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Veteran financial journalist Alan Kohler, 74, will retire from the ABC at the end of the year, with his final 7pm finance report on December 16. Treasurer Jim Chalmers and ABC executives paid tribute to his 50-year career, while the ABC will announce his successor in coming weeks.
Veteran financial journalist Alan Kohler will retire from the ABC at the end of the year, with his final finance report set to air on December 16.
Alan Kohler Announces ABC Retirement
The announcement ends a 24-year run as the public broadcaster's 7pm news finance presenter, a role he has held since 2002. Kohler, now 74, said he was ready to spend more time with his family. In a statement published on the ABC website, he said he had always loved the ABC, even more so after he joined it.
I find it very hard to imagine this wonderful place not being part of my life, but I am 74 and it is time to spend more time with my family, including the six grandchildren, he said. I love the ABC, always have, even more so after I joined it. Kohler joined the ABC in 1995 as business and economics correspondent for the 7.30 Report after an accomplished career in print.
He went on to host Inside Business for many years and became famed for his dry humour, inventive use of graphics and his and that is finance sign-off. Treasurer Jim Chalmers led the tributes, saying Kohler's contribution has been immense and his finance reports will be really missed from ABC and from the TV screens in suburbs right around Australia.
He said Kohler had always done a wonderful job boiling down some of the difficult and complex interactions in our economy. Chalmers said he had exchanged messages with Kohler since the retirement was announced and wanted to publicly say how much he will be missed. He said he hopes and expects Kohler will continue to make a contribution to economic commentary in the country.
ABC Leadership Praises Kohler Legacy
ABC managing director Hugh Marks said Kohler had made an extraordinary contribution to the ABC, its audiences and the nation. For decades, he has helped Australians make sense of complex issues with insight, clarity and a uniquely engaging style, always delivered with warmth, humour and that trademark cheeky grin, Marks said. Marks added he cannot thank Kohler enough for everything he has given to the ABC and its audiences.
While this marks the end of an incredible chapter, it is certainly not the end of Alan's contribution, just the beginning of a new one, he said. Freshly arrived ABC news boss Simon Robinson also paid tribute. Sadly for us, and for the audiences who treasure him, Alan has decided to call time on this distinguished ABC tenure at the end of this year, Robinson said.
Robinson said Kohler will remain connected to the ABC and the broadcaster will talk to him about future ideas and projects. He said there will be much more to say about Kohler and his remarkable contribution closer to his departure date. Robinson also said the ABC will tackle the difficult task of selecting Kohler's successor on the 7pm bulletin, with an announcement to be made in coming weeks.
Kohler Future Role and Career
Kohler is expected to continue his association with the broadcaster through one-off specials. Before television, Kohler had a successful career in print, serving as editor of The Australian Financial Review and The Age. He was a former Chanticleer columnist for the AFR and later joined The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age as senior business columnist. He also founded the online news sites Eureka Report and Business Spectator.
Over his more than 50-year career, Kohler was honoured with the Order of Australia in 2019 for his services to the media, and he has been inducted into the Australian Media Hall of Fame. Kohler currently writes a weekly column and hosts the podcast That's Business every Friday.
He has also written a number of books, including The Great Divide: Australia's Housing Mess and How to Fix It and It's Your Money: How Banking Went Rogue, Where It Is Now and How to Protect and Grow Your Money. Former ABC broadcaster Phillip Adams said on X it was sad news that King Kohler was leaving. Economist Stephen Koukoulas said Kohler had made a huge contribution to economics, policy and markets and was a thoroughly fabulous chap.
There will still be a Kohler presenting finance news, with his son Chris Kohler now the finance editor for Channel 9, owned by Nine, publisher of this masthead.
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GuardianAus:ABC finance journalist Alan Kohler to retire after three decades as Jim Chalmers says he will be ‘really missed’This story was compiled and edited by the HeadTopics newsroom and HT AI from the reports above.
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