Robert Maxwell Penfold is an Australian television reporter and journalist, who served as Foreign Correspondent for

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

's ''

Nine News Nine News (stylized as 9News) is a national News agency, news service on the Nine Network in Australia. Its flagship program is an hour-long ''9News'' bulletin at 6:00 pm, with editions produced by Nine's owned-and-operated stations in TCN, S ...

''.Robert Penfold - Nine News Foreign Correspondent
- (Retrieved 7 October 2010)

Early career

Penfold started his career as a cadet journalist on the Macarthur Advertiser and Campbelltown-Ingleburn News, local newspapers in his hometown of

Campbelltown, New South Wales Campbelltown is a suburb located on the outskirts of the metropolitan area of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It is located in Greater Western Sydney south-west of the Sydney central business district by road. Campbelltown is the adminis ...

. He moved into broadcast journalism, working at the local radio and TV station in

Tamworth, New South Wales Tamworth is a city and administrative centre of the north-eastern region of New South Wales, Australia. Situated on the Peel River (New South Wales), Peel River within the local government area of the Tamworth Regional Council, it is the largest ...

Broadcasting career

During his reporting career Penfold worked at all three Australian commercial TV networks in Sydney and Melbourne. While working for

Ten News 10 News First (set to rebrand as 10 News on 30 June 2025) is an Australian television newscast, produced by Network 10. The network's flagship news program airs at 5PM on weekday evenings covering local, national and world news, including sp ...

in Melbourne, he was one of the first reporters into Darwin after

Cyclone Tracy Severe Tropical Cyclone Tracy was a small but destructive tropical cyclone that devastated the city of Darwin, Northern Territory, Darwin, in the Northern Territory of Australia, in December 1974. The small but developing easterly storm was or ...

destroyed the city on Christmas Day in 1974. He covered the

Granville rail disaster The Granville rail disaster occurred on Tuesday 18 January 1977 at Granville, New South Wales, Granville, a western suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, when a crowded commuter train derailment, derailed, running into the supports of a ...

as a

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 ...

reporter and toured Australia covering the first visit of

Prince Charles Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. Charles was born at Buckingham Palace during the reign of his maternal grandfather, King George VI, and ...

and

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 ...

and new baby Prince William. During his career at Nine Network, Penfold has worked for ''

'', '' A Current Affair'', ''

Today Today (archaically to-day) may refer to: * The current day and calendar date ** Today is between and , subject to the local time zone * Now, the time that is perceived directly, present * The current, present era Arts, entertainment and m ...

'' (appearing on the first show in 1982) and ''

Sunday Sunday (Latin: ''dies solis'' meaning "day of the sun") is the day of the week between Saturday and Monday. Sunday is a Christian sabbath, day of rest in most Western countries and a part of the Workweek and weekend, weekend. In some Middle Ea ...

''. From 1985 to 1987, he was based in Nine's North American Bureau reporting on

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan (February 6, 1911 – June 5, 2004) was an American politician and actor who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He was a member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party a ...

's presidency and covered the Space Shuttle ''Challenger'' disaster. Penfold moved to the United Kingdom for the Nine Network in 1987. During his time in Europe, he covered the IRA's war against the British, the divorce of Prince Charles and Princess Diana, and the hunt for Australia's most-wanted man at the time, mafia boss Robert Trimboli. Penfold also reported on America's unsuccessful attempt to bring peace to Somalia and the triumphant march to freedom by

Nelson Mandela Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela ( , ; born Rolihlahla Mandela; 18 July 1918 – 5 December 2013) was a South African Internal resistance to apartheid, anti-apartheid activist and politician who served as the first president of South Africa f ...

. Memorable moments include live reports from Mandela's house in

Soweto Soweto () is a Township (South Africa), township of the City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality in Gauteng, South Africa, bordering the city's mining belt in the south. Its name is an English syllabic abbreviation for ''South Western T ...

and the fall of the

Berlin Wall The Berlin Wall (, ) was a guarded concrete Separation barrier, barrier that encircled West Berlin from 1961 to 1989, separating it from East Berlin and the East Germany, German Democratic Republic (GDR; East Germany). Construction of the B ...

on 9 November 1989. Penfold reported from the former Yugoslavia during the Balkan Conflict in the early 90s. In 1991, he was one of the first reporters into Kuwait City in the

First Gulf War The Gulf War (1990–1991) was an armed conflict between Iraq and a multinational military coalition led by the United States, triggered by the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait in August 1990. Persian Gulf War may also refer to: * Shatt al-Arab conflict ...

. Earlier, he reported from Baghdad as the Australian Government attempted to negotiate the freedom of Australians trapped in the region. Penfold spent two years in Australia as head of the '' A Current Affair'' office in Melbourne. He returned to Los Angeles, California in 1997 as North American Bureau Chief for the Nine Network. During his time as Channel Nine's U.S. correspondent, Penfold has reported on the

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton (né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician and lawyer who was the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, ...

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...

and

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...

presidencies, the

11 September terrorist attacks The September 11 attacks, also known as 9/11, were four coordinated Islamist terrorist suicide attacks by al-Qaeda against the United States in 2001. Nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial airliners, crashing the first two into ...

on America, the earthquake in Haiti, and the 33 miners trapped in Chile. He also spent time with the

Australian Army The Australian Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of Australia. It is a part of the Australian Defence Force (ADF), along with the Royal Australian Navy and the Royal Australian Air Force. The Army is commanded by the Chief of Army ...

as he reported on the

Iraq War The Iraq War (), also referred to as the Second Gulf War, was a prolonged conflict in Iraq lasting from 2003 to 2011. It began with 2003 invasion of Iraq, the invasion by a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition, which ...

and the Australian military's role in Iraq. Penfold announced his retirement from the role of Nine Network's US Correspondent and Bureau Chief in June 2019, and his final broadcast tribute aired on the 6pm evening bulletin on 30 June 2019. Robert wrote this article on his thoughts about retiring. https://www.9news.com.au/national/news-robert-penfold-foreign-correspondent-retirement-highs-and-lows/8bf1cc10-57a0-4a83-bc31-ec4d5c07524e In 2020 Penfold took on the role of head of Global Media Relations for the Meridian Rapid Defense Group.

Awards

During his career, Penfold has won several awards for his reporting. He won the Thorn Award for his coverage of a deadly fire in Sydney, a Penguin Award from the Television Society of Australia for his coverage of a murderous attack on mourners during an IRA funeral in Belfast, a Logie for his contribution from Monte Carlo to Nine News coverage of Sydney winning the bid for the

2000 Summer Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad, officially branded as Sydney 2000, and also known as the Games of the New Millennium, were an international multi-sport event held from 15 September to 1 October ...

and a Walkley commendation for his story of coming under fire in Iraq. In 2006, he was awarded Australia's most prestigious journalism prize, the Walkley Award for TV News Reporting for his coverage of the

Hurricane Katrina Hurricane Katrina was a powerful, devastating and historic tropical cyclone that caused 1,392 fatalities and damages estimated at $125 billion in late August 2005, particularly in the city of New Orleans and its surrounding area. ...

disaster in New Orleans. In the

2020 Australia Day Honours The 2020 Australia Day Honours are appointments to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by Australian citizens. The list was announced on 26 January 2020 by the Governor General of Australia, David Hurley. The Australi ...

Penfold was appointed a

Member of the Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an Australian honours and awards system, Australian honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Monarch ...

(AM) for "significant service to the broadcast media, and to journalism".

References

*https://tvblackbox.com.au/page/2019/5/7/robert-penfold-from-campbelltown-to-the-berlin-wall *https://www.news.com.au/entertainment/tv/rob-penfold-shares-his-life-stories-from-30-years-as-nines-foreign-correspondent/news-story/59b58e959726b2cba64ae20205b9fd7f {{DEFAULTSORT:Penfold, Robert Australian television journalists Living people 1951 births Australian reporters and correspondents Members of the Order of Australia People from Campbelltown, New South Wales Journalists from Sydney