Presenter Angela Cox is stepping into a new career chapter, taking on the role of co-anchor of the 6pm 7NEWS Sydney Bulletin alongside seasoned broadcaster Mark Ferguson.
Ahead of the change, the presenter has looked back on her career, which began in regional Australia and has since spanned continents.
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For Cox, the path to the 7NEWS desk began long before her official start in journalism.
“From the moment I was eight, I watched the news and realised that’s what I wanted to do,” she tells 7NEWS.com.au.
“My granddad lived in a caravan behind our house, and I used to go up every day and talk to him, recording him on a tape— I would interview him about his life.”
Her early fascination with telling others’ stories didn’t end there.
“When my sister learned to ride a bike, our friends had a home video camera, and I had them record me doing a piece to camera in front of her.”
Cox’s childhood ambition was crystal clear — she was destined for a career in journalism.
She studied journalism in Queensland and initially wanted to work for women’s magazines like Marie Claire, she recalls.
“But I met a television person and talked them into giving me work experience.”
This first opportunity blossomed into a prolific career, working in Lismore, Tamworth, the Gold Coast and, eventually, Sydney.
For three months, she completed work experience through the week and would hold a part-time job on weekends to make ends meet.
This led her to what is now a 25-year tenure with the Seven Network.
Reflecting on her early days, Cox acknowledges the vast changes in the industry.
“When I first became a court reporter, we still had pagers,” she said, laughing that this may “date her”.
“Mobile phones were a later addition … so much has changed.
“I mean, my second year of university doing journalism, one of the subjects was ‘How to use the World Wide Web’.
“Now, of course, the internet has changed the way we deliver, find and digest news.”
Despite these technological advances, Cox emphasises that the core principles of journalism remain unchanged.
“The fundamentals are the same, you have to be someone who enjoys people.
“The very best journalism is about sharing people’s stories and getting people to trust you so you can share their stories — it’s not about ego.”
Reminiscing on some of the challenges through her career, Cox says it can be difficult as a “green” journalist in their early 20s because “you don’t know much about life’s complexities”.
“Journalism is about experience.
“What do you know about a cost of living crisis, or paying insurance and being able to find money to look out for children? You’re just not aware of a lot of stuff.
“So you have to learn a lot quickly.”
But then on the other hand, she found that being on TV for some time, the challenge comes of “staying relevant”.
Across her career, Cox covered some of the world’s biggest events as US correspondent for seven years, including the wedding of the Prince and Princess of Wales, the Olympics, Queen Mary welcoming her twins, and she stood in the Oval Office when President Obama welcomed then-Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull.
In terms of the glitz and glam of the US, Cox covered five Academy Awards shows, Golden Globes, Grammys and Emmys.
She says that she began to become “known” to the Australian public during this time. However, it did not impact her, who could walk around freely in the US, passersby blissfully unaware she had just presented on TV.
So it was a surprise to finally return home and find things had changed.
“When I came back, I remember I was out with friends and someone on Twitter posted, something saying, ‘Oh, I saw you go to bar dancing with your girlfriends last night’.
“I felt so exposed because they said where I was, and all of a sudden it was like, ‘Oh, God, I just didn’t think of it’.”
Now back in Australia, Cox began to present the news, most recently alongside Michael Usher to deliver the 6pm bulletin on weekends.
Another part of her status as a senior journalist is being trusted with rolling covering — recently called in on a day off to cover the assassination attempt of Donald Trump on July 14.
“It was on a day off when I was supposed to be painting my bedroom.,” she recalls.
“I had to rush to the office for rolling coverage. It felt like running on marbles—trying to stay calm and filtered, knowing that once something is on TV, it’s out there for good.”
Now, as she embarks on this new role, Cox is filled with excitement and gratitude.
“It sounds so cliché, but I’ve loved reading news with Michael Usher on weekends, and now to do it five days a week with Fergo is an honour.’
Ferguson has been presenting the 6pm bulletin since 2014.
“He’s a class act, and I feel like we’re going to be a great team,” she says.
Meanwhile, Ferguson said of his new co-anchor: “I’m really looking forward to it.
“Ange will add so much extra to the bulletin each night; more experience, more energy and it will allow us to be much more versatile when that big stories break.
“In some ways it’s a fresh start for me, I’ve never really co-presented before so I’m hoping Ange can teach this older dog some new tricks. She is a talented journalist, a great presenter and an even greater person.
“Very honest and very positive with real drive and energy.”
Join Mark Ferguson and Angela Cox for their first 7NEWS Sydney bulletin Sunday 8 September live at 6.00pm.