FORMER Cootamundra boy, and Cootamundra Herald reporter, Doug Hogan will read the PRIME local news bulletin for the last time tonight.
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It marks the end of an era for Doug, one of the longest-serving television news readers in the nation,
Doug, who first read the News on Radio 2LF Young in 1976, made his first appearance on local television screens in 1982.
Over the past 30 years, Doug has risen from reporter to Deputy Network News Editor for PRIME7, overseeing six television news programs that span NSW, Victoria and Western Australia.
From Monday, Doug will concentrate all his efforts on PRIME7’s News bulletins.
“I’ve had a ball doing a job that I never imagined I could ever do, I somehow turned the improbable into a reality. It’s been a real thrill every day that I presented the Sport or read the News over the past 30 years”, said Doug.
Doug started out as a cadet newspaper reporter in his hometown of Cootamundra in 1974, and moved to local radio before working in Sydney News radio in the early 1980s.
His first television job was in 1982, as senior reporter and presenter of a children’s quiz show on RVN2 in Wagga.
As senior reporter, sports editor and eventually news editor, Doug managed PRIME News in Wagga, until he transferred to Canberra in 2010.
As deputy network news editor, Doug has been a key leader in developing and refining PRIME7’s state-of-the art News facilities at the company’s Canberra Digital Broadcast Centre.
Though he has now handed over the day-to-day operations of PRIME7’s Wagga News bulletin to his long-term deputy, Benjamin Shuhyta, Doug will continue as news editor of the
company’s Orange and Dubbo News, as well as carrying-out his network duties.
“Doug Hogan has one of the biggest work-loads in regional television,” PRIME7 Network News Editor, John Rudd said.
“Reading news might look easy, but it’s a tough, demanding job at the end of a long, hard day,” he said.
Doug said he will miss his job.
“I’ll miss it for sure, but I take with me life-long memories of my storytelling days on the box. I’ve shared a special experience with the people of the Riverina and south-west and loved every minute of it, but for now, Hooroo!” said Doug.
Doug thrived on taking juniors under his wing and shaping their careers.