A Current Affair (Australian TV program)

A Current Affair
Company type	Television program
Industry	Television broadcasting
Founded	November 22, 1971; 54 years ago
Headquarters	Sydney, Australia
Area served	Australia
Key people	Allison Langdon (current anchor), Deborah Knight (Saturday anchor)
Products	Current affairs television show
Owner	Nine Network
Website	www.9now.com.au/a-current-affair

A Current Affair (ACA) is an Australian current affairs television show broadcast on weeknights and Saturdays via the Nine Network, presently anchored by Allison Langdon and Deborah Knight (Saturday).

1970s

The program first premiered on 22 November 1971 with Mike Willesee as host, initially scheduled for weeknights at 9:30pm before shifting to a 7:00pm slot in 1972. Early episodes featured humorous social commentary segments by Paul Hogan. During Willesee's tenure, ACA was produced by Transmedia for the Nine Network.

Following Willesee’s departure from Nine in 1974 to join the competing 0–10 Network, journalist Mike Minehan assumed hosting duties. Other presenters during this period included Sue Smith, Kevin Sanders, and Michael Schildberger.

The original series ended on 28 April 1978, largely due to stiff competition in the 7:00pm time frame from Willesee at Seven on the Seven Network and Graham Kennedy's Blankety Blanks airing on the 0–10 Network.

In 1984, Willesee made a return to Nine with his program Willesee, airing Monday through Thursday at 9:30pm. The show moved to a 6:30pm slot in 1985 and expanded to five nights weekly, continuing until 1988 when Transmedia sold the rights back to Nine.

1988 revival

After Willesee’s exit, former 60 Minutes presenter Jana Wendt took over on 18 January 1988, reinstating the title A Current Affair. This relaunch coincided with the Seven Network launching the soap opera Home and Away and debuting rival current affairs program Hinch at Seven, hosted by Derryn Hinch in Melbourne.

The Seven Network also introduced direct competition through Real Life, which was later renamed Today Tonight. Wendt departed in November 1992, reportedly dissatisfied with an ACA segment involving topless women.

In 1993, original host Mike Willesee returned for a one-year stint. From February 1994 until November 1998, Ray Martin served as host. Between 1999 and 2002, Mike Munro led the program before transitioning back to other Nine Network projects such as This Is Your Life and 60 Minutes.

Ray Martin resumed hosting from February 2003 through December 2005. During the holiday period spanning late 2005 and early 2006, the Nine Network temporarily suspended ACA for four weeks to implement a significant overhaul. The revamped show relaunched on 30 January 2006 with new host Tracy Grimshaw. On September 5, 2022, Grimshaw announced her intention to leave after sixteen years at the helm, with Allison Langdon named as her successor beginning in 2023.

Weeknights


Period	Presenter	Remarks
1971–1974	Mike Willesee
1974–1978	Michael Schildberger
1984–1987	Mike Willesee	Willesee, which directly preceded A Current Affair, maintained the same format and theme music
1988–1992	Jana Wendt
1993–1994	Mike Willesee
1994–1998	Ray Martin
1998–2002	Mike Munro
2003–2005	Ray Martin
2006–2022	Tracy Grimshaw
2023–present	Allison Langdon

Primary substitutes for Langdon include Deborah Knight, Leila McKinnon, and Sylvia Jeffreys. Additional fill-in hosts have featured Ben Fordham, Karl Stefanovic, Dimity Clancey, Brady Halls, Peter Overton, and Eddie McGuire.

In January 2022, Tracy Grimshaw reduced her hosting duties to four days a week (Monday through Thursday), with Deborah Knight taking over Fridays.

Weekends


Tenure	Presenter
2020–present	Deborah Knight

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020, a new Saturday edition was introduced with Deborah Knight as the presenter. This weekend program was officially established as a permanent fixture by December 2020.

Reporters

Chris Allen (QLD)
Neil Breen (NSW)
Simon Bouda (crime editor)
Brendan Crew (VIC)
Sam Cucchiara (VIC)
Reece D'alessandro (QLD)
Alexis Daish (VIC)
Ben Fordham (occasional)
Lauren Golman (NSW)
Martin King (VIC)
Steve Marshall (NSW)
Leila McKinnon (occasional)
Lizzie Pearl (NSW)
Dan Nolan (QLD)
Hannah Sinclair (NSW)
Davina Smith (QLD)
Nat Wallace (NSW)
Georgia Westgarth (VIC)

State editions

The Brisbane station QTQ-9 began producing a localized version named Extra in 1991, which covered regional stories including NRL Grand Finals. Despite maintaining strong viewership for 18 years, the show was cancelled to accommodate Nine's one-hour program This Afternoon, which aimed to unify lead-in content across markets to support underperforming news broadcasts. The time slot at 5:30pm was then taken over by the game show Hot Seat.

In 2002, NWS-9 Adelaide launched its own edition with weekend news anchor Georgina McGuinness as host, focusing on both national and local events such as the buildup to the AFL Grand Final. However, this version was short-lived due to stiff competition from Seven Network's Today Tonight.

Local editions were introduced by WIN Corporation in January 2008 for Western Australia and Adelaide. The Perth edition, originally planned to be hosted by Sonia Vinci who resigned before airing, was instead fronted by Louise Momber alongside investigators Peter van Onselen and Michael Southwell, premiering on 20 October 2008. Adelaide's version followed a week later with reporter Kate Collins. Both local programs ceased in November 2009 when WIN reverted to the national format presented by Tracy Grimshaw.

Brisbane (as Extra)

2006–2008 – Jillian Whiting
2009 – Heather Foord

The cancellation of Extra in 2009 coincided with the Nine Network reallocating resources elsewhere. Former Extra reporters were redistributed throughout the network, contributing to programs like A Current Affair and Nine News.

Adelaide

2002 – Georgina McGuinness
2008–2009 – Kate Collins

Michael Smyth occasionally substituted for Kate Collins as presenter.

Criticism

Much like its previous competitor Today Tonight on the Seven, A Current Affair has been criticized for sensationalism and blurring the lines between advertising and editorial content, a concern highlighted by the ABC program Media Watch. The series has undergone several investigations by the Australian Communications and Media Authority for violations of broadcasting standards. Its reporting often emphasizes community-related matters such as diet fads, welfare fraud, unreliable tradespeople, negligent professionals, poorly run businesses, and government misconduct.

Paxton family dispute

In 1996, the program featured the Paxton family residing in St Albans, a suburb of Melbourne. The family was initially informed that the segment’s purpose was to assist them in securing employment; however, the final broadcast depicted them as unwilling to accept reasonable job offers, labeling them as "dole bludgers." After the episode aired, the family was subjected to threats against their lives.

Greg Hodge defamation case

In September 2006, ACA was mandated to compensate former Australian swimming coach Greg Hodge with over $320,000 due to unjustifiable defamatory claims made in a 2003 report concerning his behavior toward a former pupil.

Peter Anthony Haertsch defamation ruling

In March 2010, ACA was determined to have defamed plastic surgeon Peter Anthony Haertsch through a 2008 broadcast about a breast augmentation procedure and was ordered to pay $268,000 in damages.

Lev Mizikovsky defamation lawsuit

ACA aired a program in June 2008 focusing on Queensland property developer Lev Mizikovsky. Mizikovsky filed a defamation lawsuit; by November 2011, a jury found that defamation had occurred but ruled the interpretations defensible. Consequently, Mizikovsky became responsible for legal expenses reported to surpass $2 million.

Controversy over "All-Asian mall" segment

On 7 November 2012, a report implied that Asian people were dominating a shopping complex in Castle Hill, New South Wales. After multiple complaints were lodged, the Australian Communications and Media Authority concluded that the segment violated the Commercial Television Industry Code of Practice due to "inaccurate factual content," an unwarranted focus on ethnic background, and material "likely to incite strong dislike and serious contempt" based on ethnicity. On 13 September 2013, substitute presenter Leila McKinnon delivered an on-air apology regarding the matter.

External links