Jeff Watson (journalist)

Jeffrey Watson (1942 – 22 February 2023) was a British-born Australian journalist, author and documentary film maker.[1]

Jeffrey Watson
Born1942
Castle Bromwich, West Midlands, England
Died(2023-02-22)22 February 2023 (aged 80)
Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
OccupationJournalist
Known forBeing a television reporter and documentary maker
Television

Watson is perhaps best known for his work on science programs Towards 2000 and Beyond 2000 as well as travel shows Holiday and Getaway.[2][3]

He also had an interest in aviation, producing numerous documentaries on the subject.[4]

Early life

Watson was born in late 1942 at Castle Bromwich, near Birmingham in England.[5] His father owned a small factory which made small parts for the Spitfire.[5]

Watson's ambitions of becoming a pilot were quashed when he suffered a detached retina after he was injured when a snowball containing a rock was thrown at him during his childhood.[5]

Turning to a career in journalism, Watson commenced working at Berrow's Worcester Journal.[5]

Career in Australia

Watson's television career in Australia commenced in the 1970s as a reporter for ABC TV current affairs programs This Day Tonight and Four Corners.[6][7][8]

In 1977 and 1978, Watson was a reporter for the ABC's travel show Holiday hosted by Bill Peach.[9][10]

In 1978, Watson worked as a producer on the Nine Network's new public affairs program 60 Minutes.[11]

He returned to the ABC in early 1979 as the host of Statewide.[12] Later that year, Watson filmed a television pilot for a new science and technology show which was given the working title of Today Tomorrow which Watson later described as "awfully dull".[2] It was later renamed Towards 2000 and became a success for the ABC with the original four seasons airing between 1981 and 1984.[13][14]

After the ABC decided not to continue with the show, preferring to establish another science program called Quantum, Towards 2000 was reworked for the Seven Network. The show was renamed to Beyond 2000 with Watson continuing on as a reporter.[15][16][17] Watson was praised for his entertaining and passionate style of reporting, which drew comparisons to "The Nutty Professor" in the media.[15][16][17]

In 1990, Watson rejoined the Nine Network to work as the executive producer of Clive Robertson's late night news program, The World Tonight.[4]

Watson became one of the foundation reporters for Nine's new travel show Getaway, introducing the program's first episode in 1992.[3][18][19] He continued with Getaway until he left at the end of 1998 and was succeeded by Ben Dark.[20]

Aviation documentaries

Throughout his career, Watson produced and presented many documentaries relating to the aviation field as well as writing a number of books on the subject.[21][22]

In 1989, Watson established a production company called Jeff Watson Productions, although he admitted the company consisted of "just me and the cat".[5]

The first documentary he produced under Jeff Watson Productions was Spitfire Over Australia in 1989. Watson subsequently produced further documentaries including a 1999 biographical film about Sidney Cotton.[23][24]

In 2007, Watson produced a documentary called Southend to Sydney – The Return of the 707 which featured him flying from England to Australia with John Travolta following the restoration of a 50-year-old Qantas Boeing 707.[25]

Watson's aviation documentaries include:

  • Spitfire Over Australia (1989)[26]
  • Confederate Airforce (1991)[27]
  • Kittyhawk (1991)[28]
  • Classic Aeroplanes (1996)[29]
  • The Last Plane Out Of Berlin (1999)[30]
  • Southend to Sydney – The Return of the 707 (2007)[25]
  • The Boneyard (2007)[31]
  • The Shape of Things To Come (2007)[32]

Awards

In 1992, Watson was awarded the Ordre national du Mérite for his services to science journalism.[33][34]

Death and legacy

In 2018, Watson was diagnosed with brain cancer and was given just three months to live.[4]

He died at the age of 80 on 22 February 2023 at a palliative care facility in Greenwich.[4] His funeral was held at the Anglican church in Mona Vale on 2 March 2023.[1]

His death prompted various tributes from those in the media and former colleagues.[35] ABC broadcaster Phillip Adams described Watson as a "major figure in the history of the ABC" while Getaway reporter Catriona Rowntree remembered him as someone who was a "joy to be with" and as someone who had had an encyclopedic knowledge of all things related to aviation.[35]

In a report about his death, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation credited Watson with being a man who "helped pioneer popular science television in Australia."[2]

References
  1. "WATSON, Jeffrey". The Sydney Morning Herald. 24 February 2023. Retrieved 2 March 2023.
  2. Stuart, David (1 March 2023). "Towards 2000, Beyond 2000 presenter Jeff Watson dies aged 80 after brain cancer diagnosis". ABC News. Retrieved 2 March 2023.
  3. Monzer, Suzy (1 March 2023). "Getaway's first ever presenter Jeff Watson dies at 80 following brain cancer battle". 9Now. Retrieved 2 March 2023.
  4. Knox, David (1 March 2023). "Vale: Jeff Watson". TV Tonight. Retrieved 2 March 2023.
  5. Brown, Elizabeth (30 November 1989). "A love affair with the Spitfire". The Sydney Morning Herald. p. 84. Retrieved 2 March 2023.
  6. "TDT back in the fray tonight". The Age. 3 February 1972. p. 32. Retrieved 2 March 2023. Other members of the Melbourne team are Eric Hunter, Peter Couchman, Paul Murphy, and Jeffrey Watson
  7. Plummer, Dale (26 October 1975). "ABC 'breaks into' prison to film inmates". The Sydney Morning Herald. p. 100. Retrieved 2 March 2023. They were accompanied by Four Corners reporter Jeffrey Watson
  8. "City-dwellers pass survival test for TV cameras". The Age. 30 October 1975. p. 38. Retrieved 2 March 2023. Four Corners recently organised and recorded a 14-day survival test involving six people, including TV reporter Jeffrey Watson.
  9. "On a Melbourne Cup package tour with Peach". The Age. 31 March 1977. p. 42. Retrieved 2 March 2023. ...in his contribution, Jeffrey Watson visits Villa in the New Hebrides where, among other things, he learns how to cook a bat!
  10. "Sampling your holiday plans". The Age. 13 April 1978. p. 49. Retrieved 2 March 2023. Bill Peach and reporters Janet Kingsbury and Jeffrey Watson are back on ABV-2 with a new Holiday series
  11. "Team named for new public affairs show". The Age. 24 August 1978. p. 32. Reporting teams gathering material in South East Asia, the US and Europe will be backed by a production crew, including former Four Corners reporter Alan Hogan and Jeffrey Watson of Bill Peach's Holiday show
  12. "Statewide gets a compere". The Sydney Morning Herald. 22 March 1979. p. 8. Retrieved 2 March 2023.
  13. "Future shock could be a thing of the past!". The Sydney Morning Herald. 26 July 1981. p. 50. Retrieved 2 March 2023.
  14. Flynn, Greg (22 July 1981). "Science scrubs up its image". The Australian Women's Weekly. p. 148. Retrieved 2 March 2023.
  15. Smith, Michael (19 September 1985). "Up, up and away! With Rambo, The Nutty Professor, Action Man and Dolly". The Age. p. 35. Retrieved 2 March 2023.
  16. Smith, Michael (19 September 1985). "Up, up and away – with Beyond 2000". The Age. p. 42. Retrieved 2 March 2023.
  17. Murdoch, Anna (12 June 1986). "Watson's science is entertainment". The Age. p. 46. Retrieved 2 March 2023.
  18. Gill, Raymond (14 May 1992). "More fare for armchair travellers". The Age. p. 30. Retrieved 2 March 2023.
  19. Flynn, Greg (18 May 1992). "Getaway Gang". The Canberra Times. p. 29. Retrieved 2 March 2023.
  20. Browne, Rachel (23 May 1999). "Travelling man (con't)". The Sun-Herald. p. 277. ...Getaway's executive producer John Walsh recalled of the hunt to replace Jeff Watson, who left last year.
  21. Watson, Jeffrey (2005). Killer Caldwell: Australia's greatest fighter pilot. Sydney, New South Wales: Hodder Australia. ISBN 9780733639142.
  22. Watson, Jeffrey (2002). Sidney Cotton: The Last Plane Out Of Berlin. Sydney, New South Wales: Hodder Headline Australia. ISBN 0733615163.
  23. Wroe, David (8 June 2000). "The original spy in the sky". The Age. p. 87. Retrieved 2 March 2023.
  24. Watson, Jeff (9 September 2004). "Picture perfect spy". Air Force News. Retrieved 2 March 2023.
  25. "Southend to Sydney – The Return of the 707". Screen Australia. Australian Government. Retrieved 2 March 2023. En route the crew teamed up with movie star John Travolta who owns an identical Qantas aircraft now configured as an executive jet.
  26. "Spitfire Over Australia (1989)". Screen Australia. Australian Government. Retrieved 2 March 2023.
  27. "Confederate Airforce (1991)". Screen Australia. Australian Government. Retrieved 2 March 2023.
  28. "Kitty Hawk (1991)". Screen Australia. Australian Government. Retrieved 2 March 2023.
  29. "Classic Aeroplanes (1996)". Screen Australia. Australian Governnment. Retrieved 2 March 2023.
  30. "The Last Plane Out Of Berlin (1999)". Screen Australia. Australian Government. Retrieved 2 March 2023.
  31. "The Boneyard (2007)". Screen Australia. Australian Government. Retrieved 2 March 2023.
  32. "The Shape Of Things To Come (2007)". Screen Australia. Australian Government. Retrieved 2 March 2023.
  33. Lee Lewis, Jacqueline (11 May 1992). "Antennae". The Sydney Morning Herald. p. 49. Retrieved 2 March 2023.
  34. "A l'honneur". Le Courrier Australien. 10 May 1992. Retrieved 2 March 2023.
  35. Borg, Rebecca (2 March 2023). "Tributes flow for Australian TV presenter Jeff Watson, dead at 80 after brain cancer battle". news.com.au. Retrieved 2 March 2023.
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