After nearly three decades behind the SBS World News desk, one of Australia’s most familiar and trusted news presenters is preparing to deliver his final bulletin.
Anton Enus has announced he will retire from SBS in September, bringing to a close a 27 year career that has seen him cover some of the defining global and local stories of the past quarter century.
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SBS’s long-serving news presenter and journalist Anton Enus has announced he will retire from SBS World News in September after an outstanding career at the national public broadcaster.
One of the faces of the SBS network for more than a quarter of a century, the highly respected Enus will bring his career at SBS to a close when he presents his final SBS World News bulletin on Friday, 11 September.
Born in South Africa, Enus moved to Australia and joined SBS in 1999 after 15 years working for the South African Broadcasting Corporation, where he covered landmark events including that country’s return to democracy in 1994.
He took up a casual position in SBS’s newsroom in Sydney, bringing public broadcaster experience and an international perspective that immediately enhanced SBS’s global news coverage. Just one month later, he made his debut as presenter of the SBS Late News and remained in that role for eight and a half years before moving to SBS World News at 6.30pm in 2007, co-presenting with Janice Petersen and Amrita Cheema.
As a trusted voice for the network, Enus presented and reported on some of the biggest news stories of the 21st century, including the Walk for Reconciliation in 2000, the invasion of Iraq in 2003, the Cronulla riots in 2005, and anchoring the news from Berlin for six weeks during the 2006 FIFA World Cup™. Earlier this year, he informed many Australians that war had broken out in Iran on a Saturday night in March.
Enus took extended personal leave in 2017, but returned as SBS World News’s permanent weekend presenter in 2018, bringing warmth and gravitas to that role over the past eight years.
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Anton Enus has been a familiar face on SBS World News since 2007 and will present his final bulletin this September (image – SBS)
Reflecting on his career at SBS, Enus said:
“I will miss that flashing red light in the studio that says ‘ON AIR’, the immediacy of crossing to a reporter in the middle of a hurricane, the importance of being part of a team telling the stories of people that sometimes get ignored.”
“I don’t think it’s too grand to say those things, the nuts-and-bolts of public broadcasting, shore up the kind of society we think of when we evoke modern Australia.”
“It seems extraordinary that the time has passed so quickly. It feels like just the other day that I walked into the newsroom for the first time, a newly arrived migrant from South Africa, looking for a job – any job.”
“I was given a professional home and embraced by this family of broadcasters in a way that for me epitomised what multicultural Australia is all about. We are many but we’re also one. I will enjoy following SBS World News from afar.”
SBS Managing Director Jane Palfreyman said:
“Anton has been a trusted face for SBS’s audience for over a quarter of a century and is a much-loved and valued member of the SBS newsroom and studio.”
“We will miss him as much as our audience will. We want to congratulate him on a stellar journalistic career in Australia and beyond, and thank him for the brilliant service he has given our network. We wish him a happy retirement.’’
SBS Director of News and Current Affairs Mandi Wicks said:
“Anton’s integrity and professionalism over many years have contributed enormously to SBS being one of Australia’s most-trusted news providers. Anton is an exceptional communicator.”
“Over almost three decades at SBS, he has guided audiences through some of the most significant, complex and often devastating stories of our time. His calm and conversational style has built trust and a strong connection with viewers.
SBS World News Managing Editor Adam Mcilrick said:
“Anton is kind, calm and curious, always taking care with every story he delivers. He’s also been a thoroughly wonderful mentor for journalists of all abilities, bringing a warmth and presence to all he does.”
“Those who’ve worked with him, and watched him, over the years are richer for having Anton in their lives. We’ll miss him greatly.”
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