Rebecca Louise Wilson (22 December 1961 – 7 October 2016) was an Australian sports journalist, radio and television broadcaster and personality, known for the comic television talk sports show ''
The Fat
''The Fat'' was an Australian sports based talk show television series, broadcast and produced by ABC TV.The series began on 6 March 2000, and ended on 18 November 2003.
Program synopsis
Host Tony Squires, with regulars Peter Wilkins and Rebec ...
'', in which she appeared regularly with host
Tony Squires
Tony may refer to:
People and fictional characters
* Tony (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters
* Gregory Tony (born 1978), American law enforcement officer
* Motu Tony (born 1981), New Zealand international rugby leagu ...
. She was a panellist on numerous television programs including ''
Beauty and the Beast
''Beauty and the Beast'' (french: La Belle et la Bête) is a fairy tale written by French novelist Gabrielle-Suzanne de Villeneuve, Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve and published in 1740 in ''La Jeune Américaine et les contes marins'' ( ...
'', ''
Sunrise
Sunrise (or sunup) is the moment when the upper rim of the Sun appears on the horizon in the morning. The term can also refer to the entire process of the solar disk crossing the horizon and its accompanying atmospheric effects.
Terminology
Al ...
'' and ''
The Footy Show''. She worked in both the newspaper and television industries for over 20 years and won a
Kennedy Award in 2013.
Biography
Early life
Wilson was born in
Brisbane
Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...
in 1961.
She recollected that she could not remember a time when newspapers were not in her life – her grandfather was a newsagent and her father a journalist. She attended the
University of Queensland
, mottoeng = By means of knowledge and hard work
, established =
, endowment = A$224.3 million
, budget = A$2.1 billion
, type = Public research university
, chancellor = Peter Varghese
, vice_chancellor = Deborah Terry
, city = B ...
and began to study a Bachelor of Arts in journalism, however she was offered a four-year cadetship with the Brisbane
''Courier-Mail'' and abandoned her studies in order to take the position.
After four years of general reporting at the ''Courier-Mail'', Wilson moved into television. She worked for Channel 10 Brisbane, where she reported on the Brisbane Commonwealth Games, the Seoul Olympics and rugby league.
She also worked for
ABC Television ABC Television most commonly refers to:
*ABC Television Network of the American Broadcasting Company, United States, or
*ABC Television (Australian TV network), a division of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, Australia
ABC Television or ABC ...
as a host and reporter on the show Saturday Afternoon Sports, and was later Media Manager for
Super League
The Super League (officially known as the Betfred Super League due to sponsorship from Betfred and legally known as Super League Europe), is the top-level of the British rugby league system. At present the league consists of twelve teams, of wh ...
for four years, a role which she later described as "the most interesting time in my career".
Following this, she moved to
News Limited
News Corp Australia is an Australian media conglomerate and wholly owned subsidiary of the American News Corp. One of Australia's largest media conglomerates, News Corp Australia employs more than 8,000 staff nationwide and approximately 3,0 ...
as General Manager of their Sydney Olympics Division and then Project Manager for the agency's Rugby World Cup coverage.
Wilson continued her newspaper work and a hatred of Rugby League with a sports column in the ''
Sunday Telegraph
''The Sunday Telegraph'' is a British broadsheet newspaper, founded in February 1961 and published by the Telegraph Media Group, a division of Press Holdings.
It is the sister paper of ''The Daily Telegraph
''The Daily Telegraph'', kn ...
'' and also co-wrote a sports blog called ''Bec and Buzz'' with Phillip Rothfield in the Daily Telegraph. Wilson's opinion pieces regarding the
A-League
A-League Men (known as the Isuzu UTE A-League for sponsorship reasons) is the highest-level professional men's soccer league in Australia and New Zealand. At the top of the Australian league system, it is the country's premier men's competiti ...
have been controversial and faced significant criticism. She leaked the names and faces of 198 individuals who were banned from entering football stadiums by the
Football Federation Australia
Football Australia is the governing body of soccer, futsal, and beach soccer within Australia, headquartered in Sydney. Although the first governing body of the sport was founded in 1911, Football Australia in its current form was only esta ...
. As a result, Wilson received death threats from the public and the Football Federation issued a statement urging football fans to refrain from threatening her.
She was a co-host on the
Vega 95.3 breakfast show with
Tony Squires
Tony may refer to:
People and fictional characters
* Tony (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters
* Gregory Tony (born 1978), American law enforcement officer
* Motu Tony (born 1981), New Zealand international rugby leagu ...
and
Mikey Robins
Mikel Mason "Mikey" Robins (born 8 December 1961) is an Australian media personality, comedian and writer. He is best known for the satirical game show ''Good News Week'', which ran on the ABC and Network Ten between 1996 and 2000, and returned ...
. In early 2009, Wilson announced that she was leaving Vega and in October it was announced that Vega would no longer continue with the breakfast show.
Wilson was a regular panellist on ''
SportsNight with James Bracey
''SportsNight with James Bracey'' was an Australian television sports news and commentary program previously broadcast 4 nights weekly on Sky News Australia, hosted by James Bracey. The program was broadcast from the Sky News centre in the Sydne ...
'' on
Sky News Australia
Sky News Australia is an Australian news channel owned by News Corp Australia. Originally launched on 19 February 1996, it broadcasts rolling news coverage throughout the day, while its prime time lineup is dedicated to opinion-based programs f ...
.
Awards
In 2013, Wilson was a joint finalist in the
Walkley Awards for Excellence in Journalism in the Print/Text News Report category. The same year, she was a joint finalist in the
Kennedy Awards
The Kennedy Awards, also known as the NRMA Kennedy Awards, are Australian awards for journalism based in Sydney, New South Wales, run by the Kennedy Foundation, and named in honour of Indigenous Australian journalist Les Kennedy, who died in ...
For Excellence in New South Wales Journalism in the Outstanding Investigative Reporting category and the Splash of the Year category. Her team won the Splash of the Year category. She was awarded 2016
Australian Sports Commission Media Award for Lifetime Achievement, and later that year, a
Walkley Award for Journalistic Leadership.
Television career
Personal life
Wilson was the daughter of former News Limited foreign correspondent
Bruce Wilson, and the sister of sports reporter
Jim Wilson.
She was married to television producer Howard Sacre from 1990 to 2003, with whom she had two children. Her second marriage, in 2012, was to former
News Limited
News Corp Australia is an Australian media conglomerate and wholly owned subsidiary of the American News Corp. One of Australia's largest media conglomerates, News Corp Australia employs more than 8,000 staff nationwide and approximately 3,0 ...
chief executive,
John Hartigan.
Wilson was a repeat offender on driving charges including
drink driving
Drunk driving (or drink-driving in British English) is the act of driving under the influence of alcohol. A small increase in the blood alcohol content increases the relative risk of a motor vehicle crash.
In the United States, alcohol is i ...
and driving without a licence.
Death
Wilson died at her family home in Sydney on 7 October 2016 from
breast cancer
Breast cancer is cancer that develops from breast tissue. Signs of breast cancer may include a lump in the breast, a change in breast shape, dimpling of the skin, milk rejection, fluid coming from the nipple, a newly inverted nipple, or a re ...
.
Her death was announced that morning by her friend and radio broadcaster
Alan Jones who subsequently wrote an obituary in ''
The Australian
''The Australian'', with its Saturday edition, ''The Weekend Australian'', is a broadsheet newspaper published by News Corp Australia since 14 July 1964.Bruns, Axel. "3.1. The active audience: Transforming journalism from gatekeeping to gatew ...
''.
Her death came as a shock to many people around her because she had kept her diagnosis a secret.
Her funeral was held at
St Andrew's Cathedral, Sydney
St Andrew's Cathedral (also known as St Andrew's Anglican Cathedral) is a cathedral church of the Anglican Diocese of Sydney in the Anglican Church of Australia. The cathedral is the seat of the Anglican Archbishop of Sydney and Metropolitan o ...
on 14 October 2016.
Wilson is survived by her husband John and two sons.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wilson, Rebecca
1961 births
2016 deaths
Australian radio personalities
Australian women radio presenters
Australian television personalities
Women television personalities
People from Brisbane
Deaths from breast cancer
Deaths from cancer in New South Wales