Michael Charlton, the journalist and broadcaster who became the first person to appear on ABC television and the inaugural presenter of Four Corners, has died at the age of 98.
The Telegraph in the UK reported that Charlton “died at home aged 98 on 24th August 2025. He was a journalist with the BBC and before that a cricket commentator and journalist with the ABC in Australia.”
No further details have been released.
Charlton was born in New Zealand and grew up in Australia, the elder brother of sports broadcaster Tony Charlton. When the ABC launched its television service in November 1956, just ahead of the Melbourne Olympics, he was the first face to greet viewers.
Michael Charlton in 2001.
From cricket to current affairs
Charlton began his career at the ABC, presenting current affairs programs and providing commentary for Test cricket. He also represented Australia on the BBC’s radio cricket commentary team during the 1956 Ashes series in England.
In 1961, he became the first presenter of Four Corners. His role in shaping the show’s early years earned him one of the earliest Gold Logies in 1963, just three years after Graham Kennedy received the first.
Career in the UK
Charlton later moved to London, where he built a long career with the BBC.
From 1962 to 1976 he was a reporter and interviewer on Panorama, covering major global events. He reported live from the United States in the aftermath of President John F. Kennedy’s assassination, and later from NASA’s mission control during the Apollo 11 moon landing.
During the 1970s he presented Newsday on BBC2, before moving into radio with It’s Your World, a global phone-in program on the BBC World Service during the 1980s.
Documentaries and later work
In 1986, Charlton co-created Out of the Fiery Furnace, a seven-part ABC documentary with Robert Raymond that traced the role of metals and minerals in human history, from the Stone Age through to the space age.
The series was shown in more than 20 countries.
By the mid-1980s, Charlton had largely retired from television, after three decades of reporting and presenting across Australia and the UK.
Remembered for his legacy
ABC Managing Director Hugh Marks paid tribute, saying: “Michael Charlton is forever part of the history of Australian television and of the ABC. His professionalism, integrity and body of work, including as the first face on ABC television and the first presenter of Four Corners, made him an ABC role model.
“Over a distinguished career spanning many years he made a significant contribution to journalism in Australia and overseas. The ABC extends our sincere condolences to his family.”
Charlton’s work spanned both sides of the globe and some of the most defining moments of the 20th century.
From cricket commentary to current affairs and documentary storytelling, he remains a central figure in the story of Australian broadcasting.