Breakfast television is a juggernaut into which one does not step lightly. For Syrian-born Abo, an unwavering focus on the audience – and its ability to spot insincerity – is serving her well.
Sarah Abo is, in her own words, “a real Melbourne girl”. She moved there from Syria with her family when she was four, barracks hard for Collingwood, only begrudgingly admits Sydney’s restaurants pass muster – and, yes, she’s wearing black. “My blood runs black, it’s so Melbourne,” she says.
Stefanovic says if you enjoy each other’s company, respect each other and care about the craft, it works. “It should be nothing but easy.”A self-described night owl, Abo has had to adjust to the oppressive schedule of breakfast television. She once slept through her alarm while filling in last year, which naturally led to a good-natured on-air roasting from Stefanovic and the team. Lesson learnt. “I try to get to sleep at 8pm, but it’s probably closer to 9pm,” she says of her new routine.
“If we get it right, it’s exhilarating and there’s no better job. But when you get it wrong... they will let you know.”Breakfast TV is notoriously competitive, though Abo and Stefanovic say they don’t expend a lot of time or energy obsessing about what their rivals are up to. Their focus is firmly on the viewers’ feedback, which can be brutal. “If we get it right, it’s exhilarating and there’s no better job,” Stefanovic says.
While there is still a lot of room for improvement in the diversity stakes, the media industry has come a long way. Abo is Syrian-Australian, Stefanovic is of Serbian background, news and entertainment presenter Brooke Boney is a proud Gamilaroi woman who started her career at NITV, while sports reporter Alex Cullen is, as Stefanovic teases, “the token white guy from country NSW”. More important, says Abo, is diversity of views and opinions.
She is still adjusting to the sudden appearance of paparazzi in the streets , but for the most part she is comfortable with the new-found attention.SARAH ABO, TODAYin January just as footage was published of Stefanovic and cricketer Michael Clarke engaged in a public fracas while on holiday in Noosa. In the middle of the summer-news dead zone, the story was a firecracker.If it made Abo’s debut more daunting, she isn’t dwelling on it.
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