Category Archives: Nine Entertainment

Staff at the Age protest over Trumpet of Patriots gender ad as Newcastle Herald apologises for running it

Posted on by

Australian Community Media, publisher of the Newcastle Herald, removes ad promoting Clive Palmer’s party from digital edition, saying it does not meet the company’s values

• Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free weekly media newsletter here

The Newcastle Herald has apologised for publishing a front page ad from Clive Palmer’s new Trumpet of Patriots party which says “there are only two genders”, as journalists at the Age say they are “furious” the Melbourne newspaper has apparently accepted the same ad for publication.

In the past week the Age has published Palmer’s anti-immigration and anti-welcome to country advertisements, which have also appeared in News Corp publications.

Sign up to get Guardian Australia’s weekly media diary as a free newsletter

Continue reading...

Blockbuster: will Victoria’s tough housing market push The Block into the red?

Posted on by

Some predict the TV show will lose money this season as investors exit property and contestants face ‘a buyer’s market’ at auction

Channel Nine’s hit series The Block could be caught in the firing line of Victoria’s flat housing market and investor woes, with one expert predicting the show will make a loss this year.

The properties in the seaside township of Cowes, on Phillip Island, are set to go under the hammer on Saturday.

Continue reading...

2GB’s Ben Fordham pulls out of Liberal event, saying he didn’t realise it was fundraiser for party

Posted on by

Nine radio star says he speaks to political organisations, Scouts, charities and preschools but draws the line at political promotion

Nine’s 2GB radio host Ben Fordham has pulled out of a Liberal party fundraiser in Kirribilli, saying he did not realise the event was raising money for the political party when he accepted the invitation to speak.

“Kirribilli Branch is honoured to be joined by Ben Fordham, Sydney’s No.1 radio presenter,” the invitation said. “Ben will provide a review of the major stories he has uncovered and covered this year and the very important election year on the horizon.”

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email

Continue reading...

Nine apologises unreservedly after bombshell report reveals systemic bullying and harassment

Posted on by

Nine board commits to implementing all recommendations for a ‘reset of culture’

Nine Entertainment has a systemic issue with the abuse of power and authority, bullying, discrimination and sexual harassment across the company, an independent report has found.

“Driving these behaviours is a lack of leadership accountability; power imbalances; gender inequality and a lack of diversity; and significant distrust in leaders at all levels of the business,” the company said in a statement after receiving the report on Thursday.

The Nine board has apologised to affected staff and pledged to implement all 22 recommendations in the report for a “reset of culture at Nine”.

Continue reading...

Nine newspapers staff vote for five-day strike on eve of Paris Olympics

Posted on by

Editorial staff from the Age, the Sydney Morning Herald, the Australian Financial Review, the Brisbane Times and WAtoday reject improved pay offer

Journalists employed by Nine Entertainment’s publishing division have voted overwhelmingly to strike over pay from Friday for five days, hampering the company’s coverage of the Paris Olympic Games.

Nine is the official broadcaster of the 2024 games, paying $100m for the broadcast rights for this year alone.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

‘Significant assault’: two staff from Nine’s Olympic broadcast team attacked in Paris in suspected robbery

Posted on by

The incident follows the alleged sexual assault of an Australian tourist in Paris last weekend

Two Nine Entertainment staff members in Paris to cover the Olympic Games have been attacked in what colleagues have described as a suspected robbery of a “serious physical nature”.

Nine reporter Christine Ahern said the two staff members were working in the international broadcast centre in the northeastern suburbs of Paris and were walking back to their accomodation on Monday afternoon when they were attacked by a group.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

Michael Stutchbury resigns as editor-in-chief of the Australian Financial Review

Posted on by

Publication’s longest-serving editor calls time amid unrest at Nine Entertainment over job cuts and and latest pay offer

The editor-in-chief of the Australian Financial Review, Michael Stutchbury, will step down after 13 years in the role, amid a shake-up at Nine Entertainment that will see 200 jobs cut across the media company.

Stutchbury, 67, will be replaced next month by James Chessell, the former executive editor of the Sydney Morning Herald and the Age.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

Nine Entertainment staff pass no-confidence motion over chief executive after announcement 200 jobs will be cut

Posted on by

Chief executive Mike Sneesby says ‘economic headwinds’ and end of Meta deal are to blame for lost jobs

Staff at Nine Entertainment passed a motion of no-confidence in chief executive Mike Sneesby on Friday afternoon and are preparing to take industrial action, after Sneesby announced that 200 jobs would be cut from the company.

Sneesby told staff he is cutting 200 jobs due to the “economic headwinds” facing the media, with up to 90 positions to go on legacy mastheads the Sydney Morning Herald, the Age and the Australian Financial Review.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

Peter Costello resigns as chairman of Nine Entertainment ‘effective immediately’

Posted on by

Former federal treasurer stands down days after he was accused of assaulting a News Corp journalist at Canberra airport

Peter Costello has resigned as chairman of Nine Entertainment “effective immediately” days after the former federal treasurer was accused of assaulting a News Corp journalist at Canberra airport.

Costello said in a statement on Sunday evening: “The board has been supportive through the events of the last month and last few days in particular. But going forward, I think they need a new chair to unite them around a fresh vision and someone with the energy to lead to that vision for the next decade.”

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

‘You’ve just assaulted me’: Peter Costello accused of ‘violent behaviour’ by News Corp journalist

Posted on by

Video shows The Australian’s Liam Mendes fall to the ground during encounter with Nine Entertainment chairman at Canberra airport

Peter Costello, the former federal treasurer and current chairman of Nine Entertainment, has been accused of assaulting a journalist from The Australian newspaper as he refused to answer questions about the embattled media company.

But Costello has dismissed the allegations, saying “there was no assault” and that the journalist “fell over an advertising placard”.

Continue reading...

Nine acknowledges ‘trauma’ and need to ‘do more’ after allegations of sexual harassment and toxic culture

Posted on by

Mike Sneesby a signatory to all-staff email detailing response to allegations of predatory behaviour and bullying in newsrooms

Nine Entertainment has acknowledged “the trauma” caused by alleged acts of bullying, misuse of power and sexual harassment in its newsrooms and conceded to staff it needs to “do more” to make it a safe place to work.

In an all-staff email sent late on Thursday, Nine outlined its response to widespread reporting of predatory behaviour, bullying and sexual harassment by senior executives across the company.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

Free-to-air group rubbishes claims Australian government wants to ‘control your TV’

Posted on by

Industry feud flares over proposed smart TV laws that will likely mean free local apps feature more prominently than paid services

Australia’s free-to-air broadcasters have hit back at a campaign from the subscription media lobby that claims the federal “government wants to control your TV” through its new laws for smart TVs.

The government’s prominence framework for connected TV devices will likely mean smart TV free-to-air apps such as 10play, 7plus, 9Now, ABC iView and SBS on Demand, are offered ahead of those from paid streaming services such as Netflix, Binge and Stan. It might also affect searches for content.

Continue reading...

Ten Network drops bid to secure Melbourne Cup rights over Tabcorp deal

Posted on by

Network concerned that Victoria Racing Club partnership with gambling company is at odds with ‘preferences of its viewers and advertisers’

The Ten network has pulled out of bidding for the Melbourne Cup, citing the new focus on gambling by rights-holder Tabcorp as a reason.

Ten has been the Melbourne Cup Carnival broadcaster since 2019 after signing a five-year deal reportedly worth $100m which saw the cup move from Seven, where it had been broadcast since 2002.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

Sydney Morning Herald apologises for failing ‘dismally’ on coverage of 1838 Myall Creek massacre

Posted on by

Nine Entertainment paper says it ‘essentially campaigned’ for 11 stockmen accused of killing at least 28 Aboriginal people to escape prosecution

The Sydney Morning Herald has apologised for failing “dismally” in its coverage of the Myall Creek massacre and two subsequent trials in the 19th century.

On 10 June 1838, with the Myall Creek Station manager away, a dozen stockmen led by John Henry Fleming rounded up and brutally killed at least 28 Wirrayaraay women, children and elderly people while their young men were away helping another settler.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

Australian entertainer Doug Mulray dies aged 71

Posted on by

Sydney radio star who dominated commercial airwaves in the 80s famously had his TV show Naughtiest Home Videos pulled off air after just 34 minutes

Veteran Australian entertainer and radio identity, Doug Mulray, has died aged 71.

While the Sydney radio star made his name by dominating the commercial airwaves in the 1980s with his creativity and stunts, his TV show Australia’s Naughtiest Home Videos was famously pulled off air by Channel Nine owner Kerry Packer after just 34 minutes.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

Bruce Lehrmann told employer ‘false allegations’ had not hurt his ability to lobby effectively, documents show

Posted on by

List of ‘friendly’ journalists and other media personalities Lehrmann was ‘outraged’ at also among evidence submitted to the court

The former Liberal staffer Bruce Lehrmann told the tobacco giant he lobbied for that the public revelation of rape allegations against him had “not hindered the relations within my political network” and said he was still able to influence federal policy to “further the business financially”, documents show.

New documents filed in Lehrmann’s defamation case against News Corp, Network Ten, Lisa Wilkinson and Samantha Maiden reveal Lehrmann’s correspondence with British American Tobacco Australia, his then employer, in the days and months after Brittany Higgins’ allegations were first made public in February 2021.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

Paul Keating blasts Age and SMH for ‘provocative’ China war story

Posted on by

Former Australian PM criticises ‘extent of the bias’ in newspapers’ front-page report warning of armed conflict in Indo-Pacific

The former Australian prime minister Paul Keating has accused two of the country’s biggest newspapers of “the most egregious and provocative news presentation” in five decades, after they published front-page stories warning the country faced war with China within three years.

The former Labor leader, who has long argued Australia should not be drawn into a war over the status of democratically governed Taiwan, took aim at the Sydney Morning Herald and the Age on Tuesday.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

Channel Ten offers $1.5bn to Cricket Australia for broadcast rights in 2024/25

Posted on by

Seven or Nine would have to partner with Fox to compete with bid, but they are talking up their ability to promote the game

In the life cycle of a Cricket Australia administration, nothing matters more than the home broadcast deal. There is prize money, ICC distributions, overseas broadcasts, but the value of showing the major summer sport to an Australian audience dwarfs the lot. Everything that CA does depends on that cashflow, as well as keeping cricket in front of as many people as possible. The current contract has another season to run, but with channels Seven, Nine, Ten, and Fox Sports all keen for a slice next time, everyone wants a deal done now.

Last time, in 2018 in the dying months of James Sutherland’s time in charge, was a landmark missed opportunity. Channel Ten had spent the preceding years making a success of the Big Bash League, and with the backing of US giant CBS, offered $960m to put every Australian cricket match on free-to-air. That meant domestic men’s and women’s games, boosting the Sheffield Shield and the 50-over competitions along with internationals and the BBL. But CA wanted to top a billion dollars, and after a verbal agreement with Ten, reneged to split the rights between Seven and Fox for a relatively small increase to $1.18bn, with plenty of that value in contra advertising rather than in cash.

Continue reading...

Sky News host Chris Smith suspended after allegations of inappropriate behaviour at Christmas party

Posted on by

Company says ‘the welfare of our staff is our absolute priority’ and it will ‘take these allegations very seriously’

Sky News host Chris Smith has been suspended after accusations that he behaved inappropriately toward colleagues after the broadcaster’s Christmas party over the weekend.

Smith was with other Sky News Australia employees at The Establishment in Sydney. He reportedly joined colleagues at The Ivy Sunroom at midday on Saturday for the formal event before going on to The Establishment. After concerns about his behaviour were raised with senior executives, he was stood down immediately.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

Sarah Abo named new co-host of Today as Allison Langdon moves to A Current Affair

Posted on by

Channel Nine appointments follow the departure of veteran broadcaster Tracy Grimshaw

Allison Langdon will replace the veteran broadcaster Tracy Grimshaw as the host of Nine’s A Current Affair, while Sarah Abo has been named the new co-host of the Today show.

Langdon, who was widely tipped to succeed Grimshaw in the role, has been a journalist at Nine since 2002 and became the co-host of Today in January 2020.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...