''Radio National Breakfast'' and sometimes shortened to ''Breakfast'', is a national early morning news program in Australia, broadcast since 2005. The program is broadcast live in the eastern states, and on delay in other states, on the

Australian Broadcasting Corporation The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) is Australia’s principal public service broadcaster. It is funded primarily by grants from the federal government and is administered by a government-appointed board of directors. The ABC is ...

Radio National ABC Radio National, more commonly known as Radio National or simply RN, is an Australian nationwide public service radio network run by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). From 1947 until 1985, the network was known as ABC Radio 2. ...

network. It can also be listened to online. First hosted by Peter Thompson from 1994 to 2004, the program was subsequently hosted by Fran Kelly from 2005 to 2021. Patricia Karvelas from 2021 to 2024. Since mid-December

Sally Sara Sally Jane Sara (born ) is an Australian journalist, TV presenter, author, and playwright. She has worked for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation for many years, including stints as foreign correspondent in Africa, South Asia, and Afghani ...

has been hosting the program.

History

The program was hosted by Peter Thompson from 1994, who took a break from the show between 1999 and 2002 before rejoining for a further two years. At the end of 2004 he left the show again, citing his reason for resignation as being simply too much work for one person. Fran Kelly took over as host in March 2005; she announced her retirement from the position on 21 October 2021, saying that after 17 years, she needed to reclaim her sleep. In December 2021, Patricia Karvelas was announced as Kelly's replacement. The program is broadcast in two segments (6.00 to 7.00 and 7.30 to 9.00) before and after the current affairs program AM at 7.00. Sally Sara or Steve Cannane host the show on Monday and Patricia Karvelas from Tuesday to Friday due to Karvelas hosting ''Q+A''. In November 2024, ABC announced that Patricia Karvelas will be stepping down as host in December and will replaced by

from January 2025. Karvelas will take on an expanded role across ABC platforms. A weekend edition, called ''Saturday Extra'', is hosted by journalist Geraldine Doogue and is broadcast from 7.30 am to 9.00 am

AEST Australia uses three main time zones: Australian Eastern Standard Time (AEST; UTC+10:00), Australian Central Standard Time (ACST; UTC+09:30) and Australian Western Standard Time (AWST; UTC+08:00). Time is regulated by the individual states a ...

. The program begins officially at 6.05 am following the hourly news broadcast. The news broadcasts are state-based and occur on the hour, every hour, with the traditional "Majestic Fanfare" tune. About four items are presented each hour, with longer items earlier in the program. These include a mix of reports from ABC correspondents, reports from the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

and

CNN Cable News Network (CNN) is a multinational news organization operating, most notably, a website and a TV channel headquartered in Atlanta. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable ne ...

, as well as interviews with a variety of people, including federal and state politicians, prominent commentators, persons of interest, celebrities and ordinary people who are in the middle of news stories. At 7.10 am, after the 7.00 news, ''Breakfast'' switches over to '' AM'', which runs from 7.10 am until 7.30 am, after which ''Breakfast'' returns.

Hosts

Hosts of the show include: * Peter Thompson, January 1994 – December 1999, January 2003 – December 2004 *Vivian Schenker, January 2000 – December 2002 * Fran Kelly, March 2005 – December 2021 * Patricia Karvelas, January 2022 – December 2024 *

, January 2025 – present * Geraldine Doogue, weekend host and fill-in host * Norman Swan, fill-in host

Contributors

There are several regular contributors to the program: * Luke Siddham Dundon - Newsreader * Melissa Clarke - Political correspondent * Peter Ryan - Business correspondent

Recognition and acclaim

''Radio National Breakfast'', while lower in ratings than most other state and local radio programs, has, as a national program, one of the highest listener numbers for any early morning program in Australia. In particular it is regarded as the program which federal Australian politicians listen to, particularly given its focus on national politics. Former Australian Prime Minister,

John Howard John Winston Howard (born 26 July 1939) is an Australian former politician who served as the 25th prime minister of Australia from 1996 to 2007. He held office as leader of the Liberal Party of Australia. His eleven-year tenure as prime min ...

, was known to be a fan of the program and regularly appeared for interviews.

References

External links