Sebastian Costello (born 1987 ) is an Australian television and radio journalist.

Radio

Early radio work

Costello began his radio career at

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

community radio Community radio is a radio service offering a third model of radio broadcasting in addition to commercial and public broadcasting. Community stations serve geographic communities and communities of interest. They broadcast content that is popular ...

station SYN in 2007 while studying at

RMIT University RMIT University, officially the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology,, section 4(b) is a public research university in Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city ...

.(26 February 2007
Costello junior more into radio than politics
''radioinfo''. Retrieved 16 September 2019. He then moved into commercial radio, working as an announcer at Max 107.3 in

Taree Taree is a town on the Mid North Coast, New South Wales, Australia. Taree and nearby Cundletown were settled in 1831 by William Wynter. Since then Taree has grown to a population of 26,381, and is the centre of a significant agricultural distri ...

on the

Mid North Coast The Mid North Coast is a country region in the north-east of the state of New South Wales, Australia. The region covers the mid northern coast of the state, beginning from Port Stephens north of Sydney, and extending as far north as Woolgoolg ...

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

, and then at Classic Rock 102.5FM in

Echuca Echuca ( ) is a town on the banks of the Murray River and Campaspe River in Victoria, Australia. The border town of Moama is adjacent on the northern side of the Murray River in New South Wales. Echuca is the administrative centre and largest s ...

on the New South Wales/ Victoria border.(4 February 2015
He'd rather read the news than be the news: Triple M's Seb Costello
''radioinfo''. Retrieved 16 September 2019.

3AW

Following his stint in Echuca, Costello moved back to Melbourne and began working for 3AW. Firstly, as producer for Derryn Hinch’s drive program, then as a producer and reporter for Neil Mitchell's breakfast program on

3AW 3AW is a talkback radio station based in Melbourne. It broadcasts on 693 kHz AM. It began transmission on 22 February 1932 as Melbourne's fifth commercial radio station. The station is owned and operated by Nine Entertainment Co. Hist ...

. He also became a

boundary rider Boundary rider is a long-established (1864) Australasian term for a cattle or sheep station employee whose duties entail a regular tour (by horse, camel or motor vehicle) of the outer perimeter (boundary) of the property, checking condition of f ...

during the station's

AFL AFL may refer to: Sports * American Football League (AFL), a name shared by several separate and unrelated professional American football leagues: ** American Football League (1926) (a.k.a. "AFL I"), first rival of the National Football Leagu ...

broadcasts. While working for 3AW in 2014, Costello was the subject of a homophobic comment made by veteran AFL commentator and former player Brian Taylor who said: "I don't want to offend his upbringing or his parents... but he looks gay."

Triple M

Costello moved from 3AW to Triple M in late 2014, where he became a news presenter on ''

The Hot Breakfast ''The Hot Breakfast'' was an Australian breakfast radio show on Triple M Melbourne hosted by Eddie McGuire and Luke Darcy. The show began on Monday, 7 September 2009. Former SBS sports broadcaster Mieke Buchan and comedian Tony Moclair were part ...

''. Aside from reading the news at Triple M, Costello also continued working as an announcer, co-hosting ''The Summer Breakfast'' in late 2015 with

Lawrence Mooney Lawrence Mooney (born 22 April 1965) is an Australian comedian, actor, writer, and former television and radio presenter. Radio career Mooney has held various jobs including a cleaner, salesman, furniture polisher and collecting golf balls at a ...

before hosting his own Saturday morning show, ''Weekend Breakfast'' from 2016 until he left the station in early 2017. For his broadcast about

Usain Bolt Usain St. Leo Bolt, , (; born 21 August 1986) is a retired Jamaican sprinter, widely considered to be the greatest sprinter of all time. He is the world record holder in the 100 metres, 200 metres, and 4 × 100 metres relay. An eight- ...

's triumph at the

2016 Summer Olympics The 2016 Summer Olympics ( pt, Jogos Olímpicos de Verão de 2016), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad ( pt, Jogos da XXXI Olimpíada) and also known as Rio 2016, was an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 20 ...

, Costello won a Melbourne Press Club Quill Award in 2017 for Best Radio News. Costello's award marked the first time a Triple M staff member had ever won a Quill Award. Costello was also nominated in the Best Radio Current Affairs category for his coverage of

Muhammad Ali Muhammad Ali (; born Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr.; January 17, 1942 – June 3, 2016) was an American professional boxer and activist. Nicknamed "The Greatest", he is regarded as one of the most significant sports figures of the 20th century, a ...

's memorial service but lost to Richard Baker and Michael Bachelard from www.theage.com.au for their podcast ''Phoebe's Fall''. When Costello was appointed as 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 netw ...

's new

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

correspondent in 2017, he left Triple M. However, in June 2018, it was announced Costello would be returning to Triple M, initially to co-host ''The Winter Breakfast'' during the mid-year ratings break, but then to resume his role as the news presenter on ''The Hot Breakfast''. In November 2020, Costello resigned from Triple M.

Television

Nine Network

In December 2012, Costello became a ''

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, ...

'' reporter. In March 2013, Costello apologised for laughing during a live cross. A member of the public had walked into shot, which caused an unexpected interaction between the person and a Nine crew member. But as the report was from the scene of a wall collapse in

Carlton Carlton may refer to: People * Carlton (name), a list of those with the given name or surname * Carlton (singer), English soul singer Carlton McCarthy * Carlton, a pen name used by Joseph Caldwell (1773–1835), American educator, Presbyterian ...

where two people had been killed, Costello felt it appropriate to apologise publicly and privately to the families of the victims. In early 2017, the Nine Network announced Costello had been appointed as its new European correspondent, replacing Tom Steinfort. Concerns were raised in 2018 about Costello's unexplained absence from ''Nine News'' after reportedly missing calls and being absent for a number of scheduled live crosses.Harris, Amy (27 August 2018
Nine reporter Seb Costello on leave as mystery deepens as to why he missed live crosses
''

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally. It was fo ...

''. Retrieved 16 September 2019. The Nine Network said Costello was simply taking leave which was owing to him. Costello later revealed he had been suffering from a period of

burnout Burnout or burn-out may refer to: Entertainment * ''Burnout'' (film), a 2017 Moroccan film * ''Burn Out'' (film), a 2017 French film * Burnout (ride), a Funfields amusement ride in Australia * ''Burnout'' (series), a racing game series created by ...

after working around the clock to cover a large number of international stories for the network. In 2019, Costello apologised for appearing to jostle with a ''

Seven News ''7NEWS'' is the television news service of the Seven Network and, as of 2021, the highest-rating in Australia. National bulletins are presented from Seven's high-definition television, high definition studios in Martin Place, Sydney, while f ...

'' reporter while the two journalists were working outside a Melbourne court, attempting to get a comment from a woman who had just been cleared of charges. In October 2020, Costello joined ''

A Current Affair ''A Current Affair'' may refer to: * ''A Current Affair'' (Australian TV program), 1971–present Australian current affairs program that airs on Nine Network * ''A Current Affair'' (American TV program), a 1986–1998 American television news ...

'' as a reporter.

Nine's Wide World of Sports

In addition to news reporting, Costello also contributes to '' Nine's Wide World of Sports'' coverage, providing commentary for sporting events such as Suncorp Super Netball.

Twitter controversy

In September 2019, Costello was the subject of an allegedly offensive remark made on

Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...

Seven Network The Seven Network (commonly known as Channel Seven or simply Seven) is a major Australian commercial free-to-air Television broadcasting in Australia, television network. It is owned by Seven West Media, Seven West Media Limited, and is one of ...

presenter

Edwina Bartholomew Edwina Louise Christie Bartholomew (born 5 July 1983) is an Australian journalist and television presenter. Bartholomew is currently news presenter on the Seven Network's breakfast television program ''Sunrise''. She has previously been a co-ho ...

.Byrne, Fiona (16 September 2019
Edwina Bartholomew in strife for 'half-asleep' tweet
Sunday Herald Sun''. Retrieved 16 September 2019.(16 September 2019
Nine considers legal action over Edwina Bartholomew's tweet
''

news.com.au news.com.au is an Australian website owned by News Corp Australia. It had 9.6 million unique readers in April 2019 and covers national and international news, lifestyle, travel, entertainment, technology, finance, and sport. Staff The organiza ...

''. Retrieved 16 September 2019. It occurred after ''

Nine News Melbourne ''Nine News Melbourne'' is the weeknight, flagship news bulletin of the Nine Network in Australia. It is screened in Melbourne and Tasmania, and across Victoria. Like all ''Nine News'' bulletins, the Melbourne bulletin runs for one hour, from 6 ...

'' posted a video on their Twitter account of Costello reporting from Melbourne's Parliament House where there had been a security scare. Bartholomew allegedly replied from her account to the video with an offensive remark about Costello. While Bartholomew deleted her tweet 50 minutes afterwards and apologised, the Nine Network threatened legal action.Knox, David (15 September 2019
Nine considering legal action over tweet
''TV Tonight''. Retrieved 16 September 2019. A spokesperson for Nine said Costello and the network were "devastated and shocked at the damaging and false nature of this personal attack". The

libel Defamation is the act of communicating to a third party false statements about a person, place or thing that results in damage to its reputation. It can be spoken (slander) or written (libel). It constitutes a tort or a crime. The legal defini ...

lous nature of Bartholomew's tweet prevented the Australian media from repeating or republishing Bartholomew's comment in its entirety, with a specific word

censored Censorship is the suppression of speech, public communication, or other information. This may be done on the basis that such material is considered objectionable, harmful, sensitive, or "inconvenient". Censorship can be conducted by governments ...

from the screenshots which were published. Costello told his Triple M colleagues during ''The Hot Breakfast'' that what was said "wasn't ideal" and that he planned to discuss the issue with lawyers.

Personal life

Costello is the son of former Treasurer of Australia and chairman of

Nine Entertainment Co. Nine Entertainment (registered as Nine Entertainment Co. Pty Ltd) is an Australian publicly listed media company with holdings in radio and television broadcasting, newspaper publications and digital media. It uses Nine as its corporate brand ...

Peter Costello Peter Howard Costello (born 14 August 1957) is an Australian businessman, lawyer and former politician who served as the treasurer of Australia in government of John Howard from 1996 to 2007. He is the longest-serving treasurer in Australia' ...

.Stephen Letts (25 February 2016
Former treasurer Peter Costello appointed new Channel 9 chairman
''

ABC News ABC News is the news division of the American broadcast network ABC. Its flagship program is the daily evening newscast ''ABC World News Tonight, ABC World News Tonight with David Muir''; other programs include Breakfast television, morning ...

''. Retrieved 16 September 2019. He is also the nephew of Baptist minister and

World Vision Australia World Vision Australia (WVA) is an ecumenical Christian non-governmental organisation based in Melbourne, Australia. It is a part of the ''World Vision International Partnership'' led by World Vision International. WVA is Australia's largest ov ...

chief executive,

Tim Costello Timothy Ewen Costello AO (born 4 March 1955) is an Australian Baptist minister who was the Chief Executive Officer and Chief Advocate of World Vision Australia. Costello worked as a lawyer and served as mayor of St Kilda. He has authored a ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Costello, Seb 1987 births Living people Australian radio journalists Australian television journalists RMIT University alumni