Oh my goodness...

That's so sad and shocking.

How can someone who is relatively healthy die so suddenly?

Did he present sport yesterday evening? Will there be an on-air tribute?

I really feel for his wife and kids. Oh dear...

OMG that's terrible news

I wasn't expecting that at all

Wow that is very unexpected.

Just heard the shocking news via AM.

My sympathy is extended to his family, friends and colleagues.

RIP Mainy.

[ Edited on October 1 2007 at 12:28pm by DIY ]

Holy shit.

RIP.

I don't know what to say. I remember when I was younger and hearing about Chris Mainwaring being pulled over for DUI or smoking marijuana, but I really thought he had got over all of it when he met his wife and had his children.

My hearfelt sympathies go to his wifr and kids and to both families at this time.

I have moved from Perth to Melbourne, but am still a keen "Eagles" supporter and to hear of thistragic loss to both football and to Channel 7 in Perth, I am lost for words. Mainwaring was a great footballer and I remember his first game back from his knee injury, the crowd just went mad cheering, which just shows how much he was respected and loved as a team player. I will never forget that great sporting moment.

RIP Mainwaring.

Bloody shocking. A true mentor for me growing up. RIP mate, you'll be missed by everyone in WA.

Very much so. He was a fantastic player for the Eagles and was an excellent presenter on Seven News. I must admit I didn't like his presenting style in the beginning, but he improved greatly as time went on and he was great.

RIP Chris

Very sad news indeed, and a big loss to the media industry here in Perth.

I always really feel for the young children in these kinds of situations knowing that they have lost a parent at such a young age.

No, Adrian Barich presented this weekend, and also last Sunday. The last time Chris presented was last Saturday (September 22). He may have done reports during the week, but I haven't checked that.

And here are the last shots of him presenting on TVW News

[This attachment is no longer available] [This attachment is no longer available] [This attachment is no longer available]

Seven's 4:30 news had the story on Chris in second place with a pre-recorded cross to Geof Parry in Perth.

Chris Mainwaring dies - Seven News update with Susannah Carr


Download video: 7perth_2007-News-Update-Chris Mainwaring Dies.wmv (17.2 MB)

Chris didn't make the opener for Seven News Brisbane. Understandable considering he probably wasn't too well known over there.

Thanks for the video Smacca

I think Mainy would want us to celebrate his life, not the other way round. So here's to you Chris, red or white?

They haven't said a word about him so far I don't expect them to go in to much detail over east considering it's a WA issue, but I would have thought he would at least get a mention. Let's see, perhaps he'll get a mention in sport with Pat.


I reckon more than a few people would be doing just that today. From the reactions I've seen and heard today, his death is definitely being felt across the state in a big way.

Pat mentioned Chris at the end of sport whilst crossing back to Kay saying it was "a sad day for football and the Seven Network family". No actual report though. I guess that's better than nothing.

Let's have a look at a sample of Sydney's story selection tonight.

Which story made the first block?

- A no-name and pathetic singer driving his motorbike into a gutter. End result: only a 10m skid mark and a chip in the gutter.

OR

- The death of a popular man who almost left the WA Premier in tears. End result: 2 children left fatherless, a widow and indeed a state mourning the sudden loss of a great footballer and well-known media personality.


You guessed it. Not one mention of Chris Mainwaring during the Sydney bulletin. Not even during sport, or as a quick message of condolence to a fellow news reporter at the end of the bulletin.

Keith Urban creating a chip in a gutter and a 10m long skid mark was placed in the first block, whilst the Burma Uprising and Federal Politics got shafted to the 2nd block, and Chris Mainwaring was completely ignored.

An absolute disgrace, Sydney. An absolute bloody disgrace.

[ Edited on October 1 2007 at 4:45pm by aamslfc ]

At least 7 Brisbane had the decency to acknowledge the passing of a colleague. Can't say the same for 7 Sydney.

I was getting mad as BTQ news was getting closer to finishing without giving Chris a mention - but then Pat surprised me as he was crossing back to Kay. While Chris' death may not be a 'big' news story over east, I still find it rude that he hasn't been given a proper report on the other state bulletins considering he was a Seven employee.

He was given second position on the 4:30 news, but I would think a mention on the other state bulletins wouldn't have been that hard. Not good.

Ben Cousins was one of the last people who saw him (Ninemsn) ... This story keeps getting stranger.

Oddly enough, the death of Lois Maxwell in WA (former Moneypenny in the Bond films) was covered in Sydney.

That death in WA apparently warranted coverage in the 2nd block, but the other death (of a 7 employee and on-air personality) wasn't deemed important enough.

TVW are showing the footage from the caps I posted in their promos for tonight. I'm glad to see they'll be adding a personal touch to this story.

Hopefully the presenters will be able to get through tonight's bulletin.

Looks like they're dedicating Today Tonight to him as well

It's the lead story on Ten News tonight.

Leading story on Ten News tonight

Oi

Well, lead opener anyway, they're leading with the road death's though.

Hmm they changed their mind... the long weekend road toll has taken first position.

I'll let you provide the commentary

Now they're showing a Rudd vs Howard report

And now Federal Politics.... why lead with something in the opener if you don't lead the bulletin with it!

Exactly. Perhaps something has gone wrong with the reports on him?

They might be doing a live cross to Cottesloe and they're having problems with the link.

It seemed to me like it was a last minute decision not to lead the bulletin with it because Charmaine did a quick "we'll have more on Chris Mainwearing in a moment" read before the story on the long weekend road toll.

Chris Wharton on Ten News.

Nice to see them showing the Chris Wharton statement from the TVW set on Ten News

Today Tonight promo



+ Today Tonight promo (5.26mb)
Right-click link and use the "Save Target As" option to download.

Just so we don't all do the same work tonight (unless people want to), I'll be uploading footage from TVW News and TT. If anyone else wants to do the same, then by all means do so, but don't say I didn't warn you

Ten's coverage of this is processing now and will be uploading shortly.

If someone else can cap and upload something from STW and ABC News, that would be good

No problems. I've just capped GWN's stories, uploading now.
I'll cap STW's stories at 6.

You really don't have a clue, do you?

Sure, I thought Chris Mainwaring at least deserved a V/O somewhere in the news, but having a little sook about Keith Urban's motorcycle accident in Sydney being in the news is laughable.

You're having a whinge yet you're still watching.

4.30 News cross to Geof Parry


Download video: 7perth_2007-430News--Chris Mainwaring Dies.wmv (29.8 MB)

Im over in Melbourne at the moment 7 and 9 handled it very well. Lead story on seven and I think it was the lead on nine aswell.

A Big loss for the eagles, seven and WA.

Susannah Carr presenting TVW News solo tonight.

Sue looked like she wanted to burst out in tears just then

Some amazing footage of Chris being shown on TVW News

Adrian Barich was clearly shaken up with his comments. He says he'll never recover from this.

Hey Kev could you please post a vid of some of it, im over east.

Yep I will. The Ten News coverage is uploading now and I'll do the TVW News and TT coverage a bit later on.

TVW have moved on now. Sue handled that pretty well considering.

Some incredible footage there

Very moving comments from Adrian Barich there, you could tell he was deeply shocked by the tragic news.

I had forgotten that Chris had done the "What's on weekends" segments on TVW News and the "Scratch'n'Win Telespin" draws back in the 90s. He's been with TVW much longer than I thought.

Nine News Perth coverage wasn't bad. First report quite in depth, followed by live cross to Michael Thompson at AFL HQ, then a tribute type report. GWN had 2 stories plus a tribute from Shauna and Troy, followed by a long montage. Great coverage so far.

And Seven's Footy Show on Friday night's before that. Plus he played a role in "Brooksy's Footy Show" on Saturday and Sunday afternoons as well if I recall correctly.

Susannah and Basil have both held up very well presenting this. It must be incredibly difficult for them tonight.

I'd have to agree with SS on this one..I can't understand the fury at Seven for not having a full story. A mention, like in Brisbane, would certainly be appropriate but in a state where they don't care about AFL (let alone the Eagles) it's probably a bit much to expect.

Call me cruel but it's not exactly a life changing event for people on the opposite side of the country that follow an entirely different football code. How did the ABC cover it? I tend to find that they're the least sensational of the lot.

SBS had it first up in their sports segment.

He's a Seven employee and a very big football star. A V/O would have been 'good' but a report would have been more appropriate.

I don't want to get in to this east vs west argument, but I find it hard not to. This is where the eastern states have a bullshit attitude. Why? Because if this were an eastern states player, it would have led the bulletin over here, and on every other bulletin around the country.

At least Pat in Brisbane made a mention... Seven News in Sydney (and elsewhere if they didn't say anything) should be ashamed of themselves for not saying anything at all.

A nice speech by Basil there at the end of sport, very heartfelt.

Indeed. This is all very warming.

TT coming up next and it looks like we'll see some more of his past media and AFL coverage. Chris has certainly been involved in a lot more than I remember.

Don't blame it on the 'eastern states', blame it on those in Sydney..aparently Melbourne had a report and Brisbane had their voiceover. I was just saying that as a rugby league state a report isn't neccessarily what they think their viewers want to see. And I think you'll find that I did say a voiceover would be appropriate - being a colleague and all that.

I'm glad Melbourne (being a big football town too after all) showed something.


I didn't expect Chris' death to lead the bulletins in any of the other states (even I know that's a bit over the top), but he deserved something at least.

Good to see TVW prepared a closer tribute to end the news tonight, ending on a photo of Chris with a slow dip to black before TT.

My capping PC is working hard at the moment, so things may take a while.

Here is the coverage on Ten News...



+ Ten News Perth - Chris Mainwaring coverage (33.9mb)
Right-click link and use the "Save Target As" option to download.

GWN News coverage

Download first report: gwn_2007-NewsReport-Chris Mainwaring Dies-1.wmv (27.1 MB)

Download second report: gwn_2007-NewsReport-Chris Mainwaring Dies-2.wmv (20.4 MB)

(closing tribute will be up later)

edit: fixed second link

[ Edited on October 1 2007 at 7:27pm by Kevin ]

Thanks for that

I wondered why it was bitching when I opened it

I've added the YouTube version of the Ten News coverage to my post above

At least you agree a little mention of Chris (no matter how small) would have been good. I can't believe you'd even support 7 for covering Keith Urban's poor driving. All he did was chip a gutter and all of a sudden it is deserving of a spot in the first block.


Well, I was hoping to see what 7 Sydney would do tonight, and I certainly didn't expect 7 would be so rude in regards to a fellow employee.


I never wanted a full story, but it wouldn't have been difficult for Sydney to do what Brisbane did.


Exactly - a report in Sydney may have been overkill given we had the NRL last night, but a v/o would have been nice. Keith Urban got one for hitting a gutter, so why shouldn't a popular and respected footballer and media personality and 7 employee get the same?

He may be a Seven employee but people in Sydney wouldn't have a clue he's a sports presenter over in Perth, they would only remember him (if they did remember him) from AFL.

It's a big story in Perth, but not so much in Sydney, particularly when NSW isn't really an AFL state.

Seven just ran a Chris Mainwearing tribute ID going into Border Security.

Same ID on GWN, 7 logo too.

It's only not a big story in Sydney because it happened here. If it were anywhere else, Sydney would have been all over it.

A well respected AFL (note the A in AFL - Australian) footballer and media personality has died, and Seven Sydney don't even say anything. It's the media's job to present the news to inform the viewer. Almost every other media outlet in the country seemed to manage quite fine, so there was no excuse for saying nothing.

I'm guessing that was a minutes silence type thing because there was no audio to it.

Nicely done though

I think we've well and truly accepted that there should have been a mention somewhere in the bulletin..

Hmm, this story does get more interesting as time goes on.

Seven Perth - Chris Mainwaring silent tribute



+ Seven Perth - Chris Mainwaring silent tribute (11.7mb)
Right-click link and use the "Save Target As" option to download.

It just gets sadder.

I know it is a bit early for this, but could we see him given a state funeral?

For someone who was famous and popular across WA both on and off the field it seems fitting that Chris' family be allowed the option of a state funeral. Indeed, Alan Carpenter appeared deeply affected and much of the state seems to be in shock.

[ Edited on October 1 2007 at 8:33pm by aamslfc ]

That sounds like a great idea. Based on Carpenter's comments today, I would be extremely surprised if they didn't offer one for Chris. He's played a major part in our community over the years, so a state funeral seems fitting.

The TVW News videos are coming... they're just talking a while.

I'll be posting the downloadable video as a single file (96.3mb in size), but the files for YouTube have been split in 2 parts because of YouTube's 10 minute video maximum.

I need faster upload... my 384k upload speed seems extremely slow with the size of these videos

Nine Network reporter Tony Jones reported in his package that Chris' death was the result of "a suspected ecstacy overdose".

That's starting to make sense based on the information available. He has clearly had personal problems recently and unfortunately it seems he's turned to drugs as a result.

I don't condone drugs under any circumstances (regardless of how bad one thinks their life is), so if he has died as a result of a drug overdose, then he is an absolute dickhead. I'm hoping that this is only a rumour and he's died of something else, bad sadly it's not looking good in that regard

WA has lost a major part of our history (in many ways) today, and I really do hope it's not over something stupid like drugs.

Will we see Adrian Barich become the full-time weekend sports presenter for 7News Perth, or will 7 look for someone else to fill the enormous gap left by Chris' departure?

I was wondering that too. I have no doubt that we'll see Adrian become the new full-time weekend sports presenter in the long term, although I would suspect that maybe Adrian may want to take some time off to come to term with things first if his reaction on Seven News tonight is anything to go by. That said, I honestly don't know who else they could use for weekend sport in the short term other than Mark Gibson perhaps?

Barich will most likely get the job. He's always been fill-in presenter, so I'm pretty sure he'll get it - unless he declines the offer of course. In that situation, I would say Dennis Cometti would be the next best choice.

How would that work during the footy season? Dennis is usually interstate unless he does the Eagles/Dockers home game.

For what its worth, Seven and Nine in Melbourne both led with the story and covered it quite comprehensively for an interstate issue. I can't speak for Ten, I wasn't home early enough to catch it.

I think he will take time off because he was clearly shaken up today. He and Chris were close friends, so this would be affecting him in a big way.

All for a good cause! Mate

I just got back today from bushwalking for 4 weeks and was shocked to hear of this tragic news. Chris was an absolute champion footy player and even better professional on TV. He would be complimented the sterile John Worsfold personality in those Eagles teams.

My memory of meeting Mainy was when are few kids in my class in year 6 were lining up for water slides at Adeventure world and he happened to be there filming for his Channel 7 segment, for a new ride! He challenged one of us to race down the tunnel with him.

What footy needs are personality players that are willing to be themselves like Mainy and have some fun for the cameras. Dermott Brereton, Shane Crawford and more recently Akermanis even if he is controversial are in the same sort of calibre. Mainy was colourful but never got involved in the politics of the game.

Mainy we're going to miss you. Thoughts are with those close to him and at to everyone at Seven and the West Coast Eagles.

Thanks for letting us know

I wouldn't have expected this to lead any of the interstate bulletins (although Chris is definitely deserving of that), but I'm glad they did that in Melbourne

Good point. I'm not sure how that would work... it probably wouldn't. I'm pretty sure Barich will get the job, but if he doesn't want it, then I can't see anyone else in that position except for Mark Gibson... but then his main role isn't sport, so I don't see that happening.

They'll have to make a decision on who will become the fill in sport presenter now anyway. If Adrian does take the job, then they'll need someone to fill in when he's away or off sick.


That's why I'm doing it I usually would have said "this is too hard" (keep it clean) by now and not worried about it, but it's a tragic event and worthy of some time.


Well said

Anyone got a video of the perth opener and the comments made by his colleagues and friends being sue and basil?

Read back a bit .

Um... I already posted about that

They're almost ready.

It always amazes me how quickly Wikipedia seems to get updated when things like this happen.

Okay, here is the TVW News coverage of Chris' death.

TVW News - Part 1


TVW News - Part 2


Downloadable version (both parts combined)
For our guests today who wish to download and watch this file, you'll need RealPlayer or Media Player Classic to open this video.

+ TVW News - Chris Mainwaring's death (96.3mb)
Right-click link and use the "Save Target As" option to download.

It's all very well to "reportt" these unsubstantiated allegations, but shouldn't a journalist's ethos be to present the facts? Maybe there were drugs involved or maybe it was Mrs White in the observatory with the knife, I don't know. All I do know is that the life of a community legend was cruelly snuffed out. Let's just keep off eye on the ball.

I've updated my post above with part 2 of TVW News and added the downloadable video as well.

I'd say Mark Gibson in the AFL season, Dennis Cometti in Summer. I could throw up a few smokys. David Christison, Karl Langdon, Marriana Vlahov, Troy Hynam, Peter Vlahos from Channel 9 and even Simon Beaumont from 6PR

There's a blast from the past. What's he doing these days?


Possible I guess. He works at 6PR along with Adrian so there's a chance of that one.


Also possible and has proven she could do the job.


No way in hell. He can stay on GWN thanks very much


Peter reads sport on the 6PR Breakfast show and 6PR's morning news bulletins, so he definitely could do it.


I think Simon is better suited where he is at the moment, but he would also be a good candidate for the job.

Some good suggestions there

I must of missed the video posted earlier on... whoopsi. Nightline were tonight reporting the death as a drug overdose.

TVC VO's and I'm pretty sure he did commentary on Hockey coverage for FOX Sports recently (at least I'm sure it was Hockey).

Having relied on GWN for the past month, I don't have a problem with Troy Hynam. Some more possibilties: Clint Wheeldon on ABC Radio he use to present on Channel 10 and maybe Steve Nelkovski.

[ Edited on October 1 2007 at 10:49pm by Bergoine ]

Didn't even think of Steve. Fantastic reporter, but I haven't seen him as a presenter so I'm not sure. He's always been good on camera though, so he's another good option

[This attachment is no longer available]

Freaky timing for that ad to show up

Just thinking about sport presenters. Remember the time when all radio breakfast shows had sports presenters? PMFM had Mark Readings and Tim Gossage who went to Nova, 94.5 had Chris Mainwaring of course, Peter Vlahos/Karl Langdon on 6PR, I think Basil Zempilas was on 96 for a while and then Nova had Ryan Campbell, 6IX still has Lachie Reid but only for Footy tips. Even Dixie Marshall use to present on Triple M in Adelaide, notoriously known for being the 1st female boundary rider.

[ Edited on October 1 2007 at 11:02pm by Bergoine ]

You are totally right!!!! Just reading the newspapers today, he is all over the Herald Sun and The Australian (Melbourne papers). It is so sad that his marriage was breaking down, but his kids being the age that they are Maddy 8 and Zac 6 they must know that something has happened to their daddy and that he will never be around again. It is so sad, that another family not long after Steve Irwin will be going through the same emotional battle.

Nice to see people sent in messages

I don't know how Susannah and Basil managed to get through last night's bulletin. Everyone I spoke to today said they both did a wonderful job last night under the circumstances.

Both of them are true professionals

STW videos coming shortly, I had no time to complete them last night.


Totally. I only saw the closer live and that alone showed that Sue had the guts to get on air, not even 24 hours after it happened.

I was reading about the talk about replacements for Chris Mainwaring. Dennis Cometti was the first name that sprung to mind.

In AFL season, he could either present the sport on location on the Sunday night from wherever the footy is being played, or he could possibly do a Monday & Tuesday night, with Basil doing Wednesday through to Sunday.

He's my number 1 pick for the job - if Adrian Barich doesn't accept it. It's pretty much a done deal that Adrian will be offered the position, and I can't see why he wouldn't take it - but anything is possible. If Adrian doesn't accept, then Dennis was my next thought

Mainwaring's death on STW9

Opener, first report: stw9_2007-News-Chris Mainwaring Dies-1.wmv (73.2 MB)
Second report: stw9_2007-News-Chris Mainwaring Dies-2.wmv (51.7 MB)
Sports cross: stw9_2007-News-Chris Mainwaring Dies-3.wmv (13.6 MB)

[ Edited on October 2 2007 at 10:15pm by Smacca ]

Seven will be covering the funeral service for Chris Mainwaring live on Monday from 11am. The broadcast will be simulcast on 6PR

I suspected that they may do that. I think it's a good decision.

Andrew Bignell has put together an amazing tribute to Chris Mainwaring which you can see on The Age website.

Great choice of song and excellent use of words there Andrew

I've just looked at the youtube videos from the Seven News bulletin after Chris died, and I'm surprised no one has said this, but the reports all overlapped with each other. It's like the reporters/producers didn't talk with each other to see what interviews/footage they were putting in their reports, along with the overall angle of the story. For example, that Mark Gibson report was the exact same angle as an earlier report in the first block of the news. A number of reports used pretty much the same grabs from Alan Carpenter as well.

I did notice that too, I just didn't bother to make mention of it.

I saw comments from someone at the other place who said that as well. TT used all of that same footage too. Each reporter obviously wanted to do their own report (Chris was their friend remember) but there was only so much footage they could use.

Granted it was very repetitive, but it's not the norm and considering the circumstances, I don't see it as a problem.

It just struck me as a very repetitive broadcast. The rundown certainly wasn't as polished as what it would have been on the East coast. They may have all been his friend but that doesn't mean the audience has to listen to two reports that are totally identical to each other. I mean it's not like it was 2 reports on the same angle, but using a variety of people - it was the same talent in both stories!

You can say it's not the norm, but it's just like any other news event, and each filed report should have a separate angle. It shouldn't be about the reporters wanting to report on the same thing because they have a connection to the story.

If this were about someone who wasn't as widely known as Chris was, I would agree with you. But here are few people on the east coast who have been at Seven as long as Chris was with TVW. As an example, if something ever happened to Kay McGrath (and I hope it doesn't), BTQ would probably do exactly the same as what TVW had done because she's been there for such a long time.

I don't think it's wrong for things to be a little relaxed when it's something as big as this was. Chris was their friend and colleague, and a big part of the Perth community. I don't think you really understand how well known he was.

The ratings for Monday night also showed that STW News took a big hit, so people were interested in how TVW were going to handle it, and I think the whole team handled it very well.


Reporters are real people too SS. Sure, their reports were a bit repetitive as I said, but it was a once off and under the circumstances I don't have any problem with how they did it.

I've just noticed how quiet Firetorch has been regarding this. Very unlike him to be quiet about TVW

I was going to comment on a few things before, but I was busy.

I didn't agree with a live cross to Basil as the lead for Friday night's news. Seven ended up leading with Chris Mainwaring four nights this week. I also don't see why an Eagles function requires both the sports and weather presenters to be there, but Seven does that every year. Just another example of Seven shoving the Eagles down everyones throats. And then they wonder why the Eagles players turn to drugs and think they're gods in WA.

I did notice the repetitiveness in the reports the other day. They wanted to stretch the coverage out for all of the first block. Hopefully they're more organised tomorrow and provide one or two concise reports about memorial service.

Good article in The Sunday Times today about the Eagles and the WA media.

Jeff was the host of the function so he needed to be there.

Jeff hosting an Eagles function. Why am I not surprised? I'm sure he enjoys every home game from the Seven Perth corporate box.

Why didn't Sue read the weather from the studio as Rick has done for the last couple weeks? It was simply another opportunity to get more Eagles related stuff onto the news.

I missed Friday night's news so I didn't get to see that. There was no reason to lead the bulletin with a cross to Basil - that really could have waited until sport

Lucky him.




Because the weatherman was available?

Jeff has always presented the weather from a number of strange locations over the years.

I notice that they have a particular liking for fashion shows, etc. Fair enough, lots of good looking girls walking around, but what does that have to do with the weather?

Not really. He was hosting a function that night.

I don't think you understand what I'm saying. They can take up the whole 30 minute news with stories about Chris if they wanted, but find a different angle for each story. It's not acceptable to have 2 stories with the exact same angle and talent in the story. I don't care who the person is who died, each story needs to be different.



I do understand how big he was. I also understand how big Steve Irwin was and I didn't see repetitive and the exact same story angles for each story when he died.



I don't care about the ratings - they don't reflect accurately how the news was produced over in Perth, because:

1. People tuned in because he was on Channel 7 for 15 years
2. They could have broadcast a black screen for 30mins and they would have still beaten National Nine News




You're not getting it. People aren't tuning in to watch a repetitive news bulletin that airs the same stories throughout the bulletin. It wasn't a little bit repetitive, it was very repetitive. I don't understand what you mean by "it was a once off and under the circumstances I don't have a problem with it". Huge stories happen all the time - September 11, Bali bombings, Schapelle Corby, Bali 9, Steve Irwin, Peter Brock - and I can guarentee (at least over on the East Coast) that the news bulletins weren't repetitive with the same angle and talent.

The way it was produced was very ordinary.

On that point I will agree with you - they should have had different footage and a different angle to each story. I already said that.


Ah, but there's the difference - Steve Irwin didn't work at TVW for 15 years, so the reporters didn't have any personal connection to him.


You missed what I said - I said that STW News took a big hit last Monday night (much more than usual). TVW News would have won anyway (as always), but STW took a bigger hit than usual because of this.


Granted, they recycled the same footage over and over, but the actual reporting was different for the most part. I agree they could have done better with showing different footage, but as I said - under the circumstances I think what they did was fine.


How can you not understand it? A well known TVW reporter and presenter who has been on air for 15 years, and who was a Premiership football player for many years before that, has died. How often does that happen? It was a rare event and I think the reporters were justified in making this personal. Monday night was their way of honouring their friend and colleague.


You're telling me that I'm missing the point, but you clearly are - none of those people and/or events had any major personal connection to TVW - Chris did. Those are all very different events and you can't compare them to what happened last week.


You're entitled to your opinion. I think we'll have to agree to disagree with this one.

I'm at work so I can't watch the memorial service at 11am, but my PC at home is scheduled to record it for me so I can watch it later. If there's anything worth uploading from it, then I'll make up the videos and post them tonight (unless someone else wants to do them during the day).

Anyone who wants to listen to audio can listen to 6PR (radio or the online stream) or MIX 94.5 who will have a special online audio stream just for the service.

I'm sure he was a great player and reporter, but I doubt we'd see the same thing happen to someone in the East like Stephen Quartermain if he died. It's a bit excessive. I don't care how much the reporters loved him, they still need to present other news that may be more important that 1 single man that died a few days ago.

But it wasn't only about how much the reporters 'loved' him - it was about how much almost everyone did. Contrary to popular belief, TVW aren't that stupid - they only went 'over the top' (as some of you say they have) because Chris was so popular in the community, not just amongst themselves.

On the day this happened, the radio stations all had people calling up talking about him all day, internet news websites had thousands of comments posted about him (even look at the views counter for this article on the AM homepage... that's just insane), all of the television stations covered it throughout the day, and he took up a fair amount of space in The West Australian the following day.

Obviously you guys have made up your minds and aren't going to be convinced otherwise, but I think TVW handled it just fine (for last Monday at least). There was a huge amount of public interest in what happened (as the article views counter here clearly shows as well) and he had a lot of fans because he was a big part of the community.

You can also watch the memorial service live on Sky News from 1pm EST / 11am WST.

Didn't know they were covering it too. That's great to see

Can someone please video and cap it? Ta.

TVW have a "7 News Special Presentation" watermark where the Seven watermark normally sits.

Considering he died of a drug overdose, I hope no one's making him out to be an angel or a saint.

Seven News Perth is doing a excellent job of the Chris Mainwaring Memorial.

They are running it Ad-free.

Rick Ardon in the Studio,Basil and Susannah at the Church.

We don't know that for sure yet, all pure speculation at this point.

Regardless of how he died, that doesn't change the great things he did during his life. It doesn't change that he was a great football player, and it doesn't change that he was a well known media personality in Western Australia.

If it is found that he died of a drug overdose all it does is make him stupid for touching drugs in the first place. It doesn't change anything else.

Some quick caps...

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NOBODY HAS CONFIRMED THAT! geez...

Agreed...

Well, we all know how stoned eveyone is out West... Football players, reporters... nothing else to do?

Okay, let's keep this on topic shall we? I think this is getting a little bit disrespectful.

Exuse Me , Normangerman. That is Very Disrespectful. I would think that there is more of a Drug Problem on the East Coast, than the West.

Mainy was VERY Well known in the West. Everyone from The East has NO IDEA how much he was loved in WA. I commend 7perth for doing such a spectacular Job.

A beautiful service for Mainy, a great way to remember his life.




The woman doing the headlines keeps saying his name incorrectly.

Agreed, and as usual, some brilliant caps

I second this.

[ Edited on October 8 2007 at 12:56pm by DIY ]

Kevin will probably have something better than what I was able to provide at some stage tonight. I don't have a FTA feed in my study yet (where my capping PC is located) so the best I could do was a 4:3 feed off satellite. Kevin would have no doubt recorded the 16:9 feed off Seven SD.

Roger that.

"Don't mention the war!"

There is a bit of a question mark hanging over all of this.

Cause of death will be known soon- won't it?...

Apparently not. I heard last week that the coroner will not be making the cause of death public because it's a private case. Something like that anyway.

Hmm... Call me a bastard, but that all sounds too convenient.

*Expects a Coroner's report any day now*

It was in last Thursday's West Australian... it says the Police and the Coroner are unlikely to release the details of his death to the public. Obviously the family will find out the details, and it will be up to them to decide if everyone else should know or not

Look, I for one don't give a fig how he died. I just want to remember the man for his sporting prowess, contribution to the media industry, services to the community and overall depth of compassion and understanding towards his fellow human beings.

Kevin - it doesn't matter if the reporters or producers had any connection to the deceased person, you don't let your personal life get in the way of reporting/producing. Having the same angles, vision and talent more than once in the bulletin is just pure laziness, especially the person who was in charge of the rundown for the night.

As I recall, especially lazy was having 2 stories on his AFL and Media life. Now, just off the top of my head here, considering they aired two stories on the exact same thing, wouldn't it have been far better to split this story into one story on his AFL background and one story on his media background? That would have been a far better solution. Two stories on his AFL/media life is just ridiculous, especially when the two reports carried the same footage and interviews.

Edit: Also, it's pretty obviously he died of a drug overdose. A fit young person like himself doesn't run on to the street yelling at the top of his voice and then fall unconscious shortly afterwards. Although unconfirmed it's pretty obvious it's a drug overdose.

[ Edited on October 8 2007 at 3:55pm by SydneySider ]

You obviously want reporters to stick to their scripts and who present stories without adding any personal touch to them. I'm glad you're over there and not here. You can keep your boring news over there - we'll stick to adding the personal touch to our news thanks very much. It shows they are real people and I would very much prefer that over some robotic sounding report.

Emotion is all good and well - and trust me the presenters here are more than willing/able to giggle on command - but when it gets in the way of telling the story then I think it's a bit much.

Having the same story with exactly the same vision, angle and interviews is not adding a personal touch!

I agree completely, but this was about their colleague and friend. I don't see why they can't honour him in whatever way they please.


I already said it was a bit repetitive, but it's not as bad as you're making it out to be. Remember you watched all of that in one go, it was more spread out when it went to air.

You guys also have to remember that the reporters don't usually get to pick what footage ends up in their reports usually - most of that is decided by others, and the editors are the ones who put them together.

Yes they should have used different footage in each report (no arguments there) but it doesn't usually happen so it's not that big of a deal really.

Looks like you'll be upset at tonight's news too. Today's 7newsmail just came in...

A good reporter will always sit in with the editor to choose what footage they want used. Every reporter did that at SAS7 when I was there, and it was a pretty busy news day.

Glad to hear that. I doubt the reporters would have known what was in the other reporter's packages though (or would they?). That would be up to the editors and the producers wouldn't it?

I'm guessing they would've known the footage would've been used already in previous reports, they just needed file footage and there wasn't enough.

You're the one who has to watch it..why would I be upset?

I hope they're not going to show large chunks of it.

But I'll probably upload it and then others will watch it and get upset?


Do you think they won't? This is TVW we're talking about.

I'm about to leave work now so I won't see the news (or the service) until later tonight. Will upload anything from the news later if it's worth doing as well.

Looks like TT will be dedicating their whole program to Chris tonight, and commercial free too

And I thought South Australia was the home of suppression orders. Yeesh.

Is Neale Fong the local answer to Eddie Everywhere? He is chief of health, chief of local footy, and a chaplain to boot.

I thought that the other day when he was on the news speaking for the Mainwaring family. I couldn't believe it.

Very touching tribute to Chris at the end of TT

I just watched the end of the memorial service... Rick was in tears at the end of it. I don't think I've ever seen him like that before

I thought Seven did a good job with the coverage tonight.

I watched most of the service on Sky News so I didn't see that part.

TT Was good tonight. 2 stories - Highlights from the Service and a Tribute.

Rick Ardon's comments at the end of the memorial service.



+ Rick Ardon's comments (6.27mb)
Right-click link and use the "Save Target As" option to download.

More videos to come over the next few days.

When reporters get back from shooting their stories they shot-list the tapes the camera man gives to them, they write their script and they select the vision they want to use and where they want to put it in the report. They then find an editor who is free, and sits with them while the report is put together.

You wouldn't however know what footage another reporter uses in their package.

No that tag belongs to Tim Gossage as the West reported yesterday, doing Channel 10 sport and breakfast on racing radio as well as MCeeing a number of events. But i'd say Fong has probably taken over from Basil Zempilas as the new "Eddie"

How the hell would Basil have had that title before?

Basil was quite busy in the early 2000s, hosting "Basils Footy Show" as well as doing breakfast on 6PR and reading the sport on Seven as well as hosting Telethon. Not to mention he hosted the short lived "Perth at 5"!!!!!

What was Perth at 5?

+ Mainwaring report 'shows cocktail of drugs'



Good lord

Told you so. Now can we make jokes?

Apparently Mick Jagger sent a letter of condolence to Chris' family. Chris, it is reported, had been introduced to Mick by Ben Cousins.

what a scoop for STW NNN!

Through Brendon Julian.

My apologies. You are 100% correct - I thought it was some Aussie sports player, but I couldn't remember his name.

Apparently first revealed by Nine News. I wonder why Seven didn't get this exclusive.

Kevin is unusually silent.

STW got the toxicology report - TVW obviously didn't. The report wasn't "released" so STW somehow got a hold of it. Now that they have revealed the details, I guarantee we will see a report on TVW News tomorrow night.

(unless I missed a report).

Disappointed with TVW, Kevin?

Has the toxicology report that STW manage to receive been confirmed as the real deal yet? If so, I haven't heard about it. I am sure that TVW will air a report once the accuracy of the report has been confirmed.

You'll all start on me for this, but you anti-TVW lot need to have some respect for the fact that Chris was their (the people at TVW) friend which some of them worked with for over 15 years. I do not expect them, and neither should any of you, to speculate on why he died until a confirmed report has been released. Other media outlets can speculate if they wish, because they didn't work with him.

Yes, TVW's job is to report news, but they are people too, and as Chris was their friend and colleague I don't expect to hear anything from them about the cause of his death until it has been confirmed.