Interview with George Negus, 2015

This is an excerpt from a 2015 NFSA oral history interview with award-winning journalist, author and presenter George Negus AM (1942–2024). 

In this clip, he talks about the secret to producing good news stories and how he broke the dress code for journalists. He also explains how he coaxed interesting answers from the many powerful and famous people he interviewed, like Margaret Thatcher. 

Born in Brisbane, Negus was a high school teacher before he switched to journalism at age 28. He soon became a household name as a reporter on This Day Tonight (ABC, 1975–77), a founding correspondent on the top-rating Australian edition of 60 Minutes (Nine Network, 1979–86) and the first host of Foreign Correspondent (ABC, 1992–99). 

His many other TV roles include being the presenter of Dateline (SBS, 2005–10) and a panellist on The Project (Network Ten, 2010–12). He was also proud of his travelogue film Across the Red Unknown: A Journey Through the New Russia (1992). 

Negus became a Member of the Order of Australia in 2015 and received the Walkley Award for Most Outstanding Contribution to Journalism in 2021.

George Negus passed away on 15 October 2024 at the age of 82.