ABC Radio’s National Breakfast gets new faces and new times: Sally Sarah names successor Patricia Karvelas

ABC Radio’s flagship political radio show National Breakfast will undergo a major overhaul in 2025, with a new timeslot and a “massive team” of reporters to replace outgoing presenter Patricia Karvelas and revive sagging ratings.

Karvelas, who replaced regular RN Breakfast presenter Fran Kelly at the start of 2022, said she would be leaving the program to “embrace a new cross-platform role” after 10 years at the RN.

The acclaimed political journalist will take on a new role covering national politics with the broadcaster, including a new role as ABC News Channel’s daytime briefing anchor and host of the new politics podcast Politics Now. She will also continue to host the Q&A and The Party Room podcasts, as well as write for ABC.

ABC announced Friday that Karvelas’ replacement will be award-winning foreign correspondent Sally Sarah.

Sarah, twice Graham Perkin’s Australian Journalist of the Year, will lead a team of reporters to deliver RN breakfast at the new start time of 5.30am rather than 6am.

In a statement, Sarah said she “can’t wait” to get into the RN Breakfast studio and is “extremely grateful for the opportunity” to join the programme.

The ABC said Sarah brings “extensive experience” in audio journalism to the role and is currently the presenter of The World Today. As an ABC foreign correspondent, she reported from more than 40 countries, including Africa, Iraq, India and Afghanistan, and also worked as a stationary and foreign correspondent.

Karvelas herself endorsed her successor, calling Sarah “one of ABC’s most accomplished journalists and favorite foreign correspondents.”

“I’m so excited for Radio National listeners, who will not only receive first-class news and analysis every day, but will also benefit from Sally’s deep international experience at this time of great global upheaval,” she said.

RN Breakfast will also welcome ABC political correspondent Melissa Clarke, business correspondent Peter Ryan and Luke Siddham Dundon half an hour earlier on air in 2025.

ABC news director Justin Stevens said the new line-up was a “tremendous team” that would bring a wealth of experience and knowledge to the program and “will be part of the day-to-day development of the national agenda”.

The RN Breakfast model on BBC Radio 4’s Today program is changing following the wishes of ABC chairman Kim Williams, who has spoken of his desire for RN to have the same impact as the British programme.

It also follows dismal radio ratings for RN Breakfast, which has seen its audience halve since 2021.

A radio ratings survey this month put RN Breakfast’s share at 2 percent in Sydney and 2.2 percent in Melbourne. The same survey conducted in 2021 showed audience share of 4.6 per cent in Sydney and 4.5 per cent in Melbourne.

Total urban audiences fell from 147,000 to 62,000 in Melbourne and from 140,000 to 70,000 in Sydney.

Mr Williams has reportedly expressed a desire for RN to reach 17 per cent of the Australian public each week, as Radio 4 does, the Sydney Morning Herald reports.

The ABC is reviewing its Radio National proposal, including revamping the program schedule and considering changing its tagline – “big thinker” – and mission statement. He also urged staff to call it Radio National rather than “RN”.