Veteran news broadcaster and Golden Logie Award nominee Lee Lin Chin, often seen as the face of SBS for decades, has abruptly resigned from her position.
Notably, Chin covered many critical stories during her tenure, including the September 11th attacks in 2001 and the passing of former South African President Nelson Mandela in 2013.
But just who is Lee Lin Chin? Here’s a look at who she is and her recent resignation.
Lee Lin Chin spent decades in broadcasting and journalism, especially at SBS in Australia
Who is Lee Lin Chin?
Lee Lin Chin is a journalist, TV and radio presenter known for her long career in the broadcasting industry, particular at SBS.
Chin was born in Jakarta, Indonesia to parents of Chinese descent and grew up in Singapore.
Chin began her career in television and radio broadcasting in 1968. After relocating to Australia in 1980, she soon began working for SBS TV as a translator for Chinese-language movies. After working in Darwin and Newcastle with ABC Radio, she later landed a new position presenting the SBS World News weekend bulletin starting in 1988.
Her long and respected career led to a Golden Logie Award nomination back in 2016.
In addition to her iconic role as one of Australia’s most authoritative broadcasters, Chin also worked as Australia’s official spokesperson for the Eurovision Song Contest in 2015.
The veteran broadcaster also made a point to connect with younger audiences in recent years, performing in a series of self-parodying skits on SBS Viceland’s The Feed while also frequently utilizing social media.
Her unique fashion style over the years also helped turn her into a fashion icon of sorts over the course of her career.
Resignation from SBS
On July 26, Chin suddenly resigned from her position at SBS, bringing an end to her long broadcasting career.
She reportedly noted ‘many small to medium-sized reasons’ for her abrupt resignation, but declined to go into extensive detail.
She said: ‘There’s not one big reason, there’s many small to medium-sized reasons, which for the time being I wish to keep to myself but may talk about one day.
‘One reason I shall reveal however is that working two days a week didn’t give me enough time to devote to the pub and re-reading the complete works of Shakespeare. So now that I work zero days that issue has been addressed.’
Michael Ebeid, the Managing Director of SBS, paid his respects to Chin, stating: ‘SBS would like to pay tribute to Lee Lin and thank her for her significant contribution to SBS, but also to the wider Australian media industry.
‘Lee Lin is truly one of a kind and we will miss her colorful personality gracing our screens on the weekend. Lee Lin embodies everything that SBS stands for and will always be part of the SBS family.
‘We respect her decision to embrace new projects and wish her all the very best for the future.’
Chin, in a tongue-in-cheek Twitter post, insisted that she was just resigning and not formally retiring.
Anton Enus, who is slated to return to SBS to present the Friday and Saturday evening news bulletins after undergoing treatment for bowel cancer, also hailed his longtime colleague and fellow broadcaster.
‘I’d like to pay tribute to Lee Lin, whom I’ve worked with for nearly 20 years … She’s a class act. I can’t wait to get back into the studio alongside the best news team in the business,’ he said.
Chin’s final SBS World News broadcast will take place on Sunday, July 29 at 6:30pm AEST.