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He signed up for gruelling 3am starts for the foreseeable future, after being confirmed as the new co-host of the Today Show, but Tom Steinfort is “pumped” to be setting that alarm clock, describing the coveted brekky TV gig as a “privilege”.
“Where else can you be grilling the Prime Minister one minute, then making an absolute goose of yourself the next?!” the star said in a statement – as the news was confirmed by Channel Nine on September 17.
Tom will join Sylvia Jeffreys behind the desk, in a shakeup that followed the departure of Karl Stefanovic and Sarah Abo from the network.
In his statement, Tom said he was “thrilled” to be working alongside Sylvia – describing her as a “brilliant broadcaster, a great mate and a lot of fun”.
“We have an incredible team around us, and such a loyal audience… I can’t wait to get stuck in,” he added.
But while Tom is set to become a very familiar face on Australian morning TV, what do we know about the main behind the presenter?
Born in Melbourne as the youngest of five, Tom started as a local reporter for WIN News in Ballarat before joining Nine in 2007.
His news coverage of the Black Saturday bushfires would lead him to win the Melbourne Press Club’s Young Journalist of the Year Award and a Walkley nomination.
In 2010, Tom would move to Sydney where he worked on A Current Affair. Seven years later he would become a co-host of Weekend Today.
Before joining the Today Show as full-time host, he co-hosted the 6pm Nine News Melbourne bulletin with Alicia Loxley.
Is Tom Steinfort married?
Tom is married to media and PR professional Claudia Jukić. The pair fell in love after a blind date in 2017.
“We had a really fun night, but then I got sent away for work, so there were nine weeks between our first and our second dates. But from then we got on like a house on fire,” Tom told Stellar in a 2020 interview.
The couple married in August 2019 in Hvar, Croatia, and went on to have two children Frederikke – known as Freddie – who was born in November 2021, and Lotte, who arrived in 2023.
After finding happiness personally, the star spoke candidly about how it had changed him.
“In my 20s it was all about the next job, and so career-focused,” he told Stellar in 202o. But now it’s probably more life-focused in terms of next chapters in life.”
As such, Tom was grateful to have been able to take three months paternity leave after the birth of both his kids.
“Three months paternity leave done in what felt like three minutes!” he shared on Instagram the first time around.
“I’m very lucky to have an employer with such a supportive program for new mums and dads…they didn’t ask me to talk them up, I’m just grateful to have been there for my daughter’s first steps, first birthday, first Santa photo, first swim lessons, and about 374 more trips to the beach together.”
What has Tom Steinfort said about his career?
In a 2025 interview with the Conversations With The Fox podcast, Tom opened up on his approach to newsreading.
“Everyone has their own style…. I’m probably a lot more relaxed, bordering on too relaxed for that kind of role,” he admitted.
“You know, it’s pretty heavy content, a lot of it, but… I remember having a chat with someone early on, and them saying, ‘you know, I find some people when they try and tell the news are a bit too serious, like it’s not relatable’.
“And someone said to me [in the] early days that the best delivery is just like you’ve sat down at a table at the pub with your mate, and you want to tell him what happened today.”
In the same interview, the star explained how he dealt with covering difficult and sometimes heartbreaking topics over the course of his career.
“Well, you just got to put your big boy pants on and get on with it,” he explained candidly.
“You know, I’ve seen some shocking things over the years, and sounds a bit cold, but I’m not paid to be emotional.”
Tom explained how, over his two-decade career, approaches had changed.
“It’s part of the job. And these days they are a lot better. You know that work has a lot of employee support services and that kind of thing to help people with counseling who’ve been to horrific bushfires or terrible crime scenes, or whatever it may be.
“So, as with all businesses, they have evolved and become a lot more sensitive to that stuff.”
How much does Tom Steinfort earn?
While his predecessor Karl Stefanovic was reportedly paid close to $30 million in contracts over the years after he was appointed as host of Today in 2005, the pay deal secured by Tom isn’t publicly known.
News anchors for a major metro market are understood to earn in the low-to-mid six figures, while senior national stars can take home seven figures.
osition at a major metro market are generally understood to earn in the low-to-mid six figures (AUD) at minimum, with more senior, long-tenured national personalities sometimes reaching into seven figures
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