Former 9News Queensland sports presenter Jonathan Uptin has revealed his next chapter after leaving television – and it turns out he’s quitting TV for love.
After quietly departing Nine following the non-renewal of his contract, Uptin has confirmed he has no plans to return to media, instead retraining as a marriage celebrant and swapping nightly rundowns for people’s biggest, happiest moments.
Uptin exited the network after a 30-year career that began in 1994 and spanned newsrooms in Sydney, Newcastle and Darwin, before he settled in Queensland. In early 2023, he took over the weeknight sports presenter role from Wally Lewis.
Now, with some distance from the newsroom and the news cycle firmly behind him, Uptin says the shift has been both deliberate and deeply personal.
A forced ending, a deliberate beginning
In a deeply personal interview, Uptin revealed to Mediaweek that the end of his television career was confronting.
“I was devastated at the end of last year when I had that meeting. I felt my life was about to crumble, everything I’ve ever known and done, and being so loyal and dedicated to perfection in my job,” he said.
“When that was suddenly taken away, I didn’t go into a dark hole at all, but of course, I was devastated.”
A month-long holiday in the Philippines – timed with his brother-in-law’s wedding – proved pivotal.
“Perhaps it was the best thing that ever happened to me. There is more to life than the daily chase of a news cycle. I want to be part of people’s life cycles.”
That reflection has now turned into action.
Trading headlines for life’s milestones
Uptin has begun retraining as a marriage celebrant, a move he says has been years in the making.
“I’ve had this in my mind that I was going to become a marriage celebrant, even as a part-time job, that I was going to do on the side. I’ve had this in my mind for years,” he said.
He bought a course several years ago, assuming it could be squeezed around newsreading. “And I foolishly underestimated how difficult and how complex it was.”
Now, with media firmly in the rear-view mirror, he’s fully committed. “Yesterday, I sat at the computer and spent 12 hours just doing the course, because I’m so excited to get through and to do it.”
The shift is about people, not platforms. “The fresh change is putting myself around people… in the happiest moments of their life, and who are just in love, and just bringing warmth and good vibes to and bouncing off other people as well.”
He’s also planning to expand into MC work, leaning on experience built over the years in broadcasting.
“I’ve hosted Carols by Candlelight stuff in Darwin. I’ve hosted Australian tourism awards, numerous award ceremonies, and other functions. So I’ll be ramping that up as well.”
There may be another path, too.
After losing both his parents, Uptin says the role of a celebrant left a lasting impression. “I think it’s a really powerful thing to be involved in someone’s funeral and celebrate their life. Taking the pain away from the family and just making the whole process easier for them.”
Uptin and wife, Siobhan Graham.
No return to the newsroom
What’s clear is that this isn’t a pause from the media. “I don’t have any real interest at the moment in going back into media. It’s not something I feel like that part of my life is over, and I want a fresh change.”
For someone who once started each day by checking headlines – “I would live, breathe, eat” – it’s a definitive line in the sand.
At home, the difference is already obvious. His wife, Siobhan, also told Mediaweek: “His face looks lighter. It’s nice to have Jono back.”
After three decades in television, Uptin isn’t chasing another broadcast role. He’s choosing something slower, more personal – and by his own reckoning, far more fulfilling.