| Charles Croucher | |
| Occupation: | journalist |
| Alma Mater: | Charles Sturt University |
| Television: | Nine News, Weekend Today |
| Known For: | being the Nine Network's chief political editor |
Charles Croucher is an Australian journalist.
He is currently the Nine Network's chief political editor, a position he was appointed to in October 2022.[1]
He grew up in Branxton, New South Wales.[2] He attended Hunter Valley Grammar School, graduating in 2005.[2]
He studied a Bachelor of Sport Studies/Bachelor of Communication (Journalism) double degree at Charles Sturt University, where he graduated in 2009.
While he was at university, he found employment with Bathurst radio stations 2BS and B-Rock where he worked as a news presenter, before becoming the host of a weekend breakfast show and then the presenter of the weekday morning program.[3]
In 2009, Croucher was a finalist in the "Best News Presenter (Country)" category at the Australian Commercial Radio Awards but lost to Lois Chislett from 3YB in Warrnambool, Victoria.[4] [5]
In 2010, Croucher began his long association with the Nine Network in Darwin when he was appointed as a sports reporter for Nine News Darwin where he also became a weekend news presenter.[3]
In 2012, he moved to Melbourne to work as a reporter for A Current Affair before relocating to Canberra in 2013 upon being appointed as a politics reporter based at Parliament House.[3]
From 2018 to 2020, Croucher was Nine's Los Angeles-based US correspondent before returning to Australia to become a co-host of Weekend Today in 2020.[3]
In October 2022, it was announced he would succeed Chris Uhlmann as the Nine Network's political editor.[3]
As Nine's political editor, Croucher regularly provides commentary in a regular segment on RN Breakfast, where he discusses political news with Patricia Karvelas on ABC Radio National.[6] [7] [8]
Following a National Press Club address in October 2022, Croucher asked Federal Treasurer Jim Chalmers whether the Australian Labor Party's promise to cut electricity bills by $275 had been included in the Federal Budget, Chalmers mistakenly claimed: "Yep, it's in the Budget".[9] However, Chalmers later claimed to have misheard the question, phoning Croucher to confess his mistake, and correcting the record in the House of Representatives.[9]
When pressed on the issue during Question Time by Angus Taylor, he stated: "I was temporarily blinded by the vast influence of Charles Croucher who has inherited this remarkable position of power from Laurie Oakes and Chris Uhlmann and I say, as I said to Charles who I rang straight after the press club, I rang Charles and I rang Laura Tingle and I said I thought you were asking me a different question, I misheard it and I answered a different question and so I say again to Charles, who is in the gallery through you, Mr Speaker, I misheard his question and I am generally grateful for once to the member for Hume for the opportunity to talk about this.[10]
The incident was widely reported and commentated on in the media.[11] [12] [13] Chalmers was criticised for his explanation by 2GB host Ben Fordham who doubted that he had misheard Croucher's question.[14]