“My first love is journalism and long-form features are my passion.”

After a year as host of Channel Seven’s Today Tonight program, Helen Kapalos resigned last week – having been appointed as senior correspondent with the network’s flagship news and public affairs program Sunday Night.
Ms Kapalos told Neos Kosmos that she was thrilled at the appointment, which will also see her work across Seven News, Sunrise and The Morning Show.
“This is a dream gig for me and what I have been working towards. My first love is journalism, and long-form features are my passion,” said the much-travelled Melbourne-based presenter, who added that whilst she loved her time at Today Tonight, the program had not given her the time to work on her “core desire”.
Coinciding with Helen’s exit, the future of Today Tonight has come into question, with Channel Nine recently launching a national one-hour news bulletin and moving A Current Affair to 7.00 pm, seeing Nine increase its ratings across the 6.00 pm to 7.30 pm slot.
Seven has responded by extending its Sydney and Melbourne bulletins to 40 minutes and cutting Today Tonight to 20 minutes. Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth versions of Today Tonight remain at 30 minutes.
Last week Fairfax Media reported that Seven is contemplating a one-hour news service, which could see Today Tonight axed or incorporated into the extended bulletin.
Paying tribute to Kapalos’ 12 months as Today Tonight’s host, Seven West Media’s group chief operating officer Nick Chan, said: “Helen has put in a good year on Today Tonight and we thank her for that. We understand her decision to go back to her first love: reporting. We congratulate her on that appointment.”
Ms Kapalos – who spoke to Fairfax Media in November about losing her mother Joanna to cancer, and her own recent diagnosis and treatment for the same illness – joined Seven after she was sacked by Ten in a cost-cutting drive.
As an ambassador for the Ovarian Cancer Research Foundation for the past eight years, she has striven to raise awareness of the disease and the need for early diagnosis.
Ms Kapalos has worked for ABC, SBS and Nine and written, directed and produced an award-winning documentary about the closure of Newcastle’s BHP steelworks while at regional TV station NBN.