Former Europe and North America correspondent James Glenday will replace Michael Rowland on ABC News Breakfast next year alongside co-host Bridget Brennan.
Sports presenter Catherine Murphy, a regular on the breakfast couch, will be a permanent replacement for Tony Armstrong, viewers were told on Monday morning.
The news program has seen an almost complete turnover of its lineup, with Brennan replacing former co-host Lisa Millar, who departed in August, followed by Armstrong in October. Rowland’s last day after 15 years is Friday.
The changes in the news division have been relatively smooth in comparison to the changes in radio, which recently became its own stand-alone division.
Former programming head of Nova Ben Latimer was elevated to director, audio, in a dramatic reversal by the chair, Kim Williams, of a major restructure announced by David Anderson last year.
Latimer’s recently announced changes to local radio, including dumping Sydney Mornings host Sarah Macdonald and Weekend Mornings host Simon Marnie, have been a public relations disaster for the ABC, sparking multiple petitions, thousands of texts from listeners and outrage from staff.
Only meteorologist Nate Byrne, presenter Charles Brice and newsreader Emma Rebellato remain from the News Breakfast lineup at the beginning of the year. Originally the Adelaide reporter, Brice has moved to Melbourne as a producer and sports presenter.
Glenday, the ABC’s Canberra newsreader and a former national affairs editor at Parliament House, said it would be “a beautiful thing to present the show with Bridget, a longtime friend and fellow millennial”.
“We’re quite different people, but for some inexplicable reason she tolerates my terrible jokes, so we get along well.”
Glenday, who joined the ABC as a cadet in 2010 in Darwin, met Brennan on his first day.
“I’m a little bit sad about moving to Melbourne, Canberra’s the beating heart of Australia,” Glenday said on Monday morning’s program. “But I hear Melbourne’s been working on becoming more attractive.”
He has reported from more than 40 countries during five years as a foreign correspondent.
Glenday is a familiar face in the mornings as he has filled in for Rowland and hosted Weekend Breakfast.
Murphy, who is in Dublin following the Wallabies for Summer Grandstand, has been a regular on the show and a panellist on Offsiders.
“I’m so excited to join the program on a full-time basis,” Murphy said. “I’ve loved working with the team when I’ve filled in and I’m so excited for 2025. News Breakfast is the only show I’d set my alarm at 3am for.”
Murphy, who started her career in the sports department of Ireland’s national broadcaster RTÉ, is well known to audiences for her work on the ABC’s News channel and News Radio.
The ABC’s director of news, Justin Stevens, said Glenday was an experienced journalist and a natural presenter.
“The new line-up of James and Bridget with Nate, Catherine, Emma and Charles will continue Brekky’s great tradition of providing the most robust, trusted, hefty, interesting and entertaining news in Australian media each morning,” Stevens said.
The new team will be on air on Monday 20 January.
