Steve Liebmann (born 4 May 1944) is an Australian retired television presenter, journalist and radio broadcaster. Liebmann is best known for co-hosting ''

Today Today (archaically to-day) may refer to: * Day of the present, the time that is perceived directly, often called ''now'' * Current era, present * The current calendar date Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Today'' (1930 film), a 1930 A ...

'' on the

Nine Network The Nine Network (stylised 9Network, commonly known as Channel Nine or simply Nine) is an Australian commercial free-to-air television network. It is owned by parent company Nine Entertainment and is one of five main free-to-air television netw ...

between 1982 and 1986, and again from 1990 to 2005.

Early life and career

Born in

Cooma Cooma is a town in the south of New South Wales, Australia. It is located south of the national capital, Canberra, via the Monaro Highway. It is also on the Snowy Mountains Highway, connecting Bega with the Riverina. At the , Cooma had a po ...

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

, he attended Monaro High School. He became a journalist in Cooma on Radio 2XL while still in high school. He hosted "Teen Scene" from 5:30 pm to 6:00pm on week days, playing the latest records. His sign-off at the end of the show was "Yip yip yehodie, you're a little beauty". Liebmann relocated to

Canberra Canberra ( ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The ci ...

in 1962 and worked at radio

2CA 2CA is an Australian commercial radio station on the AM band serving Canberra. It is jointly owned by the Capital Radio Network and Grant Broadcasters. The station broadcasts on AM Stereo 1053 kHz and on DAB. 2CA was Canberra's first radi ...

, before moving to Sydney in 1967 to take up a position with

Seven Network The Seven Network (commonly known as Channel Seven or simply Seven) is a major Australian commercial free-to-air Television broadcasting in Australia, television network. It is owned by Seven West Media, Seven West Media Limited, and is one of ...

's Sydney bureau as news editor and on-air presenter. The following year, he became a senior journalist at Radio 2UE, and presented an afternoon news and public affairs program on the station which became the top show in its timeslot. He eventually became director of news and public affairs at the station. In 1976, he left to join

2SM 2SM is an Australian radio station, licensed to and serving Sydney, broadcasting on 1269 kilohertz on the AM band. It is owned and operated by Broadcast Operations Group. The SM call sign is taken from the initials of Saint Mary's. 2SM's progra ...

, and also became the host of Seven's ''11AM'' program, as well as anchoring the station's Sydney evening news. He hosted the '' Willesee'' program on several occasions. As a journalist Liebmann wrote articles for '' The Bulletin'' and ''Men In Vogue''.

''Today'' show

Liebmann joined the

in late 1981, to become the inaugural co-host of the national breakfast show ''

'', alongside

Sue Kellaway Sue Kellaway (born ) is a New Zealand-Australian former television journalist and presenter. Kellaway worked in her native country, before coming to Australia, where she was the original hostess of Breakfast Television, breakfast news program, ' ...

, staying with the program until 1987, when he joined the Ten Network to anchor TEN-10 Sydney's ''

Eyewitness News ''Eyewitness News'' is a style of television news presentation that emphasizes visual elements and action video, replacing the older "man-on-camera" newscast. History Pioneered by Westinghouse The earliest known use of the ''Eyewitness New ...

'', alongside

Geraldine Doogue Geraldine Frances Doogue (born 29 April 1952) is an Australian journalist and radio and television presenter. Career After graduating from the University of Western Australia with a Bachelor of Arts degree, Doogue intended to train as a scho ...

. He rejoined ''Today'' in 1990 and remained at the Nine Network, presenting the program across Australia five days a week, until February 2005. He cited a mild heart attack as the reason for his retirement from the show at the age of 60. he was replaced by ''

National Nine News ''Nine News'' (stylised ''9News'') is the national news service of the Nine Network in Australia. Its flagship program is the hour-long 6:00 pm state bulletin, produced by Nine's owned-and-operated stations in TCN, Sydney, GTV (Australia) ...

'' US Correspondent

Karl Stefanovic Karl Stefanovic ( sr-Cyrl, Карл Стефановић; born 12 August 1974), also spelt Karl Stefanović, is an Australian television presenter and journalist for the Nine Network. Stefanovic is currently a co-host of the Nine Network's ...

. After leaving the program, Liebmann expressed disappointment to an AAP journalist about the content and format of ''Today'' under its new management, saying it had become a "poor imitation" of its

rival, ''

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 ...

''.

TV presenting - other programs

During 2002 and 2003, Liebmann appeared on television in a counter-terrorism advertising campaign on behalf of the Australian government. He presented '' Ten Weekend News'' in Sydney during 2006, and hosted ''

Crime Investigation Australia ''Crime Investigation Australia'' is an Australian true-crime series that first premiered on pay TV Foxtel's Crime & Investigation Network in August 2005. The series was also rebroadcast on Free to air Nine Network, and made its debut there on ...

'' on Foxtel, focusing on infamous Australian crimes. He also had a contract with 2UE, as well as doing some corporate work and public speaking. In December 2009, Liebmann replaced Steve Price as Morning Show host on 2UE, but resigned in November 2010.

Awards and recognition

Liebmann is the recipient of several journalistic awards, including the "News Presenter of the Year" from the Australian Commercial Radio Industry and the

Penguin Award The Penguin Award is an annual award given for excellence in broadcasting by the Television Society of Australia. It was founded in 1954. The award trophy depicts an ear listening to a television tube, but strongly resembles a penguin, hence the ...

for Special Recognition for Contribution to News. He was awarded the

Medal of the Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Gove ...

in the

2023 Australia Day Honours The 2023 Australia Day Honours are appointments to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by Australian citizens. The list was announced on 26 January 2023 by the Governor General of Australia, David Hurley. The Australia ...

References

External links

Steve Liebmann
(archived official website)

(archived 2UE blog, 10 December 2009) {{DEFAULTSORT:Liebmann, Steve 1944 births Living people Recipients of the Medal of the Order of Australia 10 News First presenters People from Cooma