In its 20 years on air, Lateline has established a reputation as a national leader in news reporting and analysis, receiving widespread acclaim for innovative reporting, investigative journalism and in-depth interviewing.
Lateline began in 1990 as a half-hour, Canberra-based program, presented by Kerry O'Brien. It pioneered the use of multi-satellite interviews in which a single topic was discussed at length by several people in a studio-based debate.
In 2000, the program evolved to include a series of news reports, combined with a key interview in which the main news item was thoroughly explored through expert analysis.
Maxine McKew hosted the program from late 1995 to the end of 1998, with Tony Jones replacing her in 1999. Maxine presented on Friday nights between 2001 to 2006, with Virginia Trioli taking over from her in 2007. Tony continues to present the program on Wednesdays and Thursdays, with Leigh Sales presenting on Mondays, Tuesdays and Fridays.
In its unique form as a hybrid news, current affairs and analysis program, Lateline is positioned to present up-to-the-minute coverage of national and international events, setting the agenda for Australia's news coverage.
The program has received seven Walkley Awards for excellence in journalism.
20 Years of Lateline: Some of the highlights
19 November 1992
After his first year as Prime Minister, Paul Keating talks to Kerry O'Brien about his government's achievements and the likelihood of its re-election.
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17 May 1994
Kerry O'Brien surprises then Opposition Leader John Hewson with internal Liberal Party polling
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16 November 1994
It's 20 years since Nelson Mandela was released. In November, 1994, he was interviewed by Kerry O'Brien.
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30 July 1998
Maxine McKew interviews both US Defence Secretary William Cohen and US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright during their visit to Australia.
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22 October 1998
Utzon's Gift: Maxine McKew interviews Renzo Piano and Glen Murcutt as the program assesses the architectural legacy of the Opera House on its 25th birthday.
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18 March 1999
It's A Rap ...Tony Jones explores the world of Rap music with a range of exponents.
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14 March 2000
Chris Clark talks to US economist Dr Robert Shiller as the so-called dot.com stockmarket bubble bursts.
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18 November 2001
Prime Minister John Howard gives two interviews in one night to the Lateline program to explain developments in the Children Overboard Affair.
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22 April 2002
Margot O'Neill, using exclusive footage, reveals the conditions for asylum seekers at the Curtin detention centre in Western Australia.
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11 May 2005
After a series of Lateline stories revealing that Australian citizen Vivian Solon has been illegally deported , Lateline locates the missing woman.
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27 September 2005
Tony Jones tackles Mark Latham, then promoting his Diaries, over the issue of hypocrisy.
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15 May 2006
Crown Prosecutor Nanette Rogers tells Tony Jones about drug, sexual and physical abuse in aboriginal communities.
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21 June 2006
Suzanne Smith exposes the trade in sex-for-petrol and other abuses in the aboriginal community of Mutitjulu in Central Australia.
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7 June 2007
Tony Jones interviews former Prime Minister Paul Keating who takes a stick to individuals in then Opposition Leader Kevin Rudd's office.
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5 September 2007
Leigh Sales talks to visiting US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice about the Iraq War.
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25 June 2008
Leigh Sales travels to New York to interview Henry Kissinger and then presents the program from Washington, DC.
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11 November 2009
Climate Change sceptic, Professor Ian Plimer, debates climate change believer, George Monbiot, from The Guardian.
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