Peter Mitchell (born 14 June 1960) is an

Australian Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal Aus ...

television presenter. He has been the chief news presenter of '' Seven News Melbourne'' since 2000, prior to which he was the weekend news presenter.

Career

Mitchell began at the

Nine Network Nine Network (stylised 9Network, and 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 the five main free-to-air television ...

in 1977 as a sport reporter. In this position he covered sports such as

Australian rules football Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an Australian rules football playing field, oval field, often a modified ...

golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various Golf club, clubs to hit a Golf ball, ball into a series of holes on a golf course, course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standa ...

tennis Tennis is a List of racket sports, racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles (tennis), singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles (tennis), doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket st ...

and the

Commonwealth Games The Commonwealth Games is a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations, which consists mostly, but not exclusively, of territories of the former British Empire. The event was first held in 1930 ...

. In 1982, Mitchell became a general news reporter and in this position he covered many stories including Victoria's

Ash Wednesday bushfires The Ash Wednesday bushfires, known in South Australia as Ash Wednesday II, were a Bushfires in Australia, series of bushfires that occurred in south-eastern Australia in 1983 on 16 February. Within twelve hours, more than 180 bushfires, fires f ...

in 1983. In 1987, Mitchell joined 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, ...

and became weekend news presenter. He held this position for 13 years until November 2000 when he replaced David Johnston and

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 ...

as the solo weeknight presenter. In 1997, Mitchell was the first news presenter in Australia to break the news, during an AFL match, that

Princess Diana Diana, Princess of Wales (born Diana Frances Spencer; 1 July 1961 – 31 August 1997), was a member of the British royal family. She was the first wife of Charles III (then Prince of Wales) and mother of Princes William ...

had died. In a ''Seven News'' bulletin that went to air in March 2018, Mitchell used some inappropriate wording to describe a murder trial which was ongoing; he subsequently apologised to the Victorian Supreme Court for his actions. His journalism experience has also included writing a weekly column for the ''Sunday Herald Sun'' for two years called "Tee for Two" and publishing a book – the biography of Australian golfer Peter Thomson.

Awards

In 2010, Peter was inducted into the

City of Frankston The City of Frankston (officially known as Frankston City Council'')'' is a Local government areas of Victoria, local government area (LGA) in Victoria (state), Victoria, Australia in the southern suburbs of Melbourne. It has an area of 130 squ ...

''Hall of Fame'' as a tribute to his strong link to the city and the significant impact of his work.

Personal life

Mitchell grew up on the

Mornington Peninsula The Mornington Peninsula is a peninsula located in the south of Greater Melbourne, Victoria (state), Victoria, Australia. It is surrounded by Port Phillip to the west, Western Port to the east and Bass Strait to the south, and is connected to ...

, attending The Peninsula School, in Mount Eliza. His father, Geoff Mitchell, was a councillor on the Frankston City Council in the 1960s and 1970s, served a term as the Mayor of Frankston (1970/1971) and also played football for Frankston in the VFA. Mitchell is a

Collingwood Football Club The Collingwood Football Club, nicknamed the Magpies or colloquially the Pies, is a professional Australian rules football club based in Melbourne, Victoria that competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's elite competition. ...

fan and began going to watch them play with his father when he was five years old.McKenna made me do it , Herald Sun 13 September 2011. Retrieved 28 March 2013
/ref> He is married to wife Philippa and they have five children together, as well as four grandchildren.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mitchell, Peter Australian television journalists Seven News presenters 1960 births Living people Television personalities from Melbourne People from Mornington Peninsula People from Frankston, Victoria People educated at Peninsula Grammar