Michael Willesee Jr. is an Australian television

journalist A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalism ...

, who has worked in both print journalism and broadcasting.

Early life

Willesee is the son of the late Australian journalist

Mike Willesee Michael Robert Willesee, (29 June 1942 – 1 March 2019) was an Australian television journalist, interviewer and presenter. Willesee was the son of politician senator Don Willesee; Mike first came to prominence in 1967 as a reporter for the ...

and brother of fellow journalist Amy Willesee. Their mother was Willesee senior's first wife and former

Miss Australia Miss Australia was the title for the winner of the Miss Australia Quest or the Miss Australia Awards, which ran from 1954 until 2000, when the last Miss Australia was named. From 2002, the Miss World Australia contest has been held, and the Miss ...

, Joan Stanbury. Through his uncle, journalist and broadcaster

Terry Terry is a unisex given name, derived from French Thierry and Theodoric. It can also be used as a diminutive nickname for the names Teresa or Theresa (feminine) or Terence or Terrier (masculine). People Male * Terry Albritton (1955–2005), Ame ...

, the late author and cyclist Janet Shaw was his cousin. Michael graduated from

Charles Sturt University Charles Sturt University is an Australian multi-campus public university located in New South Wales, Australian Capital Territory and Victoria. Established in 1989, it was named in honour of Captain Charles Napier Sturt, a British explorer ...

at the end of 1988, and joined Mojo Advertising where he worked closely with some of the giants of the industry including Alan Morris and

Allan Johnston Allan Johnston (born 14 December 1973) is a Scottish football player and coach, who was most recently the manager of Queen of the South. Johnston started his professional playing career with Heart of Midlothian and then followed on to French ...

Career

Willesee began his career in journalism with ''

The Australian ''The Australian'', with its Saturday edition, ''The Weekend Australian'', is a broadsheet newspaper published by News Corp Australia since 14 July 1964.Bruns, Axel. "3.1. The active audience: Transforming journalism from gatekeeping to gatewat ...

'' newspaper in 1990. After completing his cadetship he moved to

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the wor ...

in 1991, freelancing for Sydney's ''

The Sun-Herald ''The Sun-Herald'' is an Australian newspaper published in tabloid or compact format on Sundays in Sydney by Nine Publishing. It is the Sunday counterpart of ''The Sydney Morning Herald''. In the 6 months to September 2005, ''The Sun-Herald'' ...

'' newspaper as well as various US magazines. Later that year, he moved into television, working on the tabloid news television program ''

Hard Copy ''Hard Copy'' is an American tabloid television show that ran in syndication from 1989 to 1999. ''Hard Copy'' was aggressive in its use of questionable material on television, including gratuitous violence. The original hosts of ''Hard Copy' ...

'', produced by

Paramount Television The original incarnation of Paramount Television was the name of the television production division of the American film studio Paramount Pictures, that was responsible for the production of Viacom television programs, until it changed its name ...

. In 1992, Willesee moved to

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

, where he joined the US version of '' A Current Affair'' at

Fox Television The Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly known simply as Fox and stylized in all caps as FOX, is an American commercial broadcast television network owned by Fox Corporation and headquartered in New York City, with master control operations a ...

, and again filing stories for Australian TV. Later that year he returned to Australia and accepted a role with the

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 ...

reporting for ''National Nine News'' before joining '' A Current Affair'' where he worked until late 1998. Michael then moved behind the camera, running a

production company A production company, production house, production studio, or a production team is a studio that creates works in the fields of performing arts, new media art, film, television, radio, comics, interactive arts, video games, websites, music, a ...

specialising in documentaries. His award-winning films covered diverse subjects including remote African tribes, true crime, religious phenomena and dangerous animals. In March 2014, Michael resigned from

Sky News Australia Sky News Australia is an Australian news channel owned by News Corp Australia. Originally launched on 19 February 1996, it broadcasts rolling news coverage throughout the day, while its prime time lineup is dedicated to opinion-based programs f ...

to take up a job in the office of

Treasurer A treasurer is the person responsible for running the treasury of an organization. The significant core functions of a corporate treasurer include cash and liquidity management, risk management, and corporate finance. Government The treasury o ...

Joe Hockey Joseph Benedict Hockey (born 2 August 1965) is a former Australian politician and diplomat. He was the Member of Parliament for North Sydney from 1996 until 2015. He was the Treasurer of Australia in the Abbott Government from 18 September 20 ...

Personal life

On 26 August 2007, Michael announced his engagement to

's ''

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 ...

'' program reporter

Allison Langdon Allison Langdon (born 20 May 1979) is an Australian television presenter, reporter, journalist, and author. From 2023, Langdon will be the host of '' A Current Affair'' through Monday to Thursday, whilst Deborah Knight will still host from Fri ...

and they later married in 2008. The couple had a son in January 2017, followed by a daughter in March 2019.

References

External links

Michael Willesee Sky News profile
Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Australian journalists Australian television presenters Place of birth missing (living people) {{Australia-tv-bio-stub