The pregnant new star of Channel Seven’s Brisbane newsroom, Sarah Greenhalg, is holding firm when it comes to her upcoming maternity leave after being promoted to host of 7NEWS.
Greenhalg was promoted to the role earlier this year after respected journalist and news anchor Sharyn Ghidella was sensationally fired from her high-profile position after 17 years at the network.
The former foreign correspondent will take up her new role as co-presenter of Seven’s 6pm evening bulletin on Monday.
Greenhalg, 34, is six months pregnant and will go on maternity leave in just a few weeks.
She explained that management has assured her that there will be no strict deadline for her to return to work after giving birth.
“I’ll be back when it suits everyone, including Bub,” he told the Courier Mail.
“Historically, women have gone through very difficult times, especially in television, where they had to return very quickly from maternity leave because they felt enormous pressure to do so, otherwise they might be considered less than their male counterparts. “
Greenhalg revealed that she had almost given up on her dream of being a mother for fear of how it would affect her career and was pleasantly surprised when she was cast in the role.
The pregnant new star of Channel Seven’s Brisbane newsroom, Sarah Greenhalg, is holding firm when it comes to her upcoming maternity leave after being promoted to host of 7NEWS after the network fired Sharyn Ghidella. Pictured with co-host Max Futcher
Greenhalg was promoted to the role earlier this year after respected journalist and news anchor Ghidella was sensationally fired from her high-profile position after 17 years at the network.
“It’s something I didn’t think was possible at the beginning of my career,” Greenhalg said.
“But the fact that Seven have promoted me effectively, knowing that I’m also pregnant, I think is fantastic, not just for me: I think it’s fantastic for any woman in the industry.”
Greenhalg has big shoes to fill.
Greenhalg, 34, is six months pregnant and will go on maternity leave in just a few weeks. She explained that management has assured her that there will be no strict deadline for her to return to work after giving birth.
Co-presenter Max Futcher, who has been in the 7News Brisbane newsroom since 2018, supported her promotion and said he was excited to be working with her.
The success of their new partnership will be critical for Seven’s newsroom, after accusations of “soul crushing” and “toxic work culture” exposed on the ABC’s Four Corners program saw Seven West Media plummet 69 per cent. percent in their profits to 45 million dollars for the total. year.
The sensational dismissal of Ghidella, whose shoes Greenhelg will fill, did not help.
The veteran TV presenter sent one last message to her former boss in August, days before her return to competitor Network 10.
“Don’t call me at the hair salon… that wasn’t the cut I was expecting,” he joked.
“Seriously, I mean look, there are good people at Channel 7, I had a good career there… It was good until it was over.”
The 57-year-old was fired from Seven after 17 years while having her hair done for a promotional shoot, sending shockwaves through Queensland households.
The sacked Channel 7 icon later said she was “not surprised” by the allegations made in the damning Four Corners documentary.
The news presenter is now the host of Queensland’s ‘new look’ 10 News First and said she was ‘coming home’.
Ghidella announced the move to The Project and said it was a great opportunity, telling the program that he began his career with Ten in 1990.
‘In 1990, I started at Ten in Brisbane, the hair was quite big. The shoulder pads were even bigger,” Ghidella said.
Martin White, head of Broadcast News, Paramount Australia and New Zealand, welcomed Ghidella to Ten in a LinkedIn post earlier this month.
‘This is a great day out for 10 in Queensland. “We believe strongly in local journalism and providing our audiences with the best content possible, which aligns perfectly with Sharyn, Brisbane’s number one news presenter,” White said.
“We are delighted to welcome 10 back and can’t wait to get started.”
Ghidella will replace another beloved Queenslander, Sandra Sully, who has been presenting the Queensland newsletter from Sydney for the past few years.
Ghidella, who has worked in journalism for 38 years, announced in a statement on Facebook on July 12 that he had been asked to leave the Seven Network.
The mother-of-two had built an extensive media career over the past four decades, with previous stints at Channel 10 before joining Seven as a weekend presenter in 2007.
“When you work in television for as long as I have, not a day goes by that you don’t wait for the proverbial tap on the shoulder… After 38 years, my tap on the shoulder has finally come,” he said.
“It wasn’t exactly how I expected it to end on Channel 7.
‘I was actually sitting in the hair salon to work, when I received the call informing me that after 17 years with the network, my time was up.
‘And although I am a little saddened by this decision, there is also a sense of relief. As has been widely reported, the last few weeks on television have, sadly, been a miserable affair.