Mass sackings rock Nine Network bureaus in Darwin, Queensland’s Gold Coast

Two major Channel 9 bureaus will be left with skeleton staff after the network announced massive changes.

Staff at Channel 9’s Darwin and Gold Coast bureaus have been axed – one left with only a single reporter and cameraman.

Eleven full-time roles will be impacted by the decision – eight staff will be redeployed into other positions and three will receive redundancies.

The Darwin bulletin has been scrapped and the newsroom left with only one reporter and one camera operator.

Northern Territory residents will now receive the Queensland bulletin seven days a week.

Previously, the Queensland bulletin only aired on the weekends.

Generic imagery of Nine News Darwin. Picture: Pema Tamang Pakhrin

“Nine News remains the only free-to-air and bespoke news bulletin on the Gold Coast, while in Darwin we will retain a reporter and camera operator on the ground to tell the Territory’s stories to a national audience,” a Nine spokesperson said.

There will also be changes to the Gold Coast newsroom, with the bulletin now presented by a single newsreader.

Presenters Eva Milic and Paul Taylor will split their duties as newsreaders across the week.

Nine Gold Coast News presenters Paul Taylor and Eva Milic will split their responsibilities across the week.

The Nine spokesperson said the “difficult” changes were “necessary decisions (to) ensure Nine is able to withstand external challenges, while maintaining a commitment to both the Northern Territory and Gold Coast regions”.

“Through redeployment opportunities and current vacancies, Nine has significantly reduced the number of people impacted by this decision and we are supporting those employees through this process,” the spokesperson said.

Generic imagery of Nine News Darwin. Picture: Pema Tamang Pakhrin

The Gold Coast Bulletin reports a senior source at the network said staff were taken by surprise upon hearing the news.

“The management should hang their heads in shame,” they told the outlet.

“They are on hundreds of thousands of dollars a year and are getting rid of people that are paid a pittance.

“Only months ago, management emailed staff on the Gold Coast telling them their jobs were safe and they weren’t going anywhere.”

Originally published as Mass sackings rock Nine Network bureaus in Darwin, Queensland’s Gold Coast