Raymond George Martin AM is an Australian television journalist and entertainment personality. Having won the Gold Logie five times, he is the most awarded star of Australian television, along with Graham Kennedy (although Kennedy won the ‘Star of the Year Award', the forerunner of the Gold Logie in 1959).
He is best known for his various on-air roles on Channel Nine from 1978, particularly his stint on A Current Affair and his long tenure as host of the variety/talk show The Midday Show, after original host Mike Walsh left as host of a similar midday format with The Mike Walsh Show. In 2011, he returned to the current affairs show 60 Minutes, in which he had been an original presenter, albeit only in a part-time capacity.
He attended Launceston College and the University of Sydney, where he studied engineering on scholarship at university, but changed his mind and studied to become an English and history teacher. He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in 1967.
Martin began working for Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) in Sydney as a cadet in 1965. He was appointed the ABC's New York City correspondent in 1969. Over the next 10 years his coverage included race riots, anti-Vietnam War protests, Olympic Games and presidential elections for news and current affairs television and radio, from Four Corners and This Day Tonight to science and religion programs.
In 1978 he joined the Nine Network to launch 60 Minutes, along with reporters George Negus and Ian Leslie.
From 1985 to 1993 he presented the daily variety show Midday with Ray Martin and hosted top-rating specials such as Ray Martin Presents, Up Close and Personal and The Ray Martin Show, interviewing entertainment celebrities including Tom Cruise, Nicole Kidman, Robin Williams, Elton John, Jim Carrey, Michael Douglas, Billy Crystal, Jodie Foster, Michael Crawford, Paul Hogan, Russell Crowe and Madonna.
He hosted A Current Affair from 1994 to 1998 and went on to present three series – Our Century, The Great Debates and Simply the Best – before returning to 60 Minutes to do special reports. In 2003 he resumed as host of A Current Affair. It was announced in December 2005 that he would become the Nine Network's Senior Reporter. This quashed much speculation that he would return to Four Corners at the ABC, as the fluctuating ratings for A Current Affair had decreased. Over the past few years he has assisted in reporting with some major events including the Indonesian tsunami disaster in 2005. Former Today Show co-host Tracy Grimshaw replaced Martin on ACA at the beginning of 2006. He was then a senior correspondent for Channel Nine. He has also hosted diverse television events, from the Logie Awards, Commonwealth Games, World Cup Cricket, 1988 Bicentenary Spectacular and Federal and State Election nights to the aftermath of the 11 September terrorist attacks. From 16 September 2007, Martin took over as co-host of Sunday, replacing Ross Greenwood.
Martin left the Nine Network in February 2008, allegedly due to differences with management over budget cuts and a timeslot change for the Sunday program.
On 28 March 2008 it was announced that Martin would lead the official broadcast of the World Youth Day event in Sydney from 15 to 20 July 2008.
In October 2008, Martin criticised the Nine Network and other commercial television operations during an address at the annual Andrew Olle Media Lecture. The subject of Martin's criticism was an alleged "dumbing down" of journalism and news coverage.
Since 2014, Martin has been the presenter for the SBS series First Contact. In 2015, he featured on the SBS Australian version of the popular international franchise genealogy television documentary series Who Do You Think You Are?. In 2017, he hosted Look Me In The Eye.
In 2016 and 2017, Martin presented three primetime specials for the regional network Prime7 focusing on major social issues impacting their viewing areas: Ice: The Scourge of Regional Australia, Dark Secrets: Australia's Hidden Shame, and It Won't Happen To Me.
In August 2018, Martin was announced as a presenter on the Nine Network's new travel series Helloworld, which aired on 7 October 2018.
In 2020, during the first Australian COVID-19 lockdowns, Martin presented the ABC comedy series At Home Alone Together, a satire of lifestyle television with a pandemic theme.
In 1998, John Safran, an Australian documentarian and media personality, created a television pilot called John Safran: Media Tycoon, which was focused on the media industry. It became infamous for a segment where Safran turned up to Martin's house and confronted him in the tabloid style characteristic of A Current Affair and its peers. Martin was in contact with the ABC and specifically warned Safran in the segment that he had spoken to Roger Grant, the then Head of Corporate Affairs at the ABC. The segment was later played on Media Watch on ABC and on Enough Rope. Safran went through Martin's garbage and took Shane Paxton (a former A Current Affair story subject) in his effort to engage Martin.
