David Johnston (born 4 December 1941) is a Welsh-born Australian retired television

news presenter A news presenter – also known as a newsreader, newscaster (short for "news broadcaster"), anchorman or anchorwoman, news anchor or simply an anchor – is a person who presents news during a news program on TV, radio or the Internet. ...

. Johnston, known as ''DJ'' to hundreds of thousands of viewers and colleagues, presented his last bulletin on the

Seven Network Seven Network (stylised 7Network, and commonly known as Channel Seven or simply Seven) is an Australian commercial free-to-air Television broadcasting in Australia, television network. It is owned by Seven West Media, Seven West Media Limited, ...

on 23 September 2005. He and wife Eve retired in a property at

Bendigo Bendigo ( ) is an Australian city in north-central Victoria. The city is located in the Bendigo Valley near the geographical centre of the state and approximately north-west of Melbourne, the state capital. As of 2022, Bendigo has a popula ...

to enjoy country life and be close to their daughter, her husband and their grandchildren.

Early life and education

Johnston emigrated from

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

as an 11-year-old with his mother Lillian in 1953, and settled in Victoria's western districts and later started his secondary education at Terang High School. But his mother soon moved them to Olinda to start a children's holiday home and when that venture failed financially, David had to leave school aged 15 to earn some money. He did various jobs, including working in a nursery and in the middle of it all David realised he wanted to be on radio. With his mother's help, he founded the Bill Roberts Radio School in

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

known as "The Vincent School of Broadcasting" and made the journey, sometimes

hitchhiking Hitchhiking (also known as thumbing, autostop or hitching) is a means of transportation that is gained by asking individuals, usually strangers, for a ride in their car or other vehicle. The ride is usually, but not always, free. Signaling ...

, from

Olinda Olinda () is a historic city in Pernambuco, Brazil, in the Northeast Region, Brazil, Northeast Region. It is located on the country's northeastern Atlantic Ocean coast, in the Recife metropolitan area, Metropolitan Region of Recife, the state ca ...

to Ferntree Gully to catch the train into the city. The radio school regularly sent student tapes to radio stations around the country. David's was one voice on an audition tape sent to 2RG in

Griffith, New South Wales Griffith is a major regional city in the northern Riverina region of western New South Wales, known commonly as the food bowl of Australia. It is also the seat of the City of Griffith Local government in Australia, local government area. Like ...

and at 17 he secured his first professional radio gig. David spent three years at 2RG and it was in Griffith that he met his future wife, Eve, to whom he later had two daughters, Georgie (born 1971) and Romy (born 1973). David enjoyed riding his small motor-scooter around the streets of Griffith and hanging out with fellow announcers John Knox, Graham Miles and Peter Churchley, all of whom went on to have long careers in radio in Brisbane, Melbourne and the Sunshine Coast.

Radio and television career

In 1962, Johnston had a 15-month stint with 4KQ in Brisbane before returning to Melbourne as a general announcer and news presenter on 3DB. Nearly 12 months down the track, HSV7 was looking for someone to present the late-night news and Dan Webb suggested Johnston at 3DB, who showed promise. His first major bulletin was announcing the death of US President John F. Kennedy.Headline act – TV & Radio – theage.com.au
/ref> Johnston split his time between the closely aligned 3DB and the

in Melbourne until 1967, when he was appointed full-time news reporter and presenter. On 22 June 1972 he hosted, with Lucy Kiraly, the first Tattslotto draw on Melbourne television. Johnston held that role for the next five years before shocking many people by leaving television to run a news agency in Elsternwick. In 1980, he returned to television to presented the prime time ''Eyewtiness News'' on

ATV-10 ATV is a television station in Melbourne, Australia, part of Network 10 – one of the three major Australian free-to-air commercial television networks. The station is owned by Paramount Networks UK & Australia. History In April 1963, the ...

with

Jana Wendt Jana Bohumila Wendt ( ; born 9 May 1956) is an Australian Gold Logie award-winning television journalist, reporter and writer. Early life Wendt was born in Melbourne to Czech parents who emigrated to Australia in 1949, as political refugees ...

and latterly,

Jo Pearson Jo Pearson is an Australian television presenter and journalist. Career Pearson is perhaps best known for her association with Network Ten throughout the 1980s and early 1990s. After working at TVQ-0 in Brisbane, she transferred to ATV-0 in Melb ...

. His successful partnerships with both anchors helped make ''Eyewitness News'' the leading nightly news bulletin in Melbourne throughout the 1980s. David stayed in this role until returning to the

in 1996 to become the weekday anchor of ''

Seven Nightly News Seven News (stylised 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 South Eveleigh, Sydney, while its flags ...

'' in Melbourne. He presented this bulletin solo from 1996 until mid-1999, when he became a co-anchor with

Anne Fulwood Anne Fulwood (born 5 February 1959) is an Australian former reporter, journalist and writer with a long association as a newsreader and current affairs host, she was born in South Australia's Riverland region and began her career in the state of ...

. Johnston became a relief anchor a year later but returned full-time in 2003 to anchor a national news bulletin, titled "Target Iraq", at 4.30 pm each weekday afternoon to cover the major story, and to summarise Australian news from Sydney. The bulletin was retained and reformatted to a standard news bulletin (titled ''Seven's 4:30 News'', then ''Seven Afternoon News'') following the end of the strike on Iraq, with production moving to Melbourne and Johnston continuing at the helm until his retirement in 2005.

Awards

He has won various awards, including a LogieAustralian Television: 1974–77 Logie Awards
/ref> and two Penguin awards.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Johnston, David Australian radio personalities Australian people of Welsh descent Living people Seven News presenters Australian television newsreaders and news presenters People from Victoria (state) 1941 births Australian television talk show hosts