TV
"Ignorant": Steve Price hits out after The Project's axing

Veteran broadcaster Steve Price has hit out at critics celebrating the axing of The Project, following Channel 10’s confirmation the long-running panel show will end later this month.
The network officially announced on Monday morning that The Project will wrap up on Friday, June 27, after 16 years on Australian television. The show’s current hosts, including Sarah Harris and Waleed Aly, later addressed the decision in an emotionally charged segment on Monday night.
But it was longtime contributor Steve Price who offered the strongest response, using his latest Herald Sun column to condemn those who have mocked the show’s demise.
“Those ignorant people doing the ‘glad they got sacked’ dance over the cancellation called the show woke and leftie – hello, I am the exact opposite of that description – and have been there from almost the start,” Price wrote.
“Show me that sort of political balance on any ABC TV show – you can’t,” he added, defending the program’s diversity of viewpoints and insisting The Project was “the best resourced media show I have ever worked on”.
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Price also expressed dismay over Channel 10’s decision to base the upcoming replacement show in Sydney, lamenting the impact on The Project’s Melbourne-based crew.
“Behind the scenes was a gifted, hardworking crew of young producers, comedy writers, editors, journalists, camera operators, make-up artists and wardrobe assistants,” he wrote. “Most if not all these talented crew are now out of work as the replacement show moves to Sydney.”
“Melbourne and Australia has lost something unique this week – a live TV show with passion, courage, humour and a heart. It’s sad.”
During Monday night’s broadcast, co-host Sarah Harris also fought back tears as she paid tribute to the production team that made the nightly show possible.
“I am so grateful that I got to sit on this desk and play TV with all of you,” Harris said. “But it is the people who make a show, and The Project isn’t just the people on this desk. It is the cast and crew behind the scenes… They’re the real stars.”
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She went on to praise the unsung workers who kept the show running night after night: “The producers, editors and cameramen and women, the floor crew, the people in the control room, the director and the hair and make-up team – all of them who work their guts out every night, six nights a week to get us on air.”
The Project launched in 2009 with a fresh take on news and current affairs and became a staple of the primetime lineup. It featured a rotating panel of journalists, comedians and commentators, with a mix of hard-hitting interviews and light entertainment.
While its ratings have fluctuated in recent years, the show retained a loyal audience and played host to high-profile guests, including world leaders, Hollywood stars and prominent Australians.
Its cancellation marks the end of an era for Channel 10, and a major shift in Australia’s TV landscape as the network retools its primetime strategy in a fiercely competitive market increasingly dominated by streaming platforms.
Image: Network 10