Peter Mitchell (newsreader)

Peter Mitchell (born 14 June 1960) is an Australian television presenter.

Peter Mitchell
Born	14 June 1960 Melbourne, Victoria Australia
Occupation	News presenter
Years active	1977–present
Known for	Seven News Weeknights

Mitchell currently presents Seven News Melbourne on weeknights.[1]

Career

Mitchell began at the Nine Network in 1977 as a sport reporter.[2] In this position he covered sports such as Australian rules football, golf, tennis and the Commonwealth Games. In 1982, Peter became a general news reporter and in this position he covered many stories including Victoria's horrific Ash Wednesday bushfires in 1983.[3]

In 1987 Mitchell joined the Seven Network and became weekend news presenter. He held this position for 13 years until November 2000 when he replaced David Johnston and Anne Fulwood as the solo weeknight presenter.

In 1997, Peter was the first news presenter in Australia to break the news, during an AFL match, that Princess Diana had been killed.[4]

His journalism experience has also included writing a weekly column for the Sunday Herald Sun for two years called "Tee for Two" and publishing a book – the biography of Australian golfing legend Peter Thomson, a five-time winner of the prestigious British Open.[5]

Controversy

In a Seven News bulletin that went to air in March 2018, Mitchell used some inappropriate wording to describe a murder trial which was ongoing; he subsequently apologised to the Victorian Supreme Court for his actions.[6]

Award

In 2010 Peter was inducted into the City of Frankston Hall of Fame as a tribute to his strong link to the City and the significant impact of his work.[7]

Personal life

Mitchell grew up on the Mornington Peninsula, attending The Peninsula School, in Mount Eliza.[8] His father, Geoff Mitchell, was a councillor on the Frankston city council in the 1960s and 1970s, served a term as the Mayor of Frankston (1970/1971) and also played football for Frankston in the VFA.[4]

Mitchell is a passionate Collingwood Football Club (AFL) fan and began going to watch them play, with his father when he was 5 years old.[9]

He is married to wife Philippa and they have five children together, Amelia, Ben, Lucy, Maisie and Harry. and three grandchildren.[4]

References

1. "Melbourne's tops newsreaders, Mal Walden, Peter Mitchell and Peter Hitchener tell all". HeraldSun. Retrieved 9 October 2016.
2. A peep into Peter’s life | Upstate. Retrieved 28 March 2013 Archived 20 September 2014 at the Wayback Machine
3. Anchor without rancour: Peter Mitchell remains one of the good guys | Stonnington Review 26 February 2013. Retrieved 28 March 2013 Archived 10 April 2013 at Archive.today
4. Peter Mitchell | Frankston City Council 1 February 2013. Retrieved 28 March 2013 Archived 25 April 2013 at the Wayback Machine
5. Mitchell, Peter (1 January 1991). The complete golfer Peter Thomson : a biography / Peter Mitchell. Melbourne: Lothian. ISBN 0850914744.
6. Knox, David (20 March 2018). "Peter Mitchell apologises to court after "off script" comments". TV Tonight. Retrieved 21 March 2018.
7. Frankstons Hall of Fame | Retrieved 28 March 2013 Archived 25 April 2013 at the Wayback Machine
8. Mitchell’s stuck on Peninsula | Leader newspaper 14 October 2008 Archived 6 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine
9. McKenna made me do it | Herald Sun 13 September 2011. Retrieved 28 March 2013

External links

• Profile at Claxton Speakers