In our column that takes you inside the media world, we reveal the growing unrest at Nine, why you can’t just trust a headline and why the King didn’t show at a major event.
*A video version of this column is available in the player above*
NINE STAFF IN REVOLT
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If executives at Nine Entertainment thought the release of a bombshell report into toxic culture within its business would appease staff, they were sorely mistaken. Anger is brewing about the lack of accountability for alleged perpetrators and senior managers who covered up bad behaviour.
The report, by workplace culture firm Intersection, found more than half of all employees in the Broadcast Division (57 per cent) reported experiencing bullying, discrimination, or harassment.
INSIDE MEDIA had previously revealed the published report would not include individual names, but staff were shocked to find out the company would not be taking any further action against those accused of wrongdoing.
It has led to anger and depression, with some insiders claiming bullying of staff continues to be a problem on some shows to this day.
That is now leading to media leaks as angry staff take their stories public.
Today, The Australian reported a junior staffer has accused a senior male manager of sexual assault. The two do not work in the news division, which was the catalyst for the review into Nine’s workplace culture.
Since Thursday, staff have been venting their frustration about the report to various media outlets, with one person telling The Australian: “There were 122 people across Nine who made complaints to Intersection. They told extremely painful stories and I know that many of them found the retelling of their experiences to be quite traumatic. In many cases there were tears.
“And now we learn that the Nine board remains in the dark about the identities of these repeat offenders. How on earth will anything change?”
It’s a fair question.
Staff are now fearful of retribution according to The Daily Mail.
“Everyone is ropeable – first we were told that this investigation was going to change Nine’s culture,” another staff member told the outlet.
“Then we are told that no action is actually going to be taken.
“And now, everyone is reading personal details from our complaints – which have completely re-traumatised many of us – and playing a guessing game to see who they’re about and who made them.
“There are heaps of quotes in the report that give away who’s involved.”.
It’s a good point about the quotes used. Now those staff members are exposed and at the mercy of the people they have accused of wrongdoing.
Former Nine Network personality Erin Molan was one of the few to air her thoughts publicly, saying on Sky News: “I spent 12 years at that network, from my mid-twenties until very recently, I took part in the review, I spoke at length of my experiences, I’m not sure what I was expecting, but I feel let down – immensely”.
I worked in the Nine newsroom for five years, sitting near Erin, and know – to some extent – how badly she was treated at Nine.
I’ve always admired her grit and determination and am happy for all of her success.
She deserves it.
Meanwhile, former chief digital and publishing officer at Nine, Chris Janz, has also weighed in on the workplace culture of his former employer.
Mumbrella reported Janz discussed the issue on Friday where he was on a panel at SXSW.
“I joined Nine as a result of a takeover of the business. So I was working in Fairfax (when Nine) effectively took over the business,” Janz said.
“And it’s now out in the open, you know, pretty toxic culture… Like, terrifically toxic culture. And one in which there are (power) games like you’ve never seen.”
Later, Janz was quoted as saying: “My big frustration is, it was blatantly obvious that there were cultural issues in that organisation the first day that I walked in there… It’s in plain sight. This didn’t require the third party to come in and conduct an investigation. This resulted in a report that doesn’t lead to any consequences.”
This afternoon it was revealed by acting CEO Matt Stanton investigations are taking place.
“We currently have a number of active investigations underway into issues raised by employees, some of which are being led by an external investigator whom we have partnered with,” he said.
“No two cases are the same, and I’m sure you can appreciate these investigations need to be conducted in a manner that follows a just and proper process, which can take time.”
It looks like this won’t be going away any time soon.
CLICKBAIT v FACTS
Have you ever formed an opinion about something based on just the headline?
While scrolling through my social media feed over the weekend I came across a social media post by Fox News that made me really angry.
Massachusetts parents sue school district over student receiving ‘D’ after using AI for social studies project
My first thought was “this is what’s wrong with the world? Kid cheats using AI and his parents want to blame everyone else”.
I clicked on the article, which seemed to reinforce my initial belief.
“He’s been accused of cheating, and it wasn’t cheating, there was no rule in the handbook against AI, his mother Jennifer Harris said.
While most of us would assume using AI is cheating, this mum is seemingly looking for a loophole because it will affect his future prospects telling Boston 25 News “our argument to the school was could you fail him with a 59 instead of a 53 so he can have a B minus? He’s applying to top tier schools”.
That made my eyes roll, but something just didn’t seem right with this story and it wasn’t until I found another source that a full picture emerged.
The outlet quoted in the Fox story – Boston 25 News – included a line in the video story (but not the text version) about how AI was used in this instance.
“He and another student used AI as a guide to take notes and outline for an AP (Advanced Placement) US history class,” according to reporter Litsa Pappas.
That one line did start to change things for me – he hadn’t used AI to write his paper, but merely take notes.
Now, I’m not an expert on what constitutes cheating when it comes to AI but this certainly seems to muddy the waters, so I kept digging.
Things get a little more complicated from here with the way the school handled the issue and seems to justify the parents decision to sue the school. According to CBS NEWS BOSTON administrators had the two students redo the assignment separately and on a different topic.
A good and fair solution.
But it seems the school was intent on punishing the student, with his mum telling CBS “We found out in the court documents that they were never going to give him a grade higher than a 65, which is odd because the other kid got a 75 on his paper”.
This revelation completely changed my mind and shows not only can’t you trust a headline, but you also must be careful of stories based on someone else’s reporting.
The Fox News story completely missed the point about AI being used for note taking and an outline.
Their story was based on the Boston 25 News story which disclosed that fact but didn’t go into much detail. It wasn’t until I found the CBS version that I truly understood the story and changed my mind.
It’s a lesson for us all – keep asking questions, keep digging and make sure we aren’t being misinformed.
Context is king.
KING’S CUP
Speaking of Kings, Australia certainly seems to be loving the royal visit happening this week. Crowds have flocked to public events with King Charles and Queen Camilla spending extended periods of time shaking hands.
Organisers of The Everest were hoping the royals would visit Sydney’s premiere racing event on Saturday and used News Corp papers like The Daily Telegraph to pressure a visit.
Despite headlines proclaiming ‘King Charles is planning cameo appearance at Royal Randwick for Everest at Australian tour’, it was not to be.
But readers of INSIDE MEDIA already knew that.
As I revealed last week, senior sources within the Albanese Government had told INSIDE MEDIA “the Royal couple will not be attending this weekend’s Everest event as hoped. Not even NSW racing boss Peter V’landys could pull this one off, with the King not willing to risk his health to attend”.
Once again: McKNIGHT WAS RIGHT™
INSIDE MEDIA is published every Monday and Thursday
Rob McKnight is the co-owner of TV Blackbox.