, providing a preview of the day's game.

In 2006 he joined 3AW's football commentary team with Rex Hunt. In June 2007, Craig was sacked from 3AW. Management of the radio station took the action following a ratings plummet for its Saturday night football coverage. He later joined SEN 1116 and, since 2009, co-hosts Off The Bench on Saturday morning with Liam Pickering.

Defection to Nine Network (2007-present)

On 29 September 2006 it was revealed that Hutchison would be leaving the Seven Network to join Channel Nine's football team in 2007. It was considered a shock defection due to the fact that Seven, who he had been with for eight years, won a share of the telecast rights to AFL matches for the first time since 2001.

As part of Hutchison's role with Nine, the start of the 2007 season saw him become host of Nine's newly introduced talk show Footy Classified. He was also appointed as a reporter for The Footy Show, The Sunday Footy Show and National Nine News, with his first major stories being an exclusive interview with Jonathan Hay, as well as a trip to Malibu, California to follow Ben Cousins as he was admitted to a drug rehabilitation centre.^[1]

On Sunday, May 10, 2009, he hosted the Channel 9 show TAC Cup Future Stars - aimed at focusing on stories and personalities of the TAC Cup.

In 2011, Hutchy played for Victoria in the annual EJ Whitten Legends Game, where he kicked a 9 pointer from a banana kick.

Awards

Hutchison has been the recipient of many awards. These include being Five-time winner of the AFL Media Association Awards "Best Electronic News Reporter"^{[citation needed]} and winning a Quill (Victorian Journalism Awards) for Best TV News Report in 2002.^[2]

References

1. ^ Craig Hutchison. Cousins starts rehab in Malibu, The Age, 1 April 2007.
2. ^ Press Club Honor Roll 2002. Best TV News Report: Craig Hutchison, Seven Network.

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Name	Hutchison, Craig
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Date of birth	4 December 1974
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