Early life
Wendt was born in Melbourne to Czech parents who emigrated to Australia in 1949, as political refugees on account of her father's work as a journalist for a Czech dissident newspaper. Wendt attended Presentation College, Windsor before graduating at theCareer
Starting as a researcher for the ABC, Wendt's television career began as a journalist for ATV-10 evening news, before sharing presenting duties with David Johnston. In 1982, Wendt then went on to be one of the first reporters on the AustralianDeparture from Nine Network
Rumours of Wendt's departure from Nine began in June 2006, when the network announced it would merge its ''Sunday'' and ''Business Sunday'' programs. Leaks to the print media, reportedly from high levels within Nine and described by journalists as "ham-fisted", revealed that the network wanted to replace Wendt with Ellen Fanning. Then CEO Eddie McGuire in particular was accused of trying to " white-ant" Wendt. On 1 September 2006, it was announced that Wendt would leave the Nine Network. News reports suggested she would receive a payout of more than A$2 million in lieu of the remaining two and a half years of her contract. The absence of Wendt on the ''Sunday'' program's relaunch on 3 September 2006 was met with an unprecedented number of complaints that flooded the Nine Network's switchboard. Wendt was then sacked from her regular "Lunch" column for '' The Bulletin'' magazine, due to the association the magazine has with the Nine Network; both had the same parent company, PBL. On 12 September 2006, just ten days after she left the Nine Network, Wendt agreed to appear on stage at the Seven Network's ''50 Years of Television'' presentation, where she co-presented the News and Current Affairs section with Sydney news presenter Ian Ross, another former Nine Network employee. Delivering the second Andrew Olle Media Lecture in 1997, Wendt said of the profession: Wendt presented the Logies Hall of Fame award to the program ''60 Minutes'' at the 2018 Logies.Personal life
Wendt married producer Brendan Ward in 1984 and they have one son, Daniel. InAwards
Wendt won the 1992 Gold Logie Award for her role as host of ''A Current Affair''. She was not at the presentation to accept her award, citing commitments to ''A Current Affair'', based in Sydney, while the awards were being presented in Melbourne. Wendt won a Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2018 Kennedy Awards.Books published
* ''A Matter of Principle – New Meetings with the Good, the Great and the Formidable'', Melbourne University Press, 2007. . * ''Nice Work'', Melbourne University Press, 2010. * ''The Search for MH370 Deepest Dive'' (2022), eight-part podcast presented by Jana Wendt and Peter WaringReferences
External links
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wendt, Jana 1956 births Australian television newsreaders and news presenters Australian people of Czech descent Gold Logie winners Living people Journalists from Melbourne Australian broadcast news analysts University of Melbourne alumni Australian women television journalists