Robert Maxwell Penfold is a television reporter and journalist, who served as Foreign Correspondent for Australia's ''

Nine News ''Nine News'' (stylised ''9News'') is the national news service of the Nine Network in Australia. Its flagship program is the hour-long 6:00 pm state bulletin, produced by Nine's owned-and-operated stations in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane ...

''.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 admi ...

. 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-western region of New South Wales, Australia. Situated on the Peel River within the local government area of the Tamworth Regional Council, it is the largest and most populated city in ...

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'' is an Australian television newscast, produced by Network 10. The network's ninety-minute long news program airs at 5pm each evening covering local, national and world news, including sport and weather. Weekend editions are p ...

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

Cyclone Tracy Cyclone Tracy was a tropical cyclone that devastated the city of Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia, from 24 to 26 December 1974. The small, developing easterly storm had been observed passing clear of the city initially, but then turned t ...

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

Granville rail disaster The Granville rail/train 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 ...

as a

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 ...

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. He was the longest-serving heir apparent and Prince of Wales and, at age 73, became the oldest person to ...

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 King Charles III (then Prince of Wales) and mother of Princes William and Harry. Her a ...

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: * Day of the present, the time that is perceived directly, often called ''now'' * Current era, present * The current calendar date Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Today'' (1930 film), a 1930 ...

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

Sunday Sunday is the day of the week between Saturday and Monday. In most Western countries, Sunday is a day of rest and a part of the weekend. It is often considered the first day of the week. For most observant adherents of Christianity, Sunday ...

''. From 1985 to 1987, he was based in Nine's North American Bureau reporting on Ronald Reagan'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 (; ; 18 July 1918 – 5 December 2013) was a South African anti-apartheid activist who served as the first president of South Africa from 1994 to 1999. He was the country's first black head of state and the ...

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

Soweto Soweto () is a 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 Townships''. Formerly a se ...

and the fall of the Berlin Wall 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 was a 1990–1991 armed campaign waged by a Coalition of the Gulf War, 35-country military coalition in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Spearheaded by the United States, the coalition's efforts against Ba'athist Iraq, ...

. 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 (Birth name, né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 ...

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, Obama was the first Af ...

and

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of ...

presidencies, the

11 September terrorist attacks The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated Suicide attack, suicide List of terrorist incidents, terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, ...

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, 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 (Austral ...

as he reported on the

Iraq War {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Iraq War {{Nobold, {{lang, ar, حرب العراق (Arabic) {{Nobold, {{lang, ku, شەڕی عێراق ( Kurdish) , partof = the Iraq conflict and the War on terror , image ...

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. 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 Thorn(s) or The Thorn(s) may refer to: Botany * Thorns, spines, and prickles, sharp structures on plants * ''Crataegus monogyna'', or common hawthorn, a plant species Comics and literature * Rose and Thorn, the two personalities of two DC Comi ...

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 and also known as Sydney 2000 ( Dharug: ''Gadigal 2000''), the Millennium Olympic Games or the Games of the New Millennium, was an international multi-sport event held from ...

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 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 Austral ...

Penfold was appointed a

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

(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