Melissa Doyle quits Seven, Emma Alberici leaves the ABC
Melissa Doyle will leave the Seven Network on Friday. Photo: Melissa Doyle
Veteran journalist Melissa Doyle has quit the Seven Network after 25 years.
Doyle, who has held numerous roles with the network after starting in its Canberra bureau, will be farewelled in a special Seven News bulletin on Friday.
She confirmed her departure in a statement on Friday, saying she left with “a great deal of pride, satisfaction and gratitude”.
“For 25 years, I have called Channel Seven home. I’ve had the privilege to share stories that mattered, meet incredible people and be there for significant moments in history,” she said.
“I am incredibly proud of the work I have done and appreciative of the trust and warmth our viewers have shown me. I want to thank the consummate professionals I have worked with along the way, in particular our chairman, Kerry Stokes, for his constant support.”
Tweet from @melissadoyle
After also working in the network’s Sydney newsroom, Doyle has also held presenting and hosting roles on 11AM, Today Tonight, Sunrise, Seven News, Sunday Night and most recently The Latest.
Highlights of her journalism career included covering the Beaconsfield mine disaster, several Olympic Games, the Lindt café siege, the Paris terror attacks, the centenary of ANZAC commemorations in Gallipoli, two royal weddings and multiple state and federal elections.
The network’s director of news and public affairs said Doyle had been a fundamental part of the network.
“Classy, professional and a delight to work with, Mel leaves us with a history she should be enormously proud of,” he said.
Doyle is also a weekend host on Smooth FM radio. It’s not known whether she will continue in that role.
Elsewhere, the ABC’s chief economics correspondent, Emma Alberici, has confirmed her departure from the broadcaster after 18 years.
Alberici confirmed her departure in a series of tweets on Friday. It comes after a long-running dispute with ABC management.
“It is true that the ABC & I reached an agreement yesterday,” she tweeted.
“After 18 years of loyal service, including as one of the country’s first mother foreign correspondents (with 3 kids under 3) I am no longer employed by them,” she said.
Tweet from @albericie
Alberici said it would be “too painful” to remain in the public eye following a legal battle involving ABC news director Gaven Morris. Alberici famously fell foul of then prime minister Malcolm Turnbull after writing an article about his government’s planned tax cuts.
More recently, Alberici revealed she’d had emergency surgery after nearly losing her fingers in a horrific kitchen accident.
“Advice: Don’t put fingers in stick blender blade to wash it while it’s still plugged in to the power,” she wrote in June 2019.
“Fingers survived thanks to the incredible work of surgeon & team at Prince of Wales Hospital.”