The thing I love about breaking my diet is that I can always find someone or something else to take the blame. In this case, I blame Mal Walden. It all started last week on Wednesday night when there were drinks at a pub after he finished reading his final Ten News bulletin. The next day I posted a picture of an empty ice-cream bucket found in the sink that morning…
I call it emotional eating. Mal’s leaving Ten is indeed the end of an era and I’m not immune to the emotions that go along with all of that.
As well, It’s obviously NOT a good time of year to begin a new health mission, what with the plethora of festive occasions that make eating and drinking mandatory. To be quite frank, in the last week I have been nothing short of appalling.
And you can see the results in the tummy bulge, popping out in this photo where I was snapped having a drink and a laugh with Mal at Parliament House last night. If you’ve been following my blogging updates with the FIT FIX Diet Plan, you will have noticed there haven’t been many instalments in the last week. Basically, that’s because there’s too many sins to be recounted. It’s just too plain embarrassing…
So now I really do have to start being ‘good’ again. At least I’m still weighing in at a couple of kilos LESS than when I started the campaign. But that dress really does look too tight. BAD.
Yep, there it is again – THAT tummy – in a reunion snap taken of the old Ten News team from back in the year 2000. And NO, I’m not pregnant… I really would like to get back to the 66kg mark I touched on for just one day at the end of week two. Now I’m up to 68.5 again. Boo.
The boys are all holding up pretty well, aren’t they? Congratulations to Stephen Quartermain who will now be filling the chair as main news anchor for Ten News. I know he’ll do a fine job.
But I have another food update for you. As you may know, I’m a lover of yoghurt but do try to find products with less than five per cent sugar. Recently, my nephew who works at JALNA, gave me a range of their products to try. At first I scrunched up my nose, saying, ‘Nah, most of that yoghurt is about TEN per cent sugar!’
‘But no,’, said Nathan, ‘Jalna doesn’t use any sugar in its yoghurt. They use pear juice instead.’
Now technically fruit juice is still high in sugar, but at least it’s not the processed kind! And given the sugar content is still less than TEN per cent in most varieties, I am now going to include JALNA yoghurt in the FIT FIX Diet Plan. I really think the company should promote the ‘no sugar’ fact on their packaging as I would have considered buying it before now if I’d known.
The new Citrus flavour is great, and I’ve always loved the Honey-Vanilla. But there’s one new variety I’m especially keen on – the new Greek ‘Sweet and Creamy’ yoghurt. Hmmmm – heavenly! And only 9.6% sugar. A much better alternative to ice-cream!!
After a stellar 42-year career as one of Melbourne’s most respected newsreaders, Mal Walden will present the news for the final time next week on Wednesday, December 4th. Yes, he’s finally relinquishing the Network Ten news chair for a life of travelling, writing and spending time with family and friends.
His departure from our screens marks the end of an era. But unlike most, whose exit from the industry is usually abrupt, Mal has been afforded a well-deserved, gradual parting of ways – kind of like two lovers agreeing to take separate holidays instead of enduring an acrimonious divorce.
‘I resigned last year when the station was in a bit of trouble,’ he said. ‘There were cutbacks and redundancies and it was very unpleasant. I’d had enough so at the end of my contract I didn’t want to go on.’
But Ten made him an offer he couldn’t refuse. They asked him to stay for one more year working just four days a week for the first six months, take a long mid-year break, then return and only do three days a week. How could he say no?
‘It was the best contract I’ve ever had in my career,’ he said. ‘It was a beautiful transition because it phased me out and phased Stephen in, and it was good. It got my head around the “what am I going to do with myself when I finally give it all away” question.’
For those who don’t know, former sports presenter Stephen Quartermain is set to replace Mal when he leaves and has already been filling in on Mal’s days off.
————————————————————————————————-
I’m going to write up the rest of this interview in Q & A format, because Mal and I go back a long way and I like how the conversation between us still flows easily. We read the news together for more than ten years, becoming Australia’s longest serving news duo.
But enough with trips down memory lane. Let’s get back to that interview:
JEN: So with more time on your hands during the year, what have you been up to? MAL: I don’t know where the hours go. I make appointments, catch up with people and have lunches. Pauline and I might go away for long weekends, which was something I could never do before. It wasn’t that I was fed up with work. I was fed up with the ten to six Monday to Friday routine. That’s what I wanted to get away from.’
JEN: With only a few nights left to go, how are you feeling now? MAL: I’m feeling apprehensive. I’m feeling nervous. I just want to get through that final night.
JEN: Will you be able to say a ‘proper’ goodbye? Has it been discussed? MAL: No, they’re planning something and I’m not quite sure of the format, but I guess there will be a period at the end of the news where I guess I’ll say something like ”Thank you very much Melbourne for the last forty-two years.”
JEN: Is that the longest of any newsreader in Australia? MAL: No, it’s the longest in Melbourne. Brian Henderson has about three or four more years on me.
JEN: Was it ever a competitive thing for you, to be the longest-serving reader? MAL: No, because I would have been in my late seventies by the time I reached Brian Henderson’s record. I would have been too old and I don’t want to do that.
JEN: How old are you? MAL: There are three biogs out there. One has me at 67, one 68 and one at 69. 69 is the closest.
JEN: What will you do immediately after the bulletin ends? MAL: I’ll go back to the newsroom. The staff will be there and we’ll have drinks.
JEN: French champagne, I hope! MAL: No, I don’t think so! We only had French once and that was years ago, when we were winning the ratings. Remember?
JEN: Oh yes, I do… MAL: And it’s funny, but in all the years I’ve been reading news, out of 42 there were only eight or nine when we were number one. So it means you can survive in this business without being number one. They can put spins on anything. You know, I’m number one for married women with two dogs…
JEN: And what stands out as your career highlight? Apart from reading with me? MAL: Other than reading with you…(laughter) …the 1970s was the decade that was really the most defining decade of my life. I’d come back from overseas, I’d been in radio up till that stage, I approached Channel Seven for a job and an old boss of mine – Ron Casey, who I knew from radio days – said I can’t give you a job in the news department but come on as a booth announcer, and that’ll give you a foot in the door. Well, that very first night – June 6th, 1970 – at about a quarter to six – the late night newsreader was suddenly taken ill and they asked me to read the news. And I’ve been reading ever since.
JEN: Had you ever been in front of a camera? MAL: Yes, I had. In the mid-60s, I read the news in Tasmania.
JEN: What else made the 70s such a standout decade for you? MAL: It was defining for me because I got into television news. Two years after I read my first bulletin, I took a cadetship and then Cyclone Tracey hit and they sent me up to Darwin as a reporter. Because I got the first story out, I was then promoted to being a journalist. Then there was Balibo in East Timor and we were all vying to go there, so, but for the grace of God… Greg Shakleton went and that was sadly, his end.
JEN: How did that affect the newsroom? MAL: David Johnston was quite upset by the whole thing and gave television away, as an indirect result of Balibo. He just got so pissed off with what it stood for and all the cover-ups. David had an argument with the news director at the time one day, stormed out and never came back. They helped David establish a newsagency business, so when he went I became elevated to the number two newsreader spot. Before that it was Brian Naylor, then David and I was number three.
JEN: Now fast-forward to the present. What do you think about the impact of social media on the reporting of news? MAL: I think it’s very dangerous actually. A recent example was the marathon bombing in Boston. They were all tweeting that the bomber was a Puerto Rican and was being charged, and the main media picked it up. Even 3AW ran with it, without any fact checking. There are no checks or balances with social media. But it’s only in the last few years when it’s come to the fore. I mean, it can have its benefits, like in the case of the murder of Jill Meagher, where everyone rallied, so it can be useful.
JEN: But I guess you’ve seen a lot of changes over the years. MAL: Oh yes. I remember in ’69 when man landed on the moon, the world stood in awe as Armstrong stood on the moon. But I was more impressed with President Nixon picking up the phone in the Whitehouse and talking to Armstrong on the phone. To me, that was far more dramatic than the man standing on the moon. That was something we had never seen. So suddenly satellites closed that gap between radio being first and television was on an even playing field. It took a couple of years for satellites to be used locally, but that was the first indication I had that satellites were going to revolutionise news. And they did.
JEN: When did you first get promoted to main newsreader at Seven? MAL: It was 1977 and I was filling in for Brian Naylor at the time. I was lying in bed listening to the radio thinking, I’ll be glad when Nails gets back because I want to go back on the road, reporting. Then there was a news flash where the reader said, ‘In news just to hand, Brian Naylor has resigned from Channel Seven and is going to Channel Nine. Seven management have just announced that Mal Walden is taking over.’ Then the phone rang and it was the publicity manager from Seven, Eileen O’Shea, and she said,’The general manager, Mr Casey, would like to see you in his office so come on in.’
JEN: And they hadn’t even asked you? MAL: No, and when I walked into the newsroom, all I could hear was people saying things like ‘Well, that’s the end of the ratings,’ which made me feel terribly insecure. And I didn’t even want the job anyway. I walked in Casey’s office and he congratulated me and I told him I didn’t want the job. So he picked up the phone and called in the finance manager. He explained that I’d receive $60,000 a year, which sounded great, but I still said, ‘I can’t take it, it’s not what I want to do’. Then they brought in the promotions guy who bought in a picture of a brand new RX7. He put his arm around my shoulders and said, ‘Mal, take this job and the car is yours.’ And I’m thinking of my clapped out car out the front and the $60,000 a year… So I said, ‘I’ll do a deal – allow me to read the news and keep on reporting too.’ Casey then suggested I not do general news, but do special reports. So we did that. And they promoted me as the only newsreader who was a journalist, to give me credibility. And it worked. I never looked back.
JEN: Now, after forty-two years of news reading being your life, it must be hard to imagine what you’re going to do with yourself? MAL: We’re going to take a holiday. Pauline’s got the bags packed already. She’s probably at the airport waiting for me now, actually!
JEN: After that? MAL: I’ve got nothing planned whatsoever.
JEN: Weren’t you writing a book? MAL: Yes, I’ve finished my book. It’s biographical. I’ve diarised every day of my life since June, 1961. I have fifty-two diaries at home. Every day there’s an article about a news story, a conversation I’ve had, interwoven with my personal life, from radio right through to this year. And of all the chapters, the last two are the most telling.
JEN: In what sense? MAL: About what’s been happening in the last few years at Ten. It’s probably a bit close to the bone. They’re pulling out of the slump now. But that bit will never get to print.
JEN: Will you still have an association with Ten? MAL: That’s on the cards. They’ve asked me to stay on for another twelve months as ‘ambassador’.
JEN: How do you feel about Stephen being your replacement? MAL: I can’t think of anyone more suitable. He has skills I’ve never had and they’ll channel those into promoting him.
JEN: Looking back, have you any regrets? MAL: Not one! Not one at all. I’ve never had to make any major decisions in my life. They’ve all been made for me. I’ve been hired, fired, promoted, demoted… The only time I ever made a decision, and it involved you, was when I was reading the weekend news at Ten. I had young kids (twins, James and Sarah) and a holiday house at Rye and Pauline said, ‘I need you at home on weekends, this is ridiculous.’ So I went and told management I needed to give up the weekend news and then you took the role, but three months later, they made the weekend news national.
JEN: And I was dumped off the weekend news. MAL: So had I not made the decision, it would have been made for me.
JEN: So let’s wrap this up. Just one last question. Who was your favourite female newsreader to have alongside you? MAL: Jen Hansen!
Of course!
So next week will be a major milestone for this icon of news. Don’t forget to watch Channel Ten news next Wednesday night to see Mal sign off for the last time. I’ll miss him on air, but I know we’ll keep in touch as we have done over the years. As for his future, I’m looking forward to reading that book. And there’s plenty of other options for him too. Heck, he may just even start a Blog…
Life changes drastically when you leave a long-term job in the TV industry. In particular, a news-reading job. One day you’re in the spotlight, working to deadlines and feeling a sense of doing something ‘important’ – the next, your life is untethered and all the choices that open up seem overwhelming as you search for a new identity. It’s a little frightening after twenty years.
But the freedom is also invigorating. As one friend describes it, ‘You were a battery hen and now you’re a free-range chicken.’ Travel opportunities take you abroad to explore the real world instead of endlessly looking at places in news stories.
You stop watching the news religiously and wonder why it ever seemed so important. You take up a course, write a book, invent a product, write interviews for a newspaper, spend more time with family and friends and generally fill your life with stuff that runs you through a gamut of emotions. Some exhilarating, some hurtful, some challenging and some disappointing. But all experiences that make life seem fuller, brighter and more tangible. The rewards are deeper as your brain is forced to think on new creative levels. You no longer feel that you operate merely on a robotic level. Because there is a repetitiveness about news-reading that can be a little mind-numbing.
The years roll around quickly and suddenly we’re covering the Spring Carnival again, and yep, it’s time for the annual ‘Santa training’ for Myer, Red Nose Day, or the tragically predictable Easter road toll story. Turn to camera one. Look at Mal. Ad break. Five, four, three, two one – you’re on!
But after six years of freedom, there are days when I miss it. Right now, it’s 5.40pm and if I were still reading the news at Channel Ten, I’d be looking over to Stephen Quartermain as Mal Walden ‘throws’ to sport. The Olympics are on. It’s always when there’s something amazing happening in the world that a small dose of emptiness washes over me. That I’m missing out on that front row seat in the making of history — the excitement that comes being live to air, when every second counts.
There’s an adrenalin rush that comes with reading the news — being involved in major events affecting people around the world and delivering them live to an audience.
Another reason that wistful feeling revisited today was because an email arrived from a policeman, Chris Scifo, who’d read my Blog. He reminded me that we met when I was an on-the-road journalist for Ten and was sent to cover a double fatality in Thomastown. It was his first day on the job as a police officer. No wonder he remembers. A horrific introduction to his new career. As Chris said, he didn’t know what he was doing at the time. Funnily enough he remembers me as being very tall. I’m not really, but I guess everything must have felt overwhelming for him on that day.
He ended his email with this:
‘I always thought and maintain you are the best female anchor Aussie TV has ever had.’
Wow. High praise indeed and one of the loveliest compliments I’ve ever received. That’s the other funny thing about not reading the news any more. I never expected anyone to know who I was then, so am even more surprised now when I am recognized. And even after six years, I still have people approach me in the supermarket saying they miss me reading the news. And occasionally I get emails like this, from my policeman friend from so many years ago, that take me back to the newsroom and make me feel all nostalgic. So even if I don’t achieve much more in this life, it’s nice to know I was appreciated for what I did then and that I was good at something.
