Michael Usher is an Australian television presenter and reporter. Usher presents ''

Seven News ''7NEWS'' is the television news service of the Seven Network and, as of 2021, the highest-rating in Australia. National bulletins are presented from Seven's high-definition television, high definition studios in Martin Place, Sydney, while f ...

Sydney'' on Friday and Saturday with Angela Cox and ''The Latest: Seven News''.

Career

Usher graduated from

All Saints' College, Perth All Saints' College is an independent Anglican co-educational early learning, primary, and secondary day school, located in Bull Creek, a southern suburb of Perth, Western Australia. The college is situated on , approximately south of th ...

in 1987. He went on to study media in 1989 at West Australian Academy of Performing Arts and graduated with an Associate Diploma in Media Studies.

Nine Network

Usher's television career began in 1990 at the Golden West Television Network, Bunbury, as a final year cadet journalist. He was then posted to

Kalgoorlie Kalgoorlie is a city in the Goldfields–Esperance region of Western Australia, located east-northeast of Perth at the end of the Great Eastern Highway. It is sometimes referred to as Kalgoorlie–Boulder, as the surrounding urban area inclu ...

before beginning the following year at STW-9, Perth. In 1993, Usher moved to Sydney and to

TCN-9 TCN is the flagship television station of the Nine Network in Australia. The station is currently located at 1 Denison Street, North Sydney. The licence, issued to a company named Television Corporation Ltd headed by Sir Frank Packer, was one ...

news. Three years later he was appointed to the role of

Nine Network The Nine Network (stylised 9Network, commonly known as Channel Nine or simply Nine) is an Australian commercial free-to-air television network. It is owned by parent company Nine Entertainment and is one of five main free-to-air television ne ...

Olympics reporter, leading the Network's coverage of the

1996 Atlanta The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...

and 2000 Sydney Olympic Games. He also went to Lausanne to cover the corruption scandal that engulfed the

International Olympic Committee The International Olympic Committee (IOC; french: link=no, Comité international olympique, ''CIO'') is a non-governmental sports organisation based in Lausanne, Switzerland. It is constituted in the form of an association under the Swis ...

. He was the

's correspondent in New York when the Twin Towers were attacked in September 2001, and less than two years later was in

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

, travelling north from

Kuwait Kuwait (; ar, الكويت ', or ), officially the State of Kuwait ( ar, دولة الكويت '), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated in the northern edge of Eastern Arabia at the tip of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to the no ...

to reach

Baghdad Baghdad (; ar, بَغْدَاد , ) is the capital of Iraq and the second-largest city in the Arab world after Cairo. It is located on the Tigris near the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon and the Sassanid Persian capital of Ctesipho ...

the day after the Coalition seized the city. In 2001, Usher moved to the

's US bureau, where he worked for three years as ''

National Nine News ''Nine News'' (stylised ''9News'') is the national news service of the Nine Network in Australia. Its flagship program is the hour-long 6:00 pm state bulletin, produced by Nine's owned-and-operated stations in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane ...

'' US correspondent, based in Los Angeles. Usher returned to Australia to fill in as host of ''

Today Today (archaically to-day) may refer to: * Day of the present, the time that is perceived directly, often called ''now'' * Current era, present * The current calendar date Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Today'' (1930 film), a 1930 ...

'', then at the beginning of 2004, together with wife Anna and young son, he moved to the UK, to cover the London bureau. In 2006, Usher returned to Australia and began presenting ''Nightline'', replacing

Ellen Fanning Ellen is a female given name, a diminutive of Elizabeth, Eleanor, Elena and Helen. Ellen was the 609th most popular name in the U.S. and the 17th in Sweden in 2004. People named Ellen include: *Ellen Adarna (born 1988), Filipino actress *Elle ...

. In 2007, Usher became news presenter for the ''Sunday'' program. Following the axing of ''Nightline'' in July 2008 and ''Sunday'' in August 2008, he was appointed presenter of the short-lived ''Nine News Sunday AM'' and for the rest of 2008, Usher filled-in on various ''

Nine News ''Nine News'' (stylised ''9News'') is the national news service of the Nine Network in Australia. Its flagship program is the hour-long 6:00 pm state bulletin, produced by Nine's owned-and-operated stations in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane ...

'' bulletins as well as reporting for ''60 Minutes'', filling in for Tara Brown who was on maternity leave at the time. Between November 2008 and January 2009, Usher presented the weekend bulletin of ''

Nine News Sydney ''Nine News Sydney'' is the local news bulletin for the Nine Network station in Sydney, airing across New South Wales each night. Like all ''Nine News'' bulletins, the Sydney bulletin runs for one hour. from 6pm every day. It covers the day's ...

''. This was after the resignation of

Mike Munro Michael Kenneth Munro, (born 12 April 1953), is an Australian journalist and television presenter. Early life Munro cites a tough childhood—with an abusive and alcoholic mother—as one of the main reasons behind his motivation to succeed. ...

and before the appointment of former weeknight presenter Mark Ferguson as the permanent weekend presenter. Also from 2009, Usher finished his role as presenter of the ''Sunday Morning News'', as the bulletin was replaced with ''

Weekend Today ''Weekend Today'' is currently the branding of the weekend editions of ''Today'', an American morning news and talk program that airs daily on NBC. Weekend editions of ''Today'', began with the launch of the Sunday edition of the program on Se ...

''. In March 2009, Usher was appointed as a permanent reporter for ''

60 Minutes ''60 Minutes'' is an American television news magazine broadcast on the CBS television network. Debuting in 1968, the program was created by Don Hewitt and Bill Leonard, who chose to set it apart from other news programs by using a unique st ...

''. He also hosted the first leaders debate between

Julia Gillard Julia Eileen Gillard (born 29 September 1961) is an Australian former politician who served as the 27th prime minister of Australia from 2010 to 2013, holding office as leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP). She is the first and only ...

and

Tony Abbott Anthony John Abbott (; born 4 November 1957) is a former Australian politician who served as the 28th prime minister of Australia from 2013 to 2015. He held office as the leader of the Liberal Party of Australia. Abbott was born in Lond ...

prior to the

2010 Australian Federal Election The 2010 Australian federal election was held on Saturday, 21 August 2010 to elect members of the 43rd Parliament of Australia. The incumbent centre-left Australian Labor Party led by Prime Minister Julia Gillard won a second term against the o ...

. In December 2010, Usher presented '' A Current Affair'' while usual fill in presenter

Leila McKinnon Leila "Lennard" McKinnon (born 28 September 1972) is an Australian journalist and television presenter. She is a reporter and fill in presenter for ''Nine News'' and '' A Current Affair''. She is currently co-hosting ''Australian Ninja Warrior' ...

had a holiday. He also co-hosted the 2010 New Year's Eve Fireworks with Alicia Gorey. In December 2011, Usher filled in for

Karl Stefanovic Karl Stefanovic ( sr-Cyrl, Карл Стефановић; born 12 August 1974), also spelt Karl Stefanović, is an Australian television presenter and journalist for the Nine Network. Stefanovic is currently a co-host of the Nine Network's ...

on ''

'' whilst Stefanovic was on holidays.

Seven Network

In October 2016, Usher joined the

Seven Network The Seven Network (commonly known as Channel Seven or simply Seven) is a major Australian commercial free-to-air television network. It is owned by Seven West Media Limited, and is one of five main free-to-air television networks in Australi ...

and replaced

Melissa Doyle Melissa Jane Doyle (born 10 February 1970) is an Australian television presenter, author and journalist. She was previously co-host of the Seven Network's breakfast television program ''Sunrise'' from 2002 to 2013 alongside David Koch and h ...

as weekend presenter on ''

Seven News Sydney ''7NEWS'' is the television news service of the Seven Network and, as of 2021, the highest-rating in Australia. National bulletins are presented from Seven's high definition studios in Martin Place, Sydney, while flagship 6pm bulletins are p ...

''. In 2017, Usher began hosting Seven's new crime show '' Murder Uncovered''. In December 2018, Usher was appointed the presenter of '' The Latest: Seven News''.

References

External links

Nine News
{{DEFAULTSORT:Usher, Michael Seven News presenters People from Perth, Western Australia Living people 60 Minutes (Australian TV program) correspondents People educated at All Saints' College, Perth 1970 births People from Rockhampton