Peter Overton is one of Australia’s most recognizable faces when it comes to the field of journalism and evening news. Referred to by many as the archetypal Australian news anchor, Overton has been cited by many as a reason people have pursued a career in news journalism.
In early 2009, Overton became the head newsreader for the 6pm edition of Sydney’s Nine News. He had previously been a Nine News anchor for 10 years before switching to work as a reported for the 60 Minutes program for 8 years.
He was born in England to Australian parents in 1966. He was only 2 years old when his family decided to return to Australia. After high school, Overton earned a Bachelor of Economics from Macquarie University.
He got his first big break working in media in 1985 at Sydney radio station. He was quickly selected for an on-air role. He worked in that position until, in 1987, he moved to work as a television reporter on the Sky Channel (Australia’s first satellite TV channel).
Overton officially joined National Nine News in 1991 and worked as a sports reporter. He co-anchored with Tracy Grimshaw during the Thredbo disaster, and also was an anchor for the ARL court decisions.
During his work as an anchor for Nine News, he oversaw the news program climb to number one status in Sydney year after year between 2011 and 2015. He oversaw the news program winning 2 TV Week Logie Awards for coverage of the Queensland floods and the Blue Mountains bushfires.
Overall, Peter Overton remains one of Australia’s most prolific news reporters and manages to effortlessly appear a lot younger than his actual age. Many Australians trust him as a news anchor who has a strong sense of community ethics.