- Jim Waley
Jim Waley is a former television presenter on Channel Nine, an Australian television station.
In 1981, Waley was appointed founding presenter of "Sunday". In 1986 was invited to be founding presenter of the network's business and finance program "
Business Sunday ".He hosted "
Sydney Extra ", a news-based program for Sydneysiders, in 1992 and later that year was appointed presenter/reporter for "Nightline", the nightly 30-minute late-night news program seen nationally.Widely regarded as the newsreader with the most credibility and gravitas, Waley worked in the studio and in the field during his years at the Sunday Program. For example, in March 1998, he went on the trail of
Saddam Hussein 's hidden fortune, a journey that took him to Switzerland and a confrontation at the home of Saddam's private banker. The report won the gold medal for Best Special Report at the New York Festivals.Other foreign assignments included Waley's coverage from Sarajevo in 1998 and reporting breaking news in Washington of the growing political storm engulfing U.S. President
Bill Clinton andMonica Lewinsky . Waley also went on assignment to Nepal and the United States to profile the inspirational Tom Whittaker who, with an artificial leg, climbed to the top of the world, Mount Everest.On
2 December 2002 , Waley replaced the Nine Network'sBrian Henderson to presentNational Nine News in Sydney. [cite news|first=Stephanie|last=Peatling|title=The Waley it is ...|url=http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2002/12/02/1038712887589.html|work=The Sydney Morning Herald |date=2002-12-03 |accessdate=2007-05-28] He served in this role for two years after which the Nine Network began to experience serious ratings and management problems for the first time in 20 years, despite the fact National Nine News was the top rating news service in Sydney. In 2004, ratings dropped off, mainly due to the relaunch ofNational Nine News ' rivalSeven News . The Nine news service only won 27 of a possible 40 weeks. A settlement was reached and Waley retired early from his contract. He was replaced by Mark Ferguson in early 2005. [cite news|first=Alan|last=Mascarenhas|title=Nine dumps Jim Waley|url=http://www.smh.com.au/news/TV--Radio/Nine-dumps-Jim-Waley/2005/01/20/1106110882394.html|work=The Sydney Morning Herald |date=2005-01-21 |accessdate=2007-05-28]In October 2007, Waley was at a lunch to celebrate the 20th anniversay of the Nightline program. After the axing of the Clive Robertson late night news program in 1987, Waley moved into the timeslot and hosted the first version of Nightline called "The World Tonight". This first version focussed exclusively on international news. At the 20th anniversary lunch, Waley said he had plans to return to the media in the near future.
Television roles
* "Sunday" (1981 – 2002)
* "Business Sunday " (1986)
* "Sydney Extra " (1992)
* "Nightline" (late 1990s)
* "National Nine News " (2002 – 2004)References
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