Peter Hitchener | |
|---|---|
 Hitchener at the 2012U3A Carnival of Learning atFederation Square, Melbourne | |
| Born | Peter Donald Beauchamp Hitchener (1946-02-21)21 February 1946 (age 79) |
| Occupation | News presenter |
| Years active | 1965–present |
| Employer | Nine Network |
| Television | Nine News |
| Website | peterhitchener |
Peter Donald Beauchamp HitchenerOAM (born 21 February 1946) is an Australian television presenter with a 50-year career with the Nine Network and 58 years of news broadcasting experience. Hitchener is currently weekend presenter ofNine News Melbourne. He was chief news presenter ofNine News Melbourne from 1998 until 2023.[1]
Originally fromTexas in ruralQueensland, Hitchener began his media career in 1965 at theBrisbane radio station4BH where he wrote, edited and presented news bulletins. Hitchener then moved on toABC Brisbane, where he undertook roles as a television news and radio presenter. Still at the ABC, he moved to Sydney in 1973, where he was a relief presenter on the evening news forJames Dibble.[2]
Hitchener moved to theNine Network after one year at ABC Sydney, presentingNational Nine News first in Sydney and then in Melbourne as the co-anchor ofNews Centre Nine, withBrian Henderson co-anchoring in Sydney. In 1977, Hitchener began hosting the breakfast show on3AW before moving to3AK in 1979. At about this time, Hitchener also became chief weekend news presenter and understudy to chief weeknight news presenterBrian Naylor. In 1985, Hitchener resigned from 3AK.[2]
When Brian Naylor retired in 1998, Hitchener took over as presenter ofNine News Melbourne on weeknights. In 2008, Hitchener celebrated 10 years as the weeknight news presenter.[3]
In January 2013, the Nine Network celebrated Hitchener's 40-year career with the network at a gala dinner where many speakers paid tribute to his work in news and the community.[4]In July 2014, it was announced Hitchener had signed a new contract to remain presenter of Nine News, believed to be for five years.[5]
On 29 March 2021, Hitchener was reading the news bulletin when he suddenly fell ill and was unable to read theteleprompter, causing him to go home mid-broadcast.[6] Hitchener was subsequently revealed to have been suffering amigraine, and was replaced byAlicia Loxley for the following night's bulletin.[7]
In December 2021, it was announced that Hitchener would scale back to four days a week from January 2022, presenting from Monday to Thursday, withAlicia Loxley presenting on Friday.[8]
In February 2022, Hitchener was announced as aMoomba Monarch alongsideFifi Box.[9]
In November 2023, it was announced that Alicia Loxley andTom Steinfort would replace Hitchener to present on weeknights and Hitchener will move to weekends from January 2024.[10][11]
In 1998, Hitchener became the patron and active supporter of Able Australia (formerly the Deaf Blind Society of Victoria), an organisation supporting people with multiple disabilities.[12] Since 2011, he has been the patron of Dogs Victoria, an organisation representing breeders and owners of pure-bred dogs in Victoria.[13] He is also an Ambassador for the Lort Smith Animal Hospital.[14] In addition, he is[when?] a regular supporter and guest speaker for many other charity and community events in Melbourne.[2]
Hitchener was awarded theMedal of the Order of Australia (OAM) in the2017 Australia Day Honours list "For service to the broadcast media as a journalist and television presenter, and to the community".[15][16]
For a short time, Hitchener lived inEltham during the 1970s.[17]
In April 2008, in aHerald Sun article regarding his 10 years as chief news presenter ofNine News Melbourne, Hitchener acknowledged he is gay.[3] Online commentators criticised the circumstances of Hitchener's personal revelations, saying that he was "pushed" into discussing hisprivate life. Hitchener's spokesperson denied this.[18]
| Media offices | ||
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| Preceded by | Nine News Melbourne Weeknight presenter 1998 – 2023 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by Unknown Alicia Loxley | Nine News Melbourne Weekend presenter 1978 – 1998 2023 – present | Succeeded by Jo Hall Incumbent |
