Robert Penfold
Encyclopedia
Robert Penfold is a Foreign Correspondent for Australia
's Nine News.
While working for Ten News in Melbourne, he was one of the first reporters into Darwin after Cyclone Tracy destroyed the city on Christmas Day in 1974.
He covered the Granville rail disaster as a Nine Network
reporter and toured Australia covering the first visit of the royal newlyweds, Prince Charles and Princess Diana. During his career at Nine Network
, Robert has worked for Nine News, A Current Affair, Today
(appearing on the first show in 1982) and Sunday.
From 1985 to 1987, he was based in Nine's North American Bureau reporting on Ronald Reagan's presidency, the Challenger space shuttle disaster.
Robert Penfold moved to the United Kingdom in 1987 to establish the Nine Network
's first news bureau in London. During Robert's time in Europe, he covered the IRA's war against the British, the divorce of Prince Charles and Princess Diana, and the hunt for the Australia's most-wanted man at the time, mafia boss Robert Trimboli.
During his time as Bureau Chief in London, Penfold also reported on America's unsuccessful attempt to bring peace to Somalia and the triumphant march to freedom by Nelson Mandela
. Memorable moments include live reports from Nelson Mandela
's house in Soweto
and the fall of the Berlin Wall
on 9 November 1989.
Penfold reported from the former Yugoslavia during the Balkan Conflict
in the early 90s. In 1991, he was one of the first reporters into Kuwait City in the First Gulf War. Earlier, he reported from Baghdad as the Australian Government attempted to negotiate the freedom of Australians trapped in the region.
Penfold spent two years in Australia as head of the A Current Affair office in Melbourne but returned to Los Angeles, CA in 1997 as North American Bureau Chief for the Nine Network
. During his time as Channel Nine's U.S. correspondent, Penfold has reported on the Clinton, Bush and Obama White House, the 11 September terrorist attacks on America, the earthquake in Haiti, and the 33 miners trapped in Chile. Robert also spent time embedded with the Australian Army as he reported on the Iraq War and the Australian military's role in Iraq.
and a Walkley commendation for his story of coming under fire in Iraq. In 2006, Robert was awarded Australia's most prestigious journalism prize, the Walkley Award for TV News Reporting for his coverage of the Hurricane Katrina disaster in New Orleans.
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
's Nine News.
Career
Penfold started his career as a cadet journalist on the Macarthur Advertiser, a local newspaper in his hometown of Campbelltown, NSW. He moved into broadcast journalism, working at the local radio and TV station in Tamworth, NSW. During the past 35 years Robert has worked for all three commercial Australian networks in Sydney and Melbourne.While working for Ten News in Melbourne, he was one of the first reporters into Darwin after Cyclone Tracy destroyed the city on Christmas Day in 1974.
He covered the Granville rail disaster as a Nine Network
Nine Network
The Nine Network , is an Australian television network with headquarters based in Willoughby, a suburb located on the North Shore of Sydney. For 50 years since television's inception in Australia, between 1956 and 2006, it was the most watched television network in Australia...
reporter and toured Australia covering the first visit of the royal newlyweds, Prince Charles and Princess Diana. During his career at Nine Network
Nine Network
The Nine Network , is an Australian television network with headquarters based in Willoughby, a suburb located on the North Shore of Sydney. For 50 years since television's inception in Australia, between 1956 and 2006, it was the most watched television network in Australia...
, Robert has worked for Nine News, A Current Affair, Today
Today (Australian TV program)
Today and Weekend Today are Australian breakfast television programmes, the show is often referred to as The Today Show. The show has been broadcast live by the Nine Network each morning since 1982...
(appearing on the first show in 1982) and Sunday.
From 1985 to 1987, he was based in Nine's North American Bureau reporting on Ronald Reagan's presidency, the Challenger space shuttle disaster.
Robert Penfold moved to the United Kingdom in 1987 to establish the Nine Network
Nine Network
The Nine Network , is an Australian television network with headquarters based in Willoughby, a suburb located on the North Shore of Sydney. For 50 years since television's inception in Australia, between 1956 and 2006, it was the most watched television network in Australia...
's first news bureau in London. During Robert's time in Europe, he covered the IRA's war against the British, the divorce of Prince Charles and Princess Diana, and the hunt for the Australia's most-wanted man at the time, mafia boss Robert Trimboli.
During his time as Bureau Chief in London, Penfold also reported on America's unsuccessful attempt to bring peace to Somalia and the triumphant march to freedom by Nelson Mandela
Nelson Mandela
Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela served as President of South Africa from 1994 to 1999, and was the first South African president to be elected in a fully representative democratic election. Before his presidency, Mandela was an anti-apartheid activist, and the leader of Umkhonto we Sizwe, the armed wing...
. Memorable moments include live reports from Nelson Mandela
Nelson Mandela
Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela served as President of South Africa from 1994 to 1999, and was the first South African president to be elected in a fully representative democratic election. Before his presidency, Mandela was an anti-apartheid activist, and the leader of Umkhonto we Sizwe, the armed wing...
's house in Soweto
Soweto
Soweto is a lower-class-populated urban area of the city of Johannesburg in Gauteng, South Africa, bordering the city's mining belt in the south. Its name is an English syllabic abbreviation for South Western Townships...
and the fall of the Berlin Wall
Berlin Wall
The Berlin Wall was a barrier constructed by the German Democratic Republic starting on 13 August 1961, that completely cut off West Berlin from surrounding East Germany and from East Berlin...
on 9 November 1989.
Penfold reported from the former Yugoslavia during the Balkan Conflict
Yugoslav wars
The Yugoslav Wars were a series of wars, fought throughout the former Yugoslavia between 1991 and 1995. The wars were complex: characterized by bitter ethnic conflicts among the peoples of the former Yugoslavia, mostly between Serbs on the one side and Croats and Bosniaks on the other; but also...
in the early 90s. In 1991, he was one of the first reporters into Kuwait City in the First Gulf War. Earlier, he reported from Baghdad as the Australian Government attempted to negotiate the freedom of Australians trapped in the region.
Penfold spent two years in Australia as head of the A Current Affair office in Melbourne but returned to Los Angeles, CA in 1997 as North American Bureau Chief for the Nine Network
Nine Network
The Nine Network , is an Australian television network with headquarters based in Willoughby, a suburb located on the North Shore of Sydney. For 50 years since television's inception in Australia, between 1956 and 2006, it was the most watched television network in Australia...
. During his time as Channel Nine's U.S. correspondent, Penfold has reported on the Clinton, Bush and Obama White House, the 11 September terrorist attacks on America, the earthquake in Haiti, and the 33 miners trapped in Chile. Robert also spent time embedded with the Australian Army as he reported on the Iraq War and the Australian military's role in Iraq.
Awards
During his career Robert Penfold has won several awards for his reporting. He won the Thorn Award for his coverage of a deadly fire in Sydney, a Penguin Award from the Television Society of Australia for his coverage of a murderous attack on mourners during an IRA funeral in Belfast, a Logie for his story on Sydney winning the bid for the 2000 Summer Olympics2000 Summer Olympics
The Sydney 2000 Summer Olympic Games or the Millennium Games/Games of the New Millennium, officially known as the Games of the XXVII Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event which was celebrated between 15 September and 1 October 2000 in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia...
and a Walkley commendation for his story of coming under fire in Iraq. In 2006, Robert was awarded Australia's most prestigious journalism prize, the Walkley Award for TV News Reporting for his coverage of the Hurricane Katrina disaster in New Orleans.