Jo Hall is arguably Victoria’s most distinguished and experienced female television reporter and presenter. She has forged a career in front of and behind the camera over the past four decades.

Hall began her journalism path with a cadetship on a Melbourne suburban newspaper before joining Nine News as a junior reporter in 1979.

A highlight of her career came in 1990 as the first woman to win a prestigious Thorn Award for journalism for her report on the siege at Hawthorn Kindergarten in May 1989.

But the joy of the award never overshadowed the gravity of the story she won it for. Being a mother of two young children at the time, it was an experience that hit close to home.

“That was a shocking story, absolutely awful,” she says. “The parents would arrive not knowing if their child was one of those being held hostage. You can’t imagine their anguish, and as a parent I never lost sight of that.”

Another story almost cost Hall her life. Covering the Ash Wednesday bushfires at Anglesea, she and her camera crew were confronted by a wall of fire. “I jumped behind the wheel of the car and the crew hopped in the back. Had the engine not started I believe we wouldn’t be here now,” she says.

Hall admits that stories about children affect her most and she can still be moved to tears by her work. But this is an enduring quality that makes her one of Melbourne’s most popular presenters.

“If you don’t appreciate or understand the severity of what you’re reporting, then you lose credibility and the viewers see that. It’s an honour and privilege to read the news and be invited into people’s homes to tell them what has gone on that day, and I don’t take it for granted,” she says.

Her off-air interests branch deeper into the community, and she regularly undertakes duties for breast cancer charities. She is also patron of Bonnie Babes, an organisation that researches miscarriages, premature births and provides support to grieving parents.

Hall is the host of the Nine News bulletins for regional Victoria. These bulletins are among 15 rolling out in 2017 as part of one of the biggest expansions of news operations in Australia.

At 6.00pm each week night, Hall presents Nine News Western Victoria, Central Victoria, Border North East and Gippsland, broadcasting to a potential audience of 1.2 million viewers.

The one-hour bulletins compile local stories, dedicated local sport and weather reports, together with the very best in national and international coverage.

Jo Hall is an integral member of the Nine News Regional team, mentoring and assisting young journalists coming through the network. She lives in inner suburban Melbourne and is an avid Collingwood supporter. She has four children: Rhyss, Tysyn, and twins Emmerson and Fynn.

Jo Hall is a Nine News Regional Victoria Presenter. You can catch her local news reports 6pm weeknights in the Western Victoria, Central Victoria, Border North East and Gippsland regions.