Today Tonight is an Australian News and Current Affairs program.

It is produced by the Seven Network and shown weeknightly at 6.30 pm in direct competition with rival Nine Network program A Current Affair.

There are three different editions of the program: an 'East Coast' edition presented by Matt White in Sydney, seen in New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland and Tasmania, a South Australian edition presented by Rosanna Mangiarelli, and a Western Australian edition presented by Monika Kos. The show has been criticised numerous times due to sensationalism, its breaching of the The Australian Communications and Media Authority's policies, and its often fabricated stories, among other things.

History[link]

Today Tonight was a program first aired in Brisbane in the late 1970s on the Nine Network,.^[1] The current series initially began as Real Life, presented by Stan Grant. This program was replaced by local editions of a new program, Today Tonight at the beginning of 1995 in each of the main metropolitan markets (Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth).

East Coast[link]

Today Tonight started broadcasting to the East Coast with three separate bulletins: a Melbourne edition presented by journalist/columnist Jill Singer, a Sydney edition presented by Neil Mercer, and a Brisbane edition presented by Carolyn Tucker. Over summer it was usual for Today Tonight to present a summer edition, which consisted of a single edition broadcast across the entire East Coast.

In 1996, Singer collapsed on-air and was rushed to hospital.^[2] Singer subsequently took leave for a number of months and was replaced on-air by Naomi Robson. Singer returned in late 1996 but was replaced once again by Robson in January 1997.^[3]

The Sydney program was presented by a myriad of presenters from 1995 until 2001. Neil Mercer initially fronted the Sydney edition, later succeeded by Helen Wellings (1996)^[4][5] and Peter Luck (1997–1998)^[6] Stan Grant, ex presenter of Today Tonight-predecessor Real Life, returned in 1999 following the departure of Peter Luck.^[7] Grant was sacked by the Seven Network in 2000 after it was exposed he was having an affair with another then Seven Network personality, Tracey Holmes,^[8] and was subsequently replaced by Melissa Doyle. When Doyle went on maternity leave in 2001, the Melbourne edition of Today Tonight presented by Robson was broadcast into Sydney. This was intended to last only 12 weeks, but the Melbourne-presented version rated higher in Sydney than the local version.^[9] This led to Seven Network executives axing the Sydney edition in favour of an East Coast edition. Doyle returned at the end of 2002 to present the summer edition.^[10]

The Brisbane edition of Today Tonight was fronted by three different presenters in the course of its 7–8 year run, with Lexy Hamilton-Smith and Michelle Reiken presenting after Tucker. On 9 December 2002, Michelle Reiken went on maternity leave over the summer non-ratings period. During this time, the Melbourne/Sydney edition was broadcast into Brisbane. When the 2003 ratings period commenced, Seven Brisbane continued to air the Melbourne/Sydney edition instead of returning to a local version with an alternate presenter. Although the Seven Network announced that a local edition would return when Reiken returned from maternity leave, this never happened. In May 2003, Seven Brisbane officially axed its local version.^[11]

Until late 2006, the East Coast edition of Today Tonight continued to be presented by Naomi Robson. In November 2006, Robson announced she would be leaving Today Tonight to pursue other projects. She presented her last show on 1 December. 2006.^[12] According to news reports on 27 and 28 January 2007, Anna Coren was appointed Robson's permanent replacement after six weeks of filling in as the show's summer presenter. With Coren taking the chair, production of Today Tonight shifted from Seven's Melbourne studios to the Martin Place studio in Sydney.^[13] Earlier reports suggested the network had been seeking A Current Affair presenter Tracy Grimshaw for the role.^[14]

On 28 September 2008, Anna Coren resigned as presenter of Today Tonight to pursue a career at CNN in Hong Kong.^[15] Her replacement was announced on 30 September 2008 to be Matt White. Anna Coren signed off from the Seven Network on 10 October 2008. Coren was initially to remain prsesenter of Today Tonight until December 2008, but was sacked from the role in October with Matt White taking the seat on a permanent basis from 13 October 2008.

Currently, Kylie Gillies and Samantha Armytage are the main substitute presenters for the program Natalie Barr and Rebecca Maddern have also filled in. The East Coast edition is broadcast from Seven's Martin Place studios in Sydney.

Today Tonight East Coast edition does not air in Wagga Wagga, Orange, Coffs Harbour, Lismore, Tamworth or Taree. Seven Queensland get a delayed telecast of the East Coast edition from the night before in order to fit in Seven Local News and Seven News Brisbane in the time slot.

South Australia[link]

Since the program's inception in South Australia in 1995, Leigh McClusky fronted the South Australian edition of the program, only taking leave over summer and to give birth to her son in 2002 (John Riddell filled-in^[16]) and to have a daughter in 2006 (Rosanna Mangiarelli filled in^[17]), until 2007. When the program first started it rated 100,000 behind its competitor, A Current Affair, although ratings steadily increased under McClusky. In 2001, Today Tonight began outrating A Current Affair in what would become a 4 year winning streak.^[18]

Leigh announced on 6 February 2007 that she would be leaving Today Tonight Adelaide to have twins, but unlike on previous occasions, would not be returning. She presented her last show on 17 August 2007. Rosanna Mangiarelli began as presenter on Monday 20 August 2007 after several years as substitute presenter.^[19]

On 1 October 2007, the Adelaide edition of the program began airing in regional South Australia after WIN Television changed their affiliation in the state from the Nine Network to the Seven Network.

Rosanna Mangiarelli was away on maternity leave from January 2009 till March 2009 while she and husband Andrew welcomed baby Emma Marie Oborn into the world on 3 February 2009

Paul Makin presented during this period

The main fill-in presenter for Today Tonight is Paul Makin

Western Australia[link]

The Western Australian edition of Today Tonight was originally presented by Yvette Mooney. In 1997, Mooney resigned from her presenting role,^[20] and was replaced by Monika Kos. The current fill-ins for Today Tonight are Tina Alteri or Andrea Burns.

Reporters[link]

• Sally Obermeder
• Gavin Alder
• Laura Sparkles
• Jonathan Creek
• Clare Brady
• Paul Makin
• Frank Pangallo
• Tineka Everaardt
• Francesca Belperio
• Sophie Hull
• Jackie Quist
• Lynda Kinkade
• David Richardson
• Bryan Seymour
• Mitchell Gray
• Rodney Lohse
• Georgia Main
• Helen Wellings
• Graeme Butler
• Damien Hansen
• Mark Gibson

Achievement[link]

Today Tonight nationally was the last program to win the Logie for Most Popular Public Affairs Program before that award was discontinued.

Criticism[link]

Today Tonight is notorious for its sensationalist reporting, and is an example of tabloid television where stories rotate around community issues i.e. diet fads, miracle cures, welfare cheats, shonky builders, negligent doctors, poorly run businesses and corrupt government officials. For this reason the program is constantly under criticism and ridicule, especially by satirical groups such as The Chaser.

The show has also been found multiple times to be in breach of The Australian Communications and Media Authority's policies in regards to invasion of privacy and not Presenting factual material accurately.^[21]

Christopher Skase controversy[link]

ABC TV's Media Watch program revealed that Today Tonight, on their 12 November 1996 broadcast, had fabricated much of a report about disgraced Australian businessman Christopher Skase. Today Tonight sent producer Chris Adams and reporter David "Sluggo" Richardson, along with a camera crew, to pursue Skase who was claiming that his health prevented him from being tried. Richardson alleged that because the Today Tonight crew's videos showed that Skase was in good health, Skase used his connections to the Majorcan authorities in order to establish police roadblocks to seize the Today Tonight crew's videotapes. The only support for these claims was a video of Dave Richardson driving past police, exclaiming "Roadblocks! Let's get out of here". Media Watch proved, through examining the broadcast report, that this footage was in fact shot in Barcelona, not on the island of Majorca. The "police" that Richardson was passing were in fact the Guàrdia Urbana de Barcelona, who use roadblocks to control traffic flow in the centre of the city.^[22]

Dole Army hoax[link]

On 4 February 2002, both Today Tonight and their main rival A Current Affair broadcast stories about a so-called "Dole Army" operating from Melbourne's subterranean stormwater drains, and recruiting for an organised effort to defraud the Australian government of unemployment benefits. The next day, an anarchist group claimed they had sold the programmes a hoax story, and due to lack of research and a desire to vilify the unemployed, both networks had fallen for the elaborate prank.^[23]

Neopets controversy[link]

In October 2004, just as a McDonald's Happy Meal promotion related to virtual pet site Neopets began, the show ran a story about a boy that explained that Neopets ordered players to play games of chance in order to avoid sending the titular pets to the Pound. A factual error is that, chance games are optional and pets can only be sent to the pound if users want to leave them. However this sparked a massive controversy about Neopets and McDonald's themselves blocked Australian users access to games of chance.^{[citation needed]}

Contempt of court allegations[link]

In 2004, Today Tonight picked up on a story published in Melbourne's Sunday Herald Sun about a boy allegedly "divorcing" his mother. Today Tonight's story was subsequently discussed on Seven's breakfast television program Sunrise program. In 2005, journalists, editors and producers from all three media outlets were taken to the Sydney Magistrates' Court for breaching the Children and Young Persons Act 1989 for naming the child in question. Presenter Naomi Robson was found not guilty of contempt of court, as the magistrate found she did not have editorial control over the story, but producers of the show were fined.^[24][25]

The "Serial Single Mum" controversy[link]

On 18 July 2005, Today Tonight screened a report by David Richardson about "Australia's Serial Single Mum". The report was about a single mother named "Mary-Anne", a private citizen who lives in suburban Sydney. The program asserted that Mary-Anne "had five children to five different men and pocketed tens of thousands in welfare" from Centrelink. It was later revealed by Media Watch that Mary-Anne was working full-time and had the children to four fathers not five. Media Watch described the exchange between Richardson and Mary-Anne as an "appalling attack", and "Another offensive beat up from Dave 'Sluggo' Richardson".^[26]

The "Wa-Wa" controversy[link]

On 13 September 2006, Naomi Robson and a Today Tonight crew were detained by Indonesian authorities in Papua for working as journalists despite entering the country on tourist visas.^[27]

The Seven Network claimed that its team was sent to the region to do a story on Wa-Wa, a young boy who was apparently in danger of being ritually killed by his tribe, the Korowai (according to a 60 Minutes story on the Nine Network some months earlier). Seven also claimed that their rivals at Nine had sabotaged their story and their mission to "rescue" Wa-Wa from his tribe (who are believed to practise cannibalism), by informing the Indonesian authorities of their visa arrangements. Nine refuted Seven's claims and threatened legal action. Seven alleges that a Nine reporter offered about $100,000 to a guide not to help Seven with their story. Seven's director of news and current affairs, Peter Meakin said "There is evidence to support the claims that, in particular, this man Cornelius was offered $100,000 not to rescue the boy." "I think the phrase was 'name your own price'", he said.^[28]

Defamation of Mark McGaw[link]

On 2 November 2006 the Supreme Court of New South Wales awarded former Gladiator and rugby league star Mark McGaw $385,000 for a defamatory story Today Tonight broadcast in June 2003. The Supreme Court jury found that the story made two defamatory imputations: that McGaw was "a man of dangerous domestic violence", and that he "bashed his lover so severely that she was hospitalised with horrific injuries".^[29]

Chain stunt[link]

On 20 February 2007, Today Tonight led with a story about an 84-year-old nursing home resident who was fighting attempts to evict her. The story featured footage of her chained up in her room, and the reporter, Nicolas Boot, said she was "refusing to budge, chaining herself to her room".^{[30] [31]}

In response to the airing of that story, the following day Federal Government officials visited the nursing home. According to a spokesman for the Minister for Ageing, they were told by the resident that the chains had been brought along by the crew, and the process of chaining her up had been instigated by the program.

In response to this incident, presenter Anna Coren was forced to read an apology to viewers on 21 February, and announced that Nicolas Boot had been stood down pending an internal investigation. The following day, Seven released a statement indicating Boot had left his employment with the Seven Network.^[32] However, no announcement was made as to any actions taken against off-camera staff, such as producers, over this incident, which Seven Head of News and Current Affairs Peter Meakin described as "one of the more embarrassing" incidents which he has had to deal with.^[32]

Vietnamese flag controversy[link]

On 8 May 2007, Today Tonight reported about a Vietnamese Australian welfare cheat Dat Van Vu; though using the generalised title "Vietnamese Sting" and using the flag of Vietnam. Both resulted in anger amongst the Australian Vietnamese community, the first because of the association of ethnicity to criminality, and the second of using the communist flag. Most Vietnamese Australians fled the anti-communist South Vietnam after the fall of Saigon to the one-party state ruled over by the Vietnamese Communist Party, and choose to identify with the flag of the Republic of Vietnam.^[33]

Mercedes Corby[link]

In 2007 Today Tonight ran a story on Mercedes Corby, sister of convicted drug trafficker Schapelle Corby which was found by a NSW Supreme Court jury to have defamed her, resulting in a settlement the next day of an undisclosed sum.^[34] On 14 March 2007, Today Tonight presenter Anna Coren admitted hiring a private investigator who had lied about being an official to set up Mercedes Corby.^[35]

The Chaser's War on Everything[link]

ABC show The Chaser's War on Everything frequently ridiculed Today Tonight and its former presenters Naomi Robson and Anna Coren in a segment called "What Have We Learned From Current Affairs This Week?". They especially ridiculed Anna Coren in two mini-segments. They were known as "Anna Coren's Segue of the Week" and "Anna Coren's Meaningless Gibberish of the Week". In late 2007, Today Tonight went straight to the supreme court to stop the Chaser's footage from airing on their show. Today Tonight alleged that the Chaser team illegally entered the Seven Network studios without permission.^[36] The Chaser's War on Everything has been featured on Today Tonight a few times, often criticising the comedians about their show and pranks that they execute. In one interview, reporter James Thomas was planning to follow the Chaser around as a publicity stunt, but this failed, as Chaser members Andrew Hansen and Chas Licciardello arrived at the Seven Network's studios with a van marked as Peter Meakin Booze Bus, ridiculing the Seven Network's chief executive, Peter Meakin.

"When he got to the ABC, we did the very thing Today Tonight always does to their subjects...we double crossed him."

Karl Stefanovic's alleged drinking controversy[link]

On 7 May 2009, Today Tonight broadcast the tired exposed Today co-host, Karl Stefanovic, where Today Tonight alleged that Karl was drunk on the post-Logies edition on the Today show Monday morning. According to rumors, Karl was taken off air for more than two days for his mumblings, claiming that he was drunk on the early Monday morning Today show, the morning after the post-Logie awards. The claims was slammed by Nine, stating that the claims were "desperate nonsense" and "wilfully false". David Hurley of Nine spokesman said that Stefanovic was tired not drunk, and the reason why he wasn't on air on the Today show is because he was assigned on a story of an ill 5 year old child needed for a heart operation for 60 Minutes, and that claims of Stefanovic being taken off air were a "pure invention of Seven".^[37]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official network websites
  • East coast edition
  • Adelaide edition
  • Perth edition
• Today Tonight at the Internet Movie Database
• Today Tonight at TV.com
• Today Tonight at the National Film and Sound Archive

The Chaser are an Australian satirical comedian group, known for their television programmes on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation channel. The group take their name from their production of satirical newspaper, a publication known to challenge conventions of taste. The group's motto is "Striving for Mediocrity in a World of Excellence".^[2]

The Chaser[link]

The Chaser's earliest foundations were Charles Firth, Dominic Knight, and Chas Licciardello who went to Sydney Grammar School together and produced a small satirical school magazine entitled The Tiger.^[3] Later on, Firth and Knight met Craig Reucassel and Julian Morrow at the University of Sydney. Firth, Knight, Reucassel, Morrow, Licciardello, and later Chaser members Chris Taylor and Andrew Hansen all went to the University of Sydney. Firth, Knight, Reucassel and Morrow began writing for the University of Sydney student newspaper entitled Honi Soit.^[4] In 1999 the four members began The Chaser and their first newspaper project entitled The Chaser.^[5] The Chaser members are:

• Charles Firth. Firth decided in 1999 that the founding members should produce a newspaper, in an attempt not to "grow up". Firth was the main person who got the project underway and was at the helm of the newspaper until its collapse in 2005.^[4][6] Firth appeared in The Chaser's television and radio productions until 2004. In 2005, Firth moved to the United States so his wife could finish her PhD.^[7] Firth, however, became The Chaser's American correspondent for the 2006 series of The Chaser's War on Everything and wrote a book titled American Hoax.^[8] Firth did some final stunts in America for the 2007 series in late 2006 and early 2007, before returning to Australia and going solo.^[9] Firth then began his own satirical newspaper The Manic Times in 2007, which collapsed soon after and now exists online.^[6]

• Dominic Knight was one of the founding members of the team. He appeared and starred in the 2001 series of The Election Chaser and the 2005 mini series Chaser News Alert. He also performed in the stage shows. He normally writes and does not perform for The Chaser's television shows.

• Julian Morrow. He became the executive producer of the television series after Andrew Denton left the role in 2004.^[10]

• Craig Reucassel was a founding member of the team.

• Chas Licciardello, who had attended Sydney Grammar School with Firth and Knight, started to work on The Chaser newspaper in 1999, but did not take any credit for his work. However when the newspaper started to go well, he was happy to put his name to his work. Licciardello refers to himself as a writer and not a performer, which is why he does the ‘edgier’ stunts in the television series. He states that he is not very talented and therefore does “lots of dodgy material”.^[11]

• Chris Taylor had gone to the University of Sydney but never personally knew the four founding members. He moved to Melbourne under a cadetship with the ABC doing journalism. Taylor approached The Chaser, based in Sydney, and asked if they took contributions and The Chaser accepted them. Taylor spent two years emailing his articles to The Chaser, and then quit his job to do a television series based on the 2001 Australian federal election with The Chaser and became a member of The Chaser.^[5][12] Taylor was the anchor with Reucassel in their television productions CNNNN, The Chaser Decides and The Chaser’s War on Everything and worked as the script editor for the television shows.^[13]

• Andrew Hansen worked with some of The Chaser members at the University of Sydney while studying literature and history, performing in their early revues. Hansen started working with the online Chaser website in 2000 writing columns for his shITe section, which looked at the worst of the internet. After two years, he was considered for a part in the Chaser’s 2002 television series, for the content on shITe. After The Election Chaser in 2001, The Chaser decided they needed a performer in the team. Hansen then joined in the group in 2002.^[4][14]

The Chaser projects[link]

[edit] The Chaser newspaper

The newspaper, first published in 1999, was The Chaser team's first enterprise. The Chaser only had a limited fan base, with the average sales numbers per issue well under 30,000. When their newspaper was shown as a lead story in all major Australian news broadcasts, not only was the headline widely spread, the concept and the popularity of the newspaper leapt dramatically.

Founding contributors to the newspaper include Gregor Stronach, Johanna Featherstone, Sholto Macpherson, Matt Taylor, David Stewart, and Arion McNicoll. Later contributors include Kara Greiner, Richard Cooke, Shane Cubis, and Tim Brunero. Cartoonists Fiona Katauskas and Andrew Weldon drew for the newspaper from its early days.^[15]

The Chaser and its writers had its first major controversy when their 21 February 2003 edition published Prime Minister John Howard’s private home number on its front page with the headline "Howard ignores the people. So call him at home on (02) 9922 6189". The release of the number comes after Howard’s attitude to half a million protesters recently marching for peace. Howard’s number was blocked by the afternoon after receiving many calls in the morning and federal police had been to The Chaser headquarters. The Chaser have stated they received the phone number via an SMS message in 2002.^[5][16]

The Chaser have released five annuals based on The Chaser newspaper:

• The Chaser Annual 2000: The Little-Read Book
• The Chaser Annual 2001: Bradman, The Cremated Years
• The Chaser Annual 2002: The War on Error
• Embedded with The Chaser: Annual 2003
• The Chaser Annual 2004: Intelligence Failures

After six years of publication The Chaser decided that, due to an inability to meet production costs and failing audiences, they would cease publication of the newspaper. The paper, which originally circulated fortnightly, was being released more sporadically and their 91st and final paper was released on 6 February 2005. The Chaser still planned to continue their writing online and to continue to write their annuals.^[16]

The Chaser has since released six annuals and a "best of" annual which compiled the best of the five preceding annuals:

• The Chaser Annual 2005: By Dan Brown
• 50 Golden Years of The Chaser - 1955-2005
• The Chaser Annual 2006: Burqa's Backyard
• The Chaser Annual 2007: The Other Secret
• The Chaser Annual 2008: The Little Rudd Book
• The Chaser Annual 2009: The Email Eunuch
• The Chaser Annual 2010: Eat Pray Vomit

Current writers online are Richard Cooke, Shane Cubis, Dominic Knight, Chas Licciardello, Julian Morrow, and Craig Reucassel with additional material provided by Scott Dooley, Lisa Pryor, David Stewart, Gregor Stronach, and Chris Taylor.^[17]

The Chaser on television and radio[link]

After two years of their satirical newspaper, which also included various radio roles, The Chaser had attracted the attention of Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) star Andrew Denton. Denton signed them with ABC and stated "They've got the talent, the work ethic, the fearlessness, the desire". Denton then helped the Chaser to perform their first television program The Election Chaser, on ABC TV, which was to be based on the 2001 Australian federal election and in the format of the national tallyroom. Four episodes were broadcast and the show was nominated for the 2002 Logie for "Most Outstanding Comedy Program".^[18] Denton acted as executive producer and script editor for The Election Chaser and would also do so for CNNNN.^[10][19]

The Chaser team have gone on to create other television shows for ABC TV, including the Logie Award winning CNNNN in 2002-3 and The Chaser Decides in 2004. CNNNN was a satire of not only the popular American news networks CNN and Fox News, but also incorporated Australian and world current affairs into the programme. The Election Chaser inspired a similar programme covering the 2004 election, The Chaser Decides. The coverage, as with all the Chaser productions, was satirical, but a different view on the way the election was covered by the local media.

The Chaser Decides returned again in 2007 to cover the 24 November election. It purported to be broadcasting from Australian Electoral Commission's National Tally Room.

In 2004-5, Taylor and Reucassel hosted the Triple J radio drive programme Today Today. In 2005 the rest of the team produced Chaser News Alert (CNA), aired on ABC2. Episodes of this series were only a few minutes long. Between July 2006 and January 2007 Taylor and Reucassel returned to Triple J to host Bloody Sunday, filling the This Sporting Life time slot while Roy & HG were on leave from the station. Chas Licciardello and Knight also did a brief fill in show on Triple M called Chas and Dom from 'The Chaser'.

Cirque du Chaser[link]

In March 2005, The Chaser members, with the exception of Firth but with CNNNN collaborator Rebecca De Unamuno, wrote and performed a stage production for the Sydney Big Laugh Comedy Festival. Cirque du Chaser, the name a parody of Cirque du Soleil, was performed to eight sell-out audiences which performed stand up comedy, sketches, live music, and video satire. The Chaser then took the show on a national tour which was also sold out. Cirque du Chaser gave the team confidence to perform in front of a live audience in their new television show, which would be similar to the stage show.^[20][21] The Chaser filmed a pilot for ABC TV in mid 2005 under the working title Hey, Hey it’s the Chaser.^[22]

The Chaser's War on Everything[link]

The Chaser team signed a contract with the ABC to produce 27 half-hour episodes for 2006, which would be based on news reviews, studio monologues and confrontations with politicians, celebrities, and business leaders. The project would be performed in front of a live audience compared with their previous news format television productions and was named The Chaser's War on Everything.^[23] The first season of The Chaser's War on Everything premiered on ABC TV on 17 February 2006 at 9:45 pm.^[24] The series aired late on Friday evenings where it developed a cult following, getting an average national audience of between 591,000 and 821,000 viewers each episode.^[25] The last episode of the 2006 season was broadcast on 8 September 2006.

The first thirteen episodes of the first season were released on DVD on 17 August 2006. The release included commentary by The Chaser and the show's crew and included bonus features and unaired scenes.^[26][27] The second DVD for the first season contained the latter thirteen episodes. It was in the same format of the first DVD and was released on 1 November 2006.^[28]

The Chaser's War on Everything returned for a second season on Wednesday, 28 March 2007 at 9pm, moving from their Friday night timeslot. It regularly attracted more than a million viewers per episode.^[29]

After 20 June episode of season two, the Chaser team suspended the series for ten weeks, so the usual production run time of twenty-six episodes per year did not conclude before the 2007 Australian Federal Election.^[30] The second season returned on 5 September 2007.

The Chaser then announced^[31] that The Chaser's War On Everything was on hold during 2008, with a new (ten episode) series in 2009 which began airing on Wednesday, 27 May 2009. In 2008, the team (without Chris Taylor, but plus writer Dominic Knight) toured Australia with a stage show, The Chaser's Age of Terror Variety Hour, produced in conjunction with Laughing Stock.

On 29 July 2009, the final episode of The War was broadcast.

The Blow Parade[link]

The Blow Parade^[32] is a comedy series performed by Andrew Hansen, Chris Taylor, and Craig Schuftan, originally premiering on the radio station Triple J on 28 April 2010. This 5-part series satirises the music industry, music journalism and syndicated golden-oldie radio shows. Each episode, the host Captain Blow (Hansen) guides listeners through the making of a classic album from yesteryear, from bands that don’t actually exist. The series was written by Chris Taylor, with music by Andrew Hansen, and was produced by Craig Schuftan. It was released on CD and through the iTunes Store Australia with bonus tracks. The musicians included Triple J's Lindsay McDougall (guitar) and Chaser member Dominic Knight (bass).^[33] The CD of the series won the 2010 ARIA Award for Best Comedy Release.^[34]

Yes We Canberra![link]

The ABC confirmed reports in July 2010 that The Chaser would return with a new series covering the Australian federal election.^[35]

The new programme, entitled Yes We Canberra!, was formally announced on 12 July. The ABC said that the series would air weekly during the election campaign, with a further episode after the election.^[36] It purports to be an audience warm-up for the ABC's flagship current affairs program Lateline (which does not actually have a studio audience). After the Election date was announced (21 August), it was revealed that the show will premiere on 28 July. A DVD was released 15 September 2010.^[37] The Chaser - Election Collection containing all the election shows was released 2 December 2010.

The Chaser's Royal Wedding Commentary[link]

Originally set to air on 29 April 2011 on ABC2, a Chaser special was to be shown based on the Wedding of Prince William of Wales and Kate Middleton featuring live commentary from the team members. However the ABC were advised by the BBC and APTN to pull the show from being aired. In response to the decision by the ABC, Julian Morrow from the Chaser said, "For a monarchy to be issuing decrees about how the media should cover them seems quite out of keeping with modern democratic times... but I suppose that's exactly what the monarchy is."^[38] APTN is a private enterprise. The BBC is a corporation, independent from direct government intervention, with its activities being overseen by the BBC Trust.^[39]

The Hamster Wheel[link]

In August 2011 the ABC confirmed a new 8-episode series called The Hamster Wheel to air later in the year.^[40] The series aims to "examine the contemporary media landscape, where everyone from journalists to political fixers is perpetually at risk of spinning out of control".^[41] The show premiered on ABC1 on October 5.^[42]

Members involved in projects[link]

The Chaser productions[link]

Other TV series featuring two or more members[link]

Public reactions[link]

In July 2006, Licciardello faced charges of "offensive conduct" from the New South Wales Police Force, after turning up at a rugby league football match between the Canterbury Bulldogs and the St George Illawarra Dragons on 14 July 2006 dressed up as a Bulldogs fan and attempting to sell fake knives, knuckledusters and balaclavas for a War on Everything sketch.^[46][47]

In April 2007, a 15 year old boy duped YouTube into deleting all clips posted from The Chaser's War On Everything by claiming to be a representative of the ABC.^[48] They were later reinstated.

At the 2007 Logie Awards some of the Chaser team were "manhandled" by Crown Casino security staff on the red carpet before being closely supervised for the rest of the evening.^[49]

During Dick Cheney's visit to Australia in 2007, members of The Chaser team were included on the official list of terrorists, anarchists, and protesters deemed to pose a threat to the US Vice-President.^[50]

The Chaser team gained notoriety and considerable media attention over "The Eulogy Song", written by Chris Taylor and performed by Andrew Hansen on the 17 October 2007 episode of The Chaser's War On Everything. The song satirised the media's posthumous praise of deceased celebrities, regardless of their behaviour in life, and mentioned among others John Lennon, Peter Brock, Stan Zemanek, Princess Diana, Steve Irwin, Donald Bradman, and Kerry Packer. The song attracted comment from both the media and politicians including Kevin Rudd and John Howard, the latter of whom used reference to the song in remarks during a sketch later aired on the programme.^[51]

APEC arrest[link]

Morrow and Licciardello were arrested by NSW Police on 6 September 2007 outside the InterContinental Hotel after driving a fake motorcade through the Sydney central business district and breaching an APEC security zone.^[52] The Chaser crew entered a secure area by masquerading as the motorcade of the Canadian delegation to APEC. They were arrested by police after Licciardello emerged from the car dressed as Osama bin Laden, near the hotel where U.S. President George W. Bush was staying.^[53] They were subsequently detained, taken to Surry Hills Police Station for questioning and charged with "entering a restricted area without special justification" under the APEC Meeting (Police Powers) Act 2007.^[54][55] Licciardello, Morrow and the nine other production members were released on bail to appear in court on 4 October 2007.^[56] If found guilty, they were liable to serve a maximum 6 months imprisonment, or a maximum 2 years imprisonment if they also had possession or control of a prohibited item with no special justification.^[57] The Chaser team issued a statement on 6 September that they had been given permission by police officers to enter the restricted area.^[58] Under section 37(2)(b) of the legislation a person has special justification to be in an area if "the person is required, authorised or permitted to be in the area by the Commissioner or a police officer". Subsequently, the hearing was adjourned until 5 December 2007 at the request of ABC lawyers.^[59] The charges were dropped near the end of April 2008.

The day after the APEC stunt, police questioned Craig Reucassel, Chris Taylor and Dominic Knight and a film crew from the Chaser after they were involved in a second stunt in central Sydney.^[60] The three were released by police after being briefly questioned for carrying around black cardboard boxes dressed up as limousines.

The 'Make a Realistic Wish Foundation' skit[link]

On 3 June 2009 episode, Taylor and Hansen were involved in a skit which was set in a terminally ill children's ward of a hospital, which centered around a spokesman (Taylor) portraying himself along with a doctor (Hansen), from the fictional 'Make a Realistic Wish Foundation' (a spoof of the real Make-a-Wish Foundation). The premise of the skit was that if the terminally ill children are only going to live for a few more months before passing away, it is not worth spending money on lavish gifts for them. The one minute long sketch featured Taylor giving one girl a pencil case instead of a trip to Disneyland. Then along the same lines, Hansen gave another girl a stick instead of a meeting with Zac Efron. The skit concluded with Taylor stating "Why go to any trouble, when they're only gonna die anyway". A similar skit had already been performed in sketch titled "A Reasonable Request Foundation" aired on comedy show The Mansion on Foxtel the previous year.

The reaction to the sketch from media commentators was mostly negative.^{[citation needed]} Then-Prime Minister Kevin Rudd stated that The Chaser team "should hang their heads in shame". He went on to say that "I didn't see that but it's been described to me...I actually don't mind The Chaser taking the mickey out of me or any other politician, at any time and any place....But having a go at kids with a terminal illness is really beyond the pale, absolutely beyond the pale."^[61] That morning, the Chaser team along with the ABC managing director, Mark Scott, apologised for airing the skit, with Scott stating that "We have unreservedly apologised for airing that skit,...It's very clear today from the reaction that it's caused considerable offence and distress, particularly to parents of children that are seriously ill....I've spoken to Julian Morrow from The Chaser and my understanding is that certainly wasn't the intention of the script, but that's the consequences of it." The ABC will now change their procedures for reviewing episode content which gets broadcast. Scott continued, "We're going to look at those processes ... I mean we all know that The Chaser push the edges and it's a tightrope that we walk, and I suppose there are many, many skits that they've put to air that have offended someone along the way - that's part of the nature of the satirical and black comedy that they do." The skit has also been cut from any further television airings.^[62] The ABC announced on Friday that The Chaser's War on Everything will be suspended for 2 weeks. This was relayed via a message by The Chaser on their website, who stated that whilst they disagree with the decision to suspend the show, they apologise for making the skit, acknowledging that it went too far.^[63]

ABC's Managing Director announced on 2009-06-10 that the ABC's Head of Comedy, Amanda Duthie, had been removed from her position after a review of the process which led to the skit being broadcast.^[64] He was quoted as saying, "The segment should not have been broadcast. We recognise that it caused unnecessary and unreasonable hurt and offence to our viewers and the broader community and we have apologised for this," adding, "This was an error of judgement." Ms Duthie will continue to be responsible for Arts and Entertainment programs.

In their first episode after being suspended, the Chaser team acknowledged they had made a mistake broadcasting the skit. Later on in the show, they recreated the skit, but instead of targeting sick kids, Kevin Rudd's anger-management issues is parodied. In the same episode Taylor is shown to be attacked by two boxers in another sketch for being "the guy from the Make a Wish sketch". In the closing credits of the show's finale, Taylor is said to have "died of cancer."

See also[link]

	Book: The Chaser
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References[link]