Melissa Doyle facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Melissa Doyle AM
Doyle in 2013
Born	(1970-02-10) 10 February 1970 (age 55) Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Alma mater	Charles Sturt University
Occupation	Journalist television presenter radio presenter author
Years active	1990–present
Notable credit(s)	Sunrise co-host (2002–2013) Seven News Sydney (2015–2019) Sunday Night (2015–2019)
Children	2

Melissa Jane Doyle AM (born 10 February 1970) is a well-known Australian TV presenter, author, and journalist. She has worked on many popular TV shows and radio programs.

Melissa was the co-host of the breakfast TV show Sunrise on the Seven Network from 2002 to 2013. She worked alongside David Koch. Later, she was the host and a main reporter for Sunday Night.

Currently, Melissa hosts Weekend Breakfast on Smooth FM radio.

Early Life and Education

Melissa Doyle went to Pymble Ladies' College for her schooling. She then studied communications at Charles Sturt University in Bathurst. While she was a student, she also worked as a broadcaster at the local community radio station, 2MCE-FM.

Career Journey

Melissa started her career in 1990 at WIN Television in Canberra. She began as a cadet, which is like an apprentice journalist. Later, she became their weather presenter. In 1993, Melissa moved to Prime Television where she worked as a news anchor and general reporter.

Joining the Seven Network

After working at Prime, Melissa joined the Seven Network in 1995. She started as a political reporter in Canberra. Later, she moved to Sydney. There, she read the news on a show called 11AM and gave afternoon news updates.

Melissa was one of the first hosts of the breakfast show Sunrise. The show was stopped in 1999 but brought back in 2000. She rejoined Sunrise in 2002. She also read the Seven Late News for a while.

In 2000, she became the host of Sydney's Today Tonight. She stayed until March 2001 when she took time off for maternity leave.

Melissa supports the Greater Western Sydney Giants AFL team. In 2012, she became their first ever "No. 1 Ticket Holder." This is an honorary title for a famous fan.

Time on Sunrise

When Melissa returned to Seven after maternity leave, she took on various news and presenting roles. She was then asked to host a new version of Sunrise with Chris Reason. Later, David Koch replaced Chris.

Melissa and David, guided by producer Adam Boland, helped Sunrise become the most popular breakfast TV show in Australia. It stayed number one throughout Melissa's time there. People even called her the 'Queen of Australian Brekky TV'.

In 2003, Melissa had her second child, and her pregnancy was often talked about on the show.

Melissa was nominated for a Silver Logie Award for Most Popular Television Presenter five times, from 2006 to 2010. She was the only woman nominated in that group.

Melissa was involved in a legal case about sharing information about a young person. The court said the information should have been kept private. While Melissa and other journalists were not found guilty, the TV network was.

While hosting Sunrise, Melissa covered many big stories in Australia. These included the Beaconsfield Mine collapse and the 2010–11 Queensland floods. She also covered international events like the Royal Wedding.

On 20 June 2013, Melissa announced she would leave Sunrise. She wanted to take on a new national role at the Seven Network. Her last show was on 9 August 2013. It was the most-watched episode of Sunrise that year.

After Sunrise Roles

Doyle in 2015

In August 2013, it was announced that Melissa would host a new national news program called Seven Afternoon News at 4pm on weekdays. She hosted this with Matt White. She also hosted Seven News at 7 on Seven's digital channel 7two. This show stopped in May 2014.

Melissa started presenting Seven News at 7 on 12 August and Seven Afternoon News on 19 August. She also hosted the first debate for the 2013 Australian federal election between Kevin Rudd and Tony Abbott. This debate was on 7two on 11 August. She was also part of the 2013 federal election broadcast team.

In December 2013, Melissa co-hosted Carols in the Domain with Matt White.

In June 2015, Melissa took over from Chris Bath as host of Sunday Night and Seven News Sydney. She left Seven Afternoon News in late July.

In August 2016, Melissa moved into a bigger role as host and senior reporter for Sunday Night. Michael Usher then replaced her on Seven News Sydney.

In October 2019, Sunday Night was cancelled. Melissa stayed with the Seven Network in various news reading roles.

In March 2020, Melissa joined Michael Usher to host Seven News: The Latest during the COVID–19 crisis. She became the regular Monday presenter for this show until August.

In August 2020, Melissa announced she was leaving the Seven Network after 25 years.

In July 2022, it was announced that Melissa would return to the Seven Network. She would host the new version of This is Your Life. The first episode, on 24 July 2022, featured Olympic swimmer Ian Thorpe.

Radio Work

In October 2013, Melissa joined smoothfm to host Weekend Breakfast. Her show became very popular. In June 2014, it had the highest market share ever for the station. It became the second most popular FM weekend breakfast show for all listeners aged 10 and over. For women aged 40–54, Melissa's show was the number one FM Weekend Breakfast program.

In October 2014, Melissa won the Best Newcomer On-Air (Metro) award at the Australian Commercial Radio Awards. In October 2018, she won Best Music Presenter at the same awards.

Other Projects

In October 2007, Melissa's first book was published. It was called The Working Mothers Survival Guide and she wrote it with Jo Scard. Over 10,000 copies were sold very quickly. In 2014, she released her second book, Alphabet Soup. This memoir was the best-selling Australian memoir for its first few months. Melissa and David Koch also co-hosted another Seven Network show called Where Are They Now?.

In 2008, Melissa was chosen to host a new documentary series on the Seven Network called The Zoo. The show ran for six weeks. A second series started in October 2008. It attracted over 1.7 million viewers each week, making it one of the top five programs in Australia at the time.

Melissa also wrote a weekly column for the Sunday Herald Sun newspaper in Melbourne. It was called "Balancing Act" and was about her experiences as a working mother.

In March 2021, Melissa joined Sky News Australia for a special interview. She interviewed Kylie Moore-Gilbert, an Australian academic who had been imprisoned in Iran.

In February 2022, Melissa narrated a new documentary series on the Nine Network. It was called "Australia Behind Bars with Melissa Doyle". This show looked at the lives of people in prison.

In November 2022, Melissa released her third book, 15 Seconds of Brave. She reunited with her former Sunrise colleagues to promote her new book.

In 2024, Melissa appeared on the show Who Do You Think You Are?. On the show, she traced her family history back to New Zealand.

Charity Work

Melissa Doyle is very active in charity work. She is the National Patron for Make-A-Wish Foundation Australia. She is also an ambassador for several other important charities. These include The Alannah and Madeline Foundation, Westmead Children's Hospital, World Vision, Children's Cancer Institute, and the National Breast Cancer Foundation.

Melissa is also an ambassador for the Federal Government's National Road Safety Council. She is the Number One Ticket Holder for the GWS Giants (AFL) and Whittlesea Eagles (Vic AFL). From 2013 to 2018, she was the Chairperson for the GIANTS Foundation Charity. In 2018, she joined the Board of Directors for the GIANTS.

Awards and Recognition

Melissa Doyle was made a Member of the Order of Australia in 2016. This award recognized her great service to the community through her work with many charities and her career in broadcast media.