Ask Ian Leslie what word best describes his legendary 60 Minutes colleague George Negus, and only one will do.
“Brother,” he says.
Leslie is reflecting on the lasting bond she shared with Negus after learning of his death at age 82 following a long battle with Alzheimer’s disease on Tuesday.
“George has been battling dementia for probably three years, and we were all expecting this news, but it’s still been a tremendous shock,” he tells Daily Mail Australia from his home in Queensland.
‘It’s a very, very sad moment. We share many memories.”
Many of those memories are captured on film.
The duo signed on as inaugural reporters, alongside Ray Martin, for Nine’s news and current affairs disruptor 60 Minutes when the show first debuted in 1979.
Although Leslie admits that she initially expected them to fight to cover the biggest stories, she soon discovered that there was nothing Negus liked more than sharing a story; whether having a beer, with your audience or even with your colleagues.
Ray Martin, Ian Leslie and George Negus soon became a band of brothers after signing on as inaugural reporters on Nine’s news and current affairs program 60 Minutes in 1979.
The team was soon joined by a “sister”, the young weapons reporter Jana Wendt. From left to right: Ray Martin, George Negus (front), Ian Leslie (back) and Wendt
“When we first got together, I didn’t know what to expect; I’d never met George or Ray,” Leslie recalls.
‘I had come out of the news and, in my experience, there was very tough competitiveness in newsrooms, in the sense that you were always competing against your colleagues.
‘But that was completely different on 60 Minutes; We share our information, we share our thoughts, we help each other.
“Suddenly, I felt like I had a pair of new brothers.”
The band of brothers was soon joined by a sister, Jana Wendt, and together they are credited with changing the way Australians saw themselves and the world around them.
“I think it’s fair to say we introduced the world to Australian audiences,” Leslie says.
‘Before 60 Minutes, we basically depended on the Americans, the French and the British to bring us the images, the stories, the news and the politics of the world at large.
“But with 60 Minutes, our role was to say, ‘Well, let’s get Australian journalists to tell these stories through Australian eyes and let’s go out and bring the news to the Australian public.’
Ian Leslie says he was used to fighting to cover big stories in competitive newsrooms.
But Negus was always happy to share a story with a colleague, whether over a beer or at work.
‘It was a very special moment in broadcasting. And I can speak for George and say that we were all very proud to take on that role at that time.
“We feel this deep privilege, you know, that we share with each other.”
Of course, when it came to telling stories through the eyes of Australians, he says Negus had natural talent.
“George was an extraordinary storyteller in the sense that he was a man of words,” Leslie says.
“He was never, ever trapped by a word or an opinion – often very strong opinions.
‘Jorge He just had this incredibly curious mind and that ability to absorb details and images and then talk about them with his audience.
“He was a great storyteller and he loved it; he was a man who loved to talk.”
Negus had an innate ability to see and talk about the world through ‘Australian eyes’.
Admittedly, there were a few times when even Negus was left speechless, but Leslie jokes that even then, it was usually due to a technical glitch.
“I remember seeing George in the deserts of Ethiopia trying to make a camera piece on the back of a jeep,” he says.
“He was covering a war there and he had remembered all these words to say (in the film), but the problem was, with the force of the wind, no one could hear a single word he said.
‘It was one of the only times he was speechless.
“We all laughed about it; it was a good memory.”
As for Negus’ impact on the often hectic world of news and current affairs television, Leslie has few doubts about her famous colleague’s legacy.
“People often ask ‘why was 60 Minutes successful?’ and I have to say I give George full credit for that,” he says.
Negus was rarely at a loss for words… but he was speechless during one memorable story while filming a piece for the camera from the back of a jeep in the Ethiopian desert.
‘Of the three of us, we have to thank George for propelling 60 Minutes into the top-rated show it has become.
‘He was very much the source of their success because he was very visible and out there.
“Ray and I come from a more conservative background, but George… George stuck his neck out, stuck his head out and said what he wanted to say.
‘He had that chemistry, you know? And people were thinking, “Oh my God, who is George Negus?”
“That’s the kind of magic he had… that’s the kind of man he was, and he put 60 Minutes on the map.”
