Channel Seven’s decision to have Angela Cox as the solo presenter for Sydney’s 6pm news bulletin has heightened speculation about the future of the prime-time broadcast’s presenter.
Rumours have been circulating among television insiders that Seven’s new bosses are investigating the possibility of replacing Sydney news presenter Mark Ferguson, who has spent more than a decade as the network’s 6pm news anchor.
Ferguson is on leave during the Olympic period, when games host Nine is expected to storm the ratings, and Seven bosses are understood to have been trialling alternative presenters with panellists.
It had been suggested that Cox and long-running presenter Michael Usher could form a couple.
But some insiders were surprised when Cox hosted the show solo on Monday night, suggesting it was a test run to become a long-term option behind the desk.
One of them said: “Everyone thought it was going to be Angela and Michael together, but people are really impressed with Ange alone, she’s a bit of an unknown.”
Cox had been Seven’s US correspondent, worked on its previous regular current affairs special Sunday Night and hosted its nightly news show The Latest.
The source added: ‘Both networks know that Angela gets incredibly high ratings in focus groups, so bosses at all the networks will be watching very closely and doing their own research.
Angela Cox presented Seven’s news bulletin in Sydney on Monday night, raising eyebrows among some television pundits.
Seven News presenter Mark Ferguson’s future on weekday primetime is in the shadows after a decade
‘Nine will have that ‘golden glow’ in the coming weeks with the Olympics, but the question remains whether they can maintain it once the games are over and the world returns to their daily lives.’
Ferguson reportedly earns a salary of between $600,000 and $750,000 a year, at a time when the network has been looking to cut costs amid a tough advertising environment and a staff shake-up, with former West Australian newspaper editor Anthony De Ceglie promoted to editor-in-chief of the network.
Earlier this month, the network shockingly fired Queensland news anchor Sharyn Ghidella, with the 58-year-old sparking changes at the network in an impassioned Facebook post.
Ghidella told her followers she received a “tap on the shoulder” while having her hair done for a network promotion instead of a face-to-face meeting.
He then criticised changes the network made to its news bulletins, including an astrological reading and a news satire segment at 6:57 p.m. on Friday nights.
Cox and presenter Michael Usher have been talked about as possible members of the writing team, but Cox appeared alone last night.
“When you work in television as long as I have, not a day goes by that you don’t expect a tap on the shoulder… After 38 years, I finally got a tap on the shoulder,” Ghidella said.
She continued: ‘I’m also not one to be served the evening news with humour and horoscopes, so to be honest it’s time for me to go.
“As I often say, the caravan moves on. There is certainly still a lot of talent in the team and I wish them all the best for the future.”
Other senior staff members who have been made redundant recently include Sydney and Melbourne crime reporters Robert Ovadia and Cameron Baud. Ovadia has said he will take the network to the Fair Work Commission.