Respected journalist Catalina Flórez to succeed Anton Enus as SBS World News presenter

Catalina Flórez will succeed long-serving news presenter Anton Enus as the permanent weekend host of SBS World News from 8 October.

The highly-regarded Enus announced in July that he would bring his career at SBS to a close after more than a quarter of a century as one of the faces of the SBS network. He presented his final SBS World News bulletin on Friday, 11 September.

Flórez will present the SBS flagship 6.30pm news bulletin on Fridays and Saturdays and continue to file stories from Australia and around the world, reporting on the biggest domestic and international issues of our time. Janice Petersen presents SBS World News from Sunday to Thursday.

Since joining SBS in 2020 after a 12-year career in commercial television, Flórez has worked across many platforms and programs, as reporter, foreign correspondent and occasional presenter of SBS World News and SBS Late News.Her deployments have included the inauguration of US President Donald Trump in Washington in January 2025 and the aftermath of the devastating dual earthquakes in Venezuela in July.

She has filed investigations for flagship current affairs program Dateline, such as El Salvador: Gangland to Safe Haven, where she gained entry to the notorious CECOT maximum security prison, and Grow Chocolate, Not Cocaine on the Colombian cocaine trade, as well as producing a self-filmed special investigative series on the exploitation of Pacific Island workers.

Flórez and Enus worked together to present SBS World News under trying circumstances on the day of the CrowdStrike global IT outage in July 2024, which caused computer system failures across the globe, including at SBS.

Flórez said of her new role: “It’s an incredible honour to follow in the footsteps of the greats who’ve come before me and I’m very much looking forward to building on this network’s extraordinary record of storytelling. I was born in Colombia before we moved to Australia, so my family and I have watched and listened to SBS for as long as I can remember. Being an ambassador for SBS on this scale is a childhood dream come true.

“It’s not lost on me that I’m stepping into some gigantic shoes. Anton (Enus) is a national treasure and someone I’m lucky to have called a mentor and colleague, and a friend. To share the studio with Janice (Petersen), Ricardo (Gonçalves) and Breanna (Holden) is a privilege. The SBS Charter has long been at the heart of my professional self, in amplifying diverse voices from right around Australia and beyond. Personally, I’m incredibly proud to be working for an organisation that represents all Australians.”

SBS Director of News and Current Affairs Mandi Wicks said: “Catalina has had extensive experience as a journalist covering significant global and domestic news events for nearly two decades. As a news presenter, Catalina is an outstanding communicator who builds connection and trust through her warmth, credibility and humility. Anton was one of the most trusted faces on Australian television and we are thrilled Catalina is stepping into this important role.”

SBS World News Managing Editor Adam Mcilrick said: “There isn’t much Catalina hasn’t done in her stellar career so far. From domestic political reporter to foreign correspondent, reporting in some of the most unforgiving environments, Catalina’s warmth, commitment and curiosity have prepared her well for this next step in her journalism journey. Catalina has built trust with audiences over time, through impactful reporting and flawless presentation.

“Behind the scenes, Catalina’s generosity is on display, mentoring fellow journalists through their formative years, giving her best so they can be at their best. From Canberra to Caracas and beyond, Catalina delivers her journalism with integrity, accuracy and depth, thoroughly deserving her place as one of the chief presenters of flagship SBS World News – home to Australia’s most trusted news brand.”

SBS World News is broadcast at 6.30pm nightly. Catalina Flórez joins Janice Petersen as a Chief Presenter alongside Finance Editor Ricardo Gonçalves and Weekend Sport Presenter Breanna Holden.

Catalina Flórez

An award-winning broadcast journalist of 18 years, Catalina Flórez is a senior journalist and presenter at SBS World News. She is a former Canberra Press Gallery correspondent and was the first female NSW Political Editor for Ten News. Catalina has covered everything from leadership spills and federal elections to bushfires and droughts. She has broken stories about children in detention and the mistreatment of prisoners. She has carried out several investigations, including on the mistreatment of international students and the exploitation of Pacific Island workers in regional NSW.

Catalina is also an accomplished international correspondent and has been highly commended by the Association for International Broadcasting for her work covering the prison system in El Salvador. In 2026, she was the first Australian journalist to interview the Colombian President and reported from Venezuela on the aftermath of twin earthquakes. Catalina was born in Colombia, speaks fluent Spanish and is the very proud mother of twin girls.

For further information, please contact:

Nicole Jeffery | [email protected] | 0439 243 625

For a PDF of this media release, please click here.