Jim Waley

Jim Waley (born 1948) is a veteran Australian television presenter best known for his work on the Nine Network.

Career

In 1981, Waley was appointed founding host of Sunday. In 1986 he was invited to be founding presenter of the network's business and finance program Business Sunday.

He hosted Sydney Extra, a news-based program for Sydneysiders, in 1992 and later that year was appointed presenter/reporter for Nightline, the nightly 30-minute late-night news program seen nationally.

Widely regarded as the newsreader with the most credibility and gravitas, Waley worked largely in the studio until 1994 when it was suggested he should report from the field for the Sunday program. For example, in March 1998, he went on the trail of Saddam Hussein's hidden fortune, a journey that took him to Switzerland and a confrontation at the home of Saddam's private banker. The report won the gold medal for Best Special Report at the New York Festivals.

On several occasions every year, Waley would host the Sunday program from major world events, including elections in the United States and Russia, conflicts in the Balkans and the Middle East, and the British handover of Hong Kong to China in 1997. He also reported Princess Diana's funeral in August 1997.

Other foreign assignments included Waley's coverage from Sarajevo in 1998 and reporting breaking news in Washington of the growing political storm engulfing US President Bill Clinton and Monica Lewinsky. Waley also went on assignment to Nepal and the United States to profile the inspirational Tom Whittaker who, with an artificial leg, climbed to the top of the world, Mount Everest.

On 2 December 2002, Waley replaced the Nine Network's Brian Henderson to present National Nine News in Sydney.^[1] He served in this role for two years, after which the Nine Network began to experience serious ratings and management problems for the first time in 20 years, despite the fact National Nine News was the top rating news service in Sydney during his tenure. In 2004, the Nine News service won only 27 of a possible 40 weeks. A settlement was reached and Waley retired early from his contract. He was replaced by Mark Ferguson in early 2005.^[2]

In October 2007, Waley was at a lunch to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Nightline. After the axing of the Clive Robertson late night news program in 1987, Waley moved into the timeslot and hosted the first version of Nightline called "The World Tonight". This first version focussed exclusively on international news. At the 20th anniversary lunch, Waley said he had plans to return to the media in the near future.

On 9 May 2009 Sky News announced that Waley had joined the 24-hour news channel to present a new nightly news bulletin called Sky National News with Jim Waley.^[3] The new bulletin premiered on 29 June 2009 at 6:00pm (AEST).

In May 2010, Sky News announced that Waley had been diagnosed with a recurrence of cancer in his left ear, and he would be taking a few months' leave.

References