Channel Ten suffered an “unimaginable” blunder when paying tribute to one of its legendary Australian television hosts after his death.
George Negus sadly passed away at the age of 82 after a battle with Alzheimer’s disease, his family confirmed on Tuesday.
Tributes flooded in for the 60 Minutes host, with every major news network airing heartfelt segments in memory of the television icon.
However, some Channel Ten fans were unimpressed when they noticed a tribute had been shared online with the veteran presenter’s name misspelled.
10 News First had misspelled his last name as ‘Nebus’ instead of ‘Negus,’ and one eagle-eyed viewer shared the mistake on social media.
While the error has since been corrected, it still appeared as ‘Nebus’ in a Google search for the YouTube tribute video on Tuesday night.
On X/Twitter, one disgruntled fan described the mistake as an “insult” to the star, who appeared on The Project and presented at 6.30 with George Negus on Ten.
Channel Ten suffered an “unimaginable” blunder when paying tribute to legendary Australian TV host George Negus (pictured in 2006) after his death.
‘What an insult to one of your own. Unimaginable,” they wrote.
Negus also presented Nine’s 60 Minutes when the show launched in Australia in 1979, and remained in his role until 1986.
He was diagnosed with dementia about five years ago and had been living in an aged care facility in northern Sydney since late 2021.
In a statement shared on Tuesday, Negus’ family said he “passed away peacefully surrounded by his loved ones” in Sydney.
“Despite the challenges that diseases like Alzheimer’s impose on families, we still share beautiful moments, laughter and happiness together in recent times,” they said.
“While we know he will be celebrated for his unique contribution to journalism, football and the environment, he would also like to be remembered for the incredible family man he was.”
Meanwhile, 60 Minutes added in a statement: ‘An icon of journalism. A legendary announcer. A friend to many.
60 Minutes star Negus (pictured in 1980) has sadly passed away at the age of 82 following a battle with Alzheimer’s disease, his family confirmed on Tuesday.
As the tributes poured in, Ten News First fans were unimpressed when they noticed a tribute had been shared online with the veteran presenter’s name spelled as ‘Nebus’ instead of ‘Negus’.
’60 Minutes’ founding reporter George Negus has sadly died at age 82, after a battle with Alzheimer’s disease. “We will always treasure the stories and memories he gave us all.”
Tributes have flooded in for the veteran current affairs journalist in the hours since news of his death broke.
Negus’ former Today Show co-host Liz Hayes paid tribute to broadcaster 60 Minutes in a sweet message.
Appearing on A Current Affair on Tuesday, Liz gushed that the Nine star was “truly one-of-a-kind” as she shared some heartfelt words.
‘George was a powerful human being and, in my life, someone I will never forget. “He left his mark no matter what he was like or where he was,” he gushed.
Liz, 68, who hosted the Today Show alongside George from 1987 to 1990, added that her former co-star would be remembered for his “insatiable curiosity”.
“He was truly unique – there was one George and only one George and that’s why, in many ways, he stood out,” he said.
‘He was just a good guy. Curious beyond belief, he always had questions he wanted answered. He brought a great personality to television (and) an insatiable appetite to know more.’
George (pictured in 2012) presented 60 Minutes when the show launched in Australia in 1979 and until 1986.
Liz was joined by George’s former 60 Minutes colleague Ian Leslie, who said George was the “spark” that made the current affairs show work.
“We needed to stand out, we needed a spark to get the audience on their side,” he said.
‘We needed a Negus, we needed that type of urban cowboy. That penetrating voice to get the message across. George was the spark that took 60 minutes to reach the heights he did.
Leslie added that seeing her former colleague affected by Alzheimer’s disease was “cruel.”
“For a man who loved words, who loved to talk, who loved to tell a story, and whose voice was his soul, to have it taken away from him is incredibly cruel and very, very sad,” he said.
Speaking to Daily Mail Australia, Leslie added that while Negus’ battle with dementia was widely known, his death came as an “immense shock”.
‘It’s a very, very sad moment. “A lot of memories,” he told Daily Mail Australia.
‘We instantly came together as a brotherhood, because we felt like this was an incredible moment in broadcast history, and we felt this deep privilege, you know, that we shared with each other.
“So, it was like, all of a sudden, you had a pair of brothers.”
Negus’ former Today Show co-host Liz Hayes paid tribute to the veteran host on A Current Affair on Tuesday.
Liz gushed that the 9News star was “truly one of a kind” as she shared some heartfelt words. He is pictured with George Negus (bottom left), Lisa Wilkinson (top left) and Karl Stefanovic (top right).
60 Minutes Australia journalist Charles Wooley, who joined the program in 1993, also said that Negus “introduced the Australian accent to current Australian television”.
“Before that, we spoke like the BBC or Bob Menzies,” Wooley told Daily Mail Australia.
‘George first came to attention on the ABC for his cheeky, broad Australian accent. But when he moved to 60 Minutes, that idiomatic style soon became the style of the house.
“It worked and now we don’t have to ‘put the dog’ in front of the camera.”
Just months before his death, Negus’s son Ned posted a touching Father’s Day tribute to the man he called ‘Negsy’ on social media after a family outing to the beach.
“I was hesitant to post this on LinkedIn as it is quite personal,” Ned wrote.
“But then I realized that you are all human and that there is always a place to share human realities with your professional network.”
Ned, commercial director of the A-League football competitions, then referred to his father’s Alzheimer’s diagnosis.
“Now he doesn’t talk most of the time (mind-blowing for me, but also for any of you who know him),” he added.
‘Today is Father’s Day in Australia and we took a walk together on the beach.
‘He evidently wasn’t sure why this particular walk was symbolic and at times he wasn’t sure who he was walking with.
Negus was diagnosed with dementia about five years ago and as of late 2021 was living in a senior center in Sydney. He is pictured with 60 Minutes reporter Liz Hayes.
‘At one point we stopped, he smiled widely and then hugged me for quite a long time.
‘It was sad, but encouraging to know that even when you can no longer say what you feel, you can still DO what you feel. I love you Negsy.’
Negus made his last notable public appearance at the November 2020 memorial service for television pioneer Gerald Stone, after the inaugural 60 Minutes executive producer died at age 87.
Born in Brisbane, Negus was a secondary school teacher until he was 20, when he began writing for newspapers such as The Australian, followed by a stint on ABC’s groundbreaking This Day Tonight.
Negus served as press secretary to Attorney General Lionel Murphy during Gough Whitlam’s brief Labor government and was hand-picked by Stone to help establish 60 Minutes.
Stone had chosen Negus, Leslie and Ray Martin to head the news program in 1979, when Kerry Packer imported the format from the United States to broadcast on his Nine Network.
She worked on the show until 1986, sharing reporting duties with Leslie, Martin, Jana Wendt and, near the end of her tenure, Jeff McMullen.
At its peak in the 1980s, 60 Minutes was a ratings giant, with a third or more of the national television audience tuning in to the show at 7:30 p.m. on Sundays.
Negus’s wife, Kirsty Cockburn (she left with Negus in 2009), moved into a unit near the Northern Beaches aged care facility where he resided and visited him every day.
Negus was the first presenter of ABC’s international current affairs program Foreign Correspondent, fronting the program from 1992 to 1999.
He presented George Negus Tonight, formerly known as New Dimensions, on the national broadcaster from 2002 to 2004.
The following year, he began presenting Dateline on SBS before becoming a regular panelist on Ten’s The Project, and later presented 6.30 with George Negus on the same network.
Negus was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia in 2015 “for significant service to the media as a journalist and television presenter, and to conservation and the environment”.
