Tyson Cottrill leaves NBN News after 15 years at Newcastle newsroom

newy.com.au – NBN News chief court reporter and regular presenter Tyson Cottrill has left the broadcaster after 15 years across two stints in its Newcastle newsroom.

Cottrill completed his final shift on Friday. He said his next position would be in communications, following a short break.

“After 20 years as a journalist, including 15 in the Newcastle newsroom, today I signed off for the final time as Chief Court Reporter and Presenter at NBN News,” he wrote.

Cottrill began with the Nine Network in 2007 and first worked at NBN from July 2008 until April 2012. He later worked as a journalist and producer in Sydney and on the Gold Coast before returning to Newcastle in November 2015.

Born and raised in Newcastle, Cottrill became one of the region’s most recognisable specialist reporters. He said becoming NBN’s longest-serving court reporter was an unexpected source of pride after trying to avoid the round early in his career.

His reporting included the prosecution and appeal of Hunter Valley wedding bus driver Brett Button, the Stacey Klimovitch and Danielle Easey murder cases, and proceedings following the domestic violence murder of Mackenzie Anderson.

He also co-hosted an NBN podcast examining the disappearance of Metford teenager Zac Barnes, while regularly presenting weekend and public holiday bulletins. NBN’s online archive assigns more than 1,300 posts to his author profile.

Cottrill presented the final Saturday edition of NBN’s locally produced weekend news on June 20, shortly before the service was discontinued. His latest online report, published on the day he announced his departure, covered the withdrawal of more than 100 charges arising from Rising Tide’s 2024 blockade of the Port of Newcastle.

His exit follows significant changes at the broadcaster since WIN Network completed its acquisition of NBN from Nine in June. WIN replaced the hour-long local bulletin with a 30-minute weekday program at 5.30pm and ended locally produced weekend editions.

His departure leaves questions over how NBN will cover the specialist court round he made his own, as well as his presenting duties. No replacement has been publicly announced.

Owner WIN Network advertised for a full-time weekday journalist in Newcastle on 29 July 2026, but neither the advertisement nor NBN has said whether the vacancy is intended to replace Cottrill.

The advertised reporting role covers politics, sport, the environment and community issues, with no mention of court reporting or presenting.

A Charles Sturt University communications graduate, Cottrill shared the Michael Rauch Award for Excellence with journalist and producer Jacinta Lee in 2019. He was also selected to judge the Walkley Foundation’s Mid-Year journalism prizes in 2024 and 2025.