Colleen Shiels

Clicked on to the Today show this morning accidentally and watched for five minutes. Face it 9, it’s not working, all the new players are great (though I loved Lisa, Sylvia, Dickie, Georgie & co (2 women both great but ahead of their time & mismatched), with the exception of Karl. Interesting though, I remember when Karl started he was appalling yet he was given so much time to find his feet (other female co leads were less fortunate) and did marginally improve, but was never great, he seems to survive based on his connections (eg James Packer) as the buffoon is juvenile, tiresome and inappropriate, and getting worse. His interviews are either pathetically groveling (His interview with Kylie was one of the worst I’ve seen) or unnecessarily combative and aggressive (rather than piercing and enlightening). Surely 9 you can find a better male co host somewhere? Hamish McLachlan would have been great or Waleed Aly, both of whom have gravitas, warmth and a sense of fun, all applied appropriately, Karl’s brother Peter was better. After years as a Today viewer appreciating the mix of serious news and some lightheartedness to start the day many friends and I have moved to the Abc (because Sunrise is even more facile and stupid). Your target audience appears to be the lowest common denominator. Get it together or the ratings will dive further... or you’ll be left with the audience you deserve, which of course may be what you want.....