QTQ
| Company type | Television station |
|---|---|
| Industry | Broadcasting |
| Founded | August 16, 1959 |
| Headquarters | Brisbane , Australia |
| Products | Television broadcasting |
| Owner | Nine Entertainment Co. |
QTQ is a television station based in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, operating under a license for the region. It is owned by Nine Entertainment Co. and functions as part of the Nine Network, transmitting digitally on VHF Channel 8. QTQ began broadcasting on 16 August 1959, marking it as Queensland’s inaugural television station.
News
The station produces the evening news program 9News Queensland, featuring weeknight anchors Melissa Downes and Joel Dry, with Jonathan Uptin delivering sports coverage and Garry Youngberry providing weather updates. On weekends, the news team includes Mia Glover as presenter, Dominique Loudon handling sports, and Luke Bradnam presenting weather; Bradnam also reports on Beach and Fishing segments on Fridays and Saturdays.
Substitute presenters such as Wendy Kingston, Paul Taylor, and Aislin Kriukelis occasionally fill in. The news bulletin is simultaneously broadcast on Brisbane’s River 94.9 radio station, WIN Television throughout regional Queensland, and Imparja Television serving remote eastern and central Australia. Since September 2017, weekend editions have additionally been aired in Darwin.
Since 2014, QTQ-9 has been producing local weekday editions of Nine Live Queensland. The hosting lineup includes Paul Taylor from Monday to Wednesday and Alison Ariotti on Thursday and Friday, with Jonathan Uptin covering sports and either Garry Youngberry or Luke Bradnam presenting the weather segments.
Presenter history
Wally Lewis held the role of weekday sports presenter until December 2006; after disclosing his epilepsy diagnosis, he returned during the 2007–2008 summer period to contribute sports reports. Chris Bombolas served as weekend sports presenter before Steve Haddan took over, prior to Bombolas pursuing a political career. John Schluter was the station’s weather presenter until September 2006 when he moved to Seven News Brisbane; this transition contributed to Nine News Queensland losing its ratings dominance until it reclaimed the lead in 2013.
Mike London co-anchored alongside Heather Foord until his departure in June 2003 amid controversy related to complaints against Bruce Paige. Paige had switched roles with London in the mid-1990s following his return to the Nine Network.
2011 "Choppergate" incident
On 20 and 21 August 2011, Nine News Queensland anchor Eva Milic conducted two live reports from reporters Melissa Mallet and Cameron Price aboard the station’s helicopter, claiming proximity to Beerwah, where the remains of murdered schoolboy Daniel Morcombe had been discovered. These live crosses were later revealed to be staged when rival broadcaster Channel Seven captured footage of the Nine helicopter stationary on its helipad at Mount Coot-tha during the supposed live segments. Radar data confirmed that on the first night, the helicopter was actually flying over Chapel Hill, approximately 70 km away from Beerwah. In response to this scandal, Nine Network terminated Mallet, Price, and news producer Aaron Wakeley; news director Lee Anderson resigned in protest. Despite this controversy, Nine’s 6:00 pm news ratings increased significantly in the following weeks, securing more weekly wins than in the previous three years combined and reestablishing itself as Queensland’s leading news service by 2013.