Breaking news rush

Once a journo, always a journo I've been told.

Tonight after dinner I retreated to my bedroom to read - despite the 3XYs asking several times: ``Are you sure you don't want to watch Red Faces with us?''

But then XY9 came in to tell me there was ``breaking news'' about to come on. I'm pretty sure I rolled my eyes but then I heard Laurie Oakes's voice and you know what that means - real news.

I scurried into the lounge room. And what a story - a challenge for the Labor leadership and Prime Ministership. I couldn't help myself. How exciting. What a buzz. History in the making . . . how could anyone not be interested! Can you imagine the atmosphere in Parliament House? Oh, to be a fly on the wall in the thick of it.

Of course, I stayed tuned in for further developments. I channel surfed between the free-to-air and SkyNews. I held out on the chance that the PM would hold a press conference. And he did.

At 9am tomorrow is the political equivalent of the gunfight at the OK Corral. Rudd facing off with Gillard. Great stuff!!! It looks like KRudd won't be able to hang on. We'll know soon enough.

Pundits would say the likelihood of a challenge has been building for weeks, even months. The stalling of the ETS, an about-face on asylum seekers, backflip over provision of childcare places and other broken promises resulted in a huge drop in the electorate's approval rating of our once-most-popular PM ever. I was more certain than ever that there was something afoot when neither Gillard nor her family would agree to be interviewed for an updated profile piece on the Deputy PM which aired on this week's Australian Story on ABC TV.

Now, convinced there will be no further news reports until early tomorrow morning. I can head off to bed and contemplate the possible dawning of a new era in Australian politics.

Yes, I know. All this confirms that I am a news junkie. I simply can't help it.