Charlie Pickering doesn’t owe the ABC everything, but he does owe it a lot.
His first regular media gig was as host of Triple J’s Drive program back in 2001, a position he landed after being invited by Wil Anderson to do guest spots on Breakfast.
After stints in commercial media, including on the Comedy Channel and Channel V, as well as co-hosting The Project for five years, he returned to the ABC to host The Weekly, a satirical news program that has run for the past 11 years.
As well as that, he co-hosted another ABC TV program Tomorrow Tonight, hosted ABC Melbourne’s Breakfast show on Fridays in 2023, took over hosting Richard Glover’s Thank God It’s Friday show on ABC Sydney, and just last month was announced as the new host of Drive on ABC Melbourne.
The public broadcaster has showered him with gigs, including his continued hosting of the ABC’s last remaining satirical news show, which has outlasted Shaun Micallef’s Mad As Hell and Tom Ballard’s Tonightly. He’s in an extremely rare, lucky and privileged position.
That is why his decision to publicly criticise the broadcaster for working with former Australian of the Year Grace Tame – a decision that has provided the ABC’s powerful enemies with fresh ammunition to use against the broadcaster – has left so many of his colleagues bewildered and disdainful.
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