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35 years with Nine, as Jo Hall endures.

Jo Hall has spent her adult life in TV News but still comes up smiling.

News14-225When Jo Hall turned 40 media stories branded her a ‘television survivor.’

Now many years hence it’s hard to know what, if any, tags should apply. Suffice to say she is a veteran of Nine News, this month chalking up her 35th year with the network in an industry where loyalties can be fleeting.

Hall admits she has seen much both in front and behind the camera, but still loves her job. Despite scaling back her role as weekend presenter in Melbourne in 2011, she’s as busy as ever. She files human interest stories for Nine News, fills in as presenter, contributes to the ‘Chat Room’ segment on Nine News Now, and presents an in-flight bulletin for Qantas.

“It’s proved to be the best thing ever, because I’ve never been happier with what I’m doing, with beautiful feature stories on whatever subject I want to do,” she says.

“When I look back on weekends I think ‘How on earth did I do that for as long as I did?’

“(Change) was the best thing ever.”

No longer under the pressure of Monday morning ratings or subjected to as much scrutiny by viewers over her appearance, Hall remains optimistic.

“I only get wonderful comments now, so all the pressure is off in that regard so I can just enjoy what I’m doing without the anxiety that used to come with that role.”

As a single mother of 4, juggling a media career and raising a family hasn’t been without its challenges and, she concedes, sometimes even guilt.

“I suppose every working woman is in the same situation, when you’re trying to raise a family and have a career. When I’m at home and a big story breaks I want to be in the office. But then I feel guilty for feeling like that,” she admits.

“Then when I’m at work and there were milestones, with the twins at home where a first step or first tooth came, and I was at work reading the news, then you feel bad because you want to be at home.

“Then you feel bad for feeling guilty! So it’s a constant to-ing and fro-ing and every working woman, maybe every working parent, would feel like that.

“It has been hard sometimes because of the hours and for 12 years they were long days and nights spent on Saturday and Sunday night doing the updates. It impacts on your family and I guess your relationships, your marriage as well.

“It’s been challenging but at the same time it’s a wonderful job, it’s well paid and it affords them a lifestyle.”

Her children now range from 14 to 32 -including twins- and two are already pursing media careers.

Her eldest son is an editor at SKY in London while another son, 22, has graduated with a Media Communications degree. She suspects her youngest have their hearts set on sport and make up.

“They know everyone in the newsroom, they’re very news-savvy and they watch the news. I’ve let them be exposed to it from a really young age, rightly or wrongly. But I’ve never forced the limelight on them, for want of a better term.”

Hall joined Nine after a cadetship at Waverley Gazette, but her father encouraged her to apply for an advertisement in television. Now aged 98, he remains as proud as punch.

“He only stopped work when he was in his 80s, and for 53 years he worked as a match maker, not in terms of love matches but ones that you light. He worked in the one place at Bryant and May for 53 years, so I guess it’s in my genes,” Hall explains.

“He’s very proud of me and he watches everything that I do.

“And he tells everyone the story because he thinks he’s highly responsible for my success –which of course he is.”

Over decades of news and change she recalls presenting the big stories, September 11, the Bali bombings, the Boxing Day Tsunami, Ash Wednesday and Black Saturday bushfires. In 1990 she became the first woman to win a Thorn Award for journalism for her report on a siege at a Hawthorn Kindergarten.

“I was on the ground for that and I remember being quite traumatised by it, because I felt for these poor parents being a mum myself. How would I feel if that were my child in there with that crazy man?”

But human interest stories, such as profiling young cancer patient Tyler Fishlock, resonate in other ways.

“That was a wonderful story to cover, so I am really lucky in terms of those warmer, human interest stories,” she recalls.

While she has endured in the testy world of television news, Hall says the days of a Nine ‘boy’s club’ are long gone.

“There once existed a boy’s club but I don’t think there’s much evidence of that now,” she insists.

“When I started in the newsroom there was only 1 other female reporter and she was considerably older and a tough, single woman. And in other roles editing, camera, there were very few women in newsrooms. So just by the statistics there were more men.

“I guess there was (a boy’s club) in those early days, but if you look back and apply the politically-correct guidelines we work under now to that era, the two wouldn’t go together. What went on then, clearly would not go on now.

“But I don’t see any existence of it now, in terms of the number of male and female journalists, the stories they’re assigned to, that doesn’t happen anymore. There isn’t the bias there once was.

“I don’t think there is ageism, whereas once there was a glass ceiling for women in television.”

But does TV news still ask its females to form an orderly queue on the B team? In summer, on weekends and non-prime time, or when partnered with a male?

“I suppose that is the case,” she replies.

“Chris Bath did much the same as Jennifer Keyte, in Sydney. I don’t know that I can comment, but as an observer, yes what you say is absolutely correct. I can’t offer up a reason why. Maybe they’ve done market research and maybe the audience prefers Monday to Friday, a bloke to read their news.

“I don’t feel I’ve suffered in terms of promotion and my career path because I’m a woman. Not at all.”

In her more-recent role she’s loving the versatility and the extra time she has to spend with family.

“People think you go in at 3 and you leave at 6:30. That’s not the case. You’re there at midday doing all the updates, you do the half hour news and you’re there until maybe 10:00 at night doing the network news breaks. So it’s a very long day and it impacts on your family and it’s very much a routine,” she says.

“I got to the point where I thought –and they were keen to give other people an opportunity too- ‘there’s not much longer I can do this job.’ I’m too old! I want to have a Monday to Friday job and feel like a normal person, enjoy my weekends, and be home as my children are becoming teenagers.

“I can’t imagine what my life would have been like had I not gone for that interview all that time ago. To grow up and live my whole life, virtually in front of the television camera it’s certainly been a ride, for me and my family.”

9 Responses

  1. Of course here in Queensland where we do not get to see her,memories of her alter ego Jo Beth Jo(Marg Downey) and the Eyeball news team are still fresh in my mind and even then She was considered a News reading icon 25 years ago.

  2. @maxxdude not sure how you figure that when both 7 & 9 news readers for 6pm weekday news are male & have been for decades, In Melbourne anyway.
    i would love to see Jo or Jen Kyte as 6pm weekday readers, solo. I know Jen did back in the 90’s & has since filled in but not got the gig permanent.
    Maybe theres still enough sexism left in the industry to keep them out? Its pretty sad if that is the case in the year 2014.

  3. A very classy lady….who we don’t see a lot of in Sydney….
    Thank you for yet another interesting and excellent piece David Knox.

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