Sally Sara has been announced as Patricia Karvelas’ replacement on ABC Radio National Breakfast.
‘We’ll be covering what’s going on right across the country, and also given the kind of stories that are unfolding internationally as well, obviously, that international news would be hugely important as well,’ Sara said on Friday morning.
An award-winning journalist, Sara has reported from more than 40 countries as an ABC foreign correspondent, including across Afghanistan, Iraq, Africa and India and worked for Foreign Correspondent and Landline.
She has extensive experience in audio journalism and has been presenter of The World Today since 2020.
‘I’m extremely grateful for the opportunity to join the team. I can’t wait,’ Sara said.
‘I will work hard to engage the audience with stories from across the country and around the world.’
Karvelas announced she was quitting the ABC Radio National Breakfast show in October.
‘After a decade, it’s time to change it up, and I’m ready to lean into a new cross-platform role,’ she said.
Journalist Sally Sara (pictured) has been announced as Patricia Karvelas’ replacement on ABC Radio National Breakfast from 2025
ABC star Patricia Karvelas (pictured) announced she was leaving the Radio National Breakfast show in October
‘Sally is one of the ABC’s most experienced journalists and beloved foreign correspondents,’ Karvelas said.
‘I’m so happy for the Radio National listeners who will not only receive first class news and analysis every day but also benefit from Sally’s deep international experience at this time of great global upheaval.’
ABC Director, News Justin Stevens said, ‘Sally Sara is a hugely experienced journalist and broadcaster and it’s wonderful to welcome her to this key role on Radio National Breakfast.’
‘Patricia Karvelas has contributed enormously in this role, following on from Fran Kelly’s 17 years with the program, and Sally will continue a great tradition,’ Mr Stevens said.
Joining Sara on Radio National Breakfast will be political correspondent Melissa Clarke, business correspondent Peter Ryan and news presenter Luke Siddham Dundon.
Sara will present Summer Breakfast from 16 December to 3 January.
The complete new line-up will start on air from 20 January, with the program changing its start time to 5.30am AEDT.
Sara has won two Walkley Awards, one for television news and the other for radio and has written for the New York Times and Boston Globe.
She has twice been a finalist in the Graham Perkin Award — Australian Journalist of the Year.
She has won four UN Media Awards and been nominated for AACTA and Logie Awards.
In 2007 she was selected as the International Women’s Media Foundation Elizabeth Neuffer Fellow in Washington DC.
Her book, GOGO MAMA, profiled the lives of 12 African women and was longlisted for the Walkley Non-Fiction Book Award.
Sally Sara (pictured) has reported from more than 40 countries as an ABC foreign correspondent, including across Afghanistan, Iraq Africa and India and worked for Foreign Correspondent and Landline. Sara will take over the Radio National Breakfast program in 2025
In 2011, Sara was appointed as a Member of the Order of Australia, AM, for service to journalism and the community.
She grew up in town of Port Broughton in South Australia.
Karvelas has struggled to attract listeners, with her RN Breakfast program ranking last in Sydney in the most recent GfK survey, which showed a 2 percent audience share — a decline of 0.5 percentage points from the previous survey.
ABC chairman Kim Williams said in June that he was concerned by the declining ratings and flagged changes.
‘I would like to see larger audiences for Radio National,’ Mr Williams said in an interview with Karvelas.
‘I would like to see Radio National lift its ambitions in terms of its role in Australia.’
Before joining the public broadcaster in 2015, Karvelas worked for The Australian newspaper for 13 years and had a brief stint at Sky News Australia.
After being appointed as the Breakfast host, she addressed the perception of left-wing bias at the ABC.
‘Everyone has their own biases, because we all have a ‘lived’ experience — the suburb we live in, the families we’re from, the schools we went to,’ she told The Australian.
‘But all of the professionals I’ve worked with at the ABC question their own biases.’
