Channel Ten suffered an ‘unimaginable’ gaffe as they paid tribute to one of their legendary Australian TV broadcasters after his death.
George Negus sadly passed away at the age of 82 following a battle with Alzheimer’s disease, his family confirmed on Tuesday.
Tributes flooded in for the 60 Minutes presenter with all the major news networks airing heartfelt segments in memory of the television icon.
However, some Channel Ten fans were left unimpressed when they noticed a tribute had been shared online with the veteran presenter’s name spelt wrong.
His surname had been misspelt as ‘Nebus’ rather ‘Negus’ by 10 News First, with one eagle-eyed viewer sharing the error to social media.
While the gaffe has since been corrected, it was still showing as ‘Nebus’ on the Google search of the YouTube tribute video late on Tuesday evening.
Taking to X, one disgruntled fan described the error as an ‘insult’ to the star, who appeared on The Project and presented 6.30 with George Negus on Ten.
Channel Ten suffered an ‘unimaginable’ gaffe as they paid tribute to legendary Australian TV broadcaster George Negus (pictured in 2006) after his death
‘What an insult to one of their own. Unimaginable,’ they penned.
Negus also famously presented Nine’s 60 Minutes when the show launched in Australia in 1979, and remained in his role until 1986.
He was diagnosed with dementia about five years ago and since late 2021, had been living in an aged care facility in Sydney’s north.
In a statement shared on Tuesday, Negus’ family said he ‘passed away peacefully surrounded by loved ones’ in Sydney.
‘Despite the challenges diseases like Alzheimer’s inflict on families, we still shared beautiful times, laughter and happiness together in recent times,’ they said.
‘While we know he will be celebrated for his unique contribution to journalism, football, and the environment, he would also want to be remembered for the incredible family man he was.’
Meanwhile, 60 Minutes added in a statement: ‘An icon of journalism. A legendary broadcaster. A friend to many.
60 Minutes star Negus (pictured in 1980) sadly passed away at the age of 82 following a battle with Alzheimer’s disease, his family confirmed on Tuesday
As tributes flooded in, Ten News First fans were left unimpressed when they noticed a tribute had been shared online with the veteran presenter’s name spelt as ‘Nebus’ rather than ‘Negus’
’60 Minutes founding reporter George Negus has sadly died at 82, after a battle with Alzheimer’s disease. We will always treasure the stories and memories he gave us all.’
Tributes have flooded in for the veteran current affairs journalist in the hours since the news his death emerged.
Negus’ former Today Show co-host Liz Hayes paid tribute to the 60 Minutes broadcaster in a sweet message.
Appearing on A Current Affair on Tuesday, Liz gushed that the Nine star was ‘truly unique’ as she shared some heartfelt words.
‘George was a potent human being and, in my life, someone I will never forget. He left his mark no matter how he was or where he was,’ she gushed.
Liz, 68, who hosted the Today Show alongside George from 1987 to 1990, added that her former co-star would be remembered for his ‘insatiable curiosity’.
‘He was truly unique – there was one George and only one George and thats why, in many respects, he stood out,’ she said.
‘He was just a good guy. Curious beyond belief, always had questions he wanted answered. He brought huge personality to television [and] an insatiable appetite to know more.’
George (pictured in 2012) presented 60 Minutes when the show launched in Australia in 1979, through to 1986
Liz was joined by George’s former 60 Minutes colleague Ian Leslie, who said George was the ‘spark’ that made the current affairs show work.
‘We needed a stand out, we needed a spark to get the audience on side,’ he said.
‘We needed a Negus, we needed that sort of urban cowboy. That penetrating voice to get the message out. George was the spark that took 60 minutes to he heights it got to.’
Leslie added that seeing his former colleague struck down with Alzheimer’s disease was ‘cruel’.
‘For a man who loved words, who loved speaking, who loved telling a story, and his voice was his lifeblood, [for] that to have been taken away from him is just incredibly cruel and very, very sad,’ he said.
Speaking to Daily Mail Australia, Leslie added that while Negus’ battle with dementia was widely known, his death came as a ‘hell of a shock’.
‘It’s a very sad, sad moment. Lot of memories,’ he told Daily Mail Australia.
‘We instantly came together as a brotherhood, because we sensed this was an amazing time in broadcast history, and we felt this deep privilege, you know, that we we shared with one another.
‘So, it was like, all of a sudden, you had a couple of brothers.’
Negus’ former Today Show co-host Liz Hayes paid tribute to the veteran broadcaster on A Current Affair on Tuesday
Liz gushed that the 9News star was ‘truly unique’ as she shared some heartfelt words. She is pictured with George Negus (bottom left), Lisa Wilkinson (top left) and Karl Stefanovic (top right)
60 Minutes Australia journalist Charles Wooley, who joined the program in 1993, also said Negus ‘introduced the Australian accent to Australian television current affairs’.
‘Before that, we either spoke like the BBC or like Bob Menzies,’ Wooley told Daily Mail Australia.
‘George first raised eyebrows at the ABC with his unabashed broad Australian accent. But when he went to 60 Minutes that idiomatic style soon became the house look.
‘It worked and now we don’t have to ‘put on the dog’ in front of the camera.’
Just months before his death, Negus’ son Ned posted a touching Father’s Day tribute on social media to the man he called ‘Negsy’ after a family outing to the beach.
‘I was hesitant to post this on LinkedIn, as it’s pretty personal,’ Ned wrote.
‘But then realised you’re all humans and there’s always a place for sharing human realities with your professional network.’
Ned, who is chief commercial officer for the A-League soccer competitions, then referred to his father’s Alzheimer’s diagnosis.
‘He’s now non-verbal most of the time (mind-blowing for me but also any of you that know him),’ he added.
‘Today is Father’s Day in Australia and we had a walk on the beach together.
‘He was clearly not sure why this particular walk was symbolic and sometimes not sure with whom he was walking.
Negus was diagnosed with dementia about five years ago and since late 2021, was living in a Sydney aged facility. He is pictured with 60 Minutes reporter Liz Hayes
‘At one point we stopped, he smiled broadly and then hugged me for quite some time.
‘It was sad, but it was uplifting to know that even when you can no longer say what you feel, you can still DO what you feel. Love you Negsy.’
Negus made his last notable public appearance at the November 2020 memorial service for television trailblazer Gerald Stone, after the inaugural 60 Minutes executive producer died aged 87.
Brisbane-born Negus was a high school teacher until his late 20s when he began writing for newspapers including The Australian, followed by a stint on the ABC’s ground-breaking This Day Tonight.
Negus served as press secretary to attorney-general Lionel Murphy during Gough Whitlam’s short-lived Labor government and was handpicked by Stone to help establish 60 Minutes.
Stone had chosen Negus, Leslie and Ray Martin to front the news program in 1979, when Kerry Packer imported the format from the United States to air on his Nine Network.
He worked on the program until 1986, sharing reporting duties with Leslie, Martin, Jana Wendt and, near the end of his tenure, Jeff McMullen.
At its peak in the 1980s, 60 Minutes was a ratings juggernaut, with a third or more of the national television audience tuning in at 7.30pm on a Sunday.
Negus’ wife Kirsty Cockburn (left with Negus in 2009) relocated into a unit near the Northern Beaches aged care facility in which he was residing, and visited him every day
Negus was the first host of the ABC’s international current affairs show Foreign Correspondent, fronting the program from 1992 to 1999.
He presented George Negus Tonight, previously known as New Dimensions, on the national broadcaster from 2002 to 2004.
The next year he began hosting Dateline on SBS before becoming a regular panellist on Ten’s The Project, followed by presenting 6.30 with George Negus on the same network.
Negus was made a Member of the Order of Australia in 2015 ‘for significant service to the media as a journalist and television presenter, and to conservation and the environment’.
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