‘They all copped it’: Nine insiders speak out over toxic culture
As Nine stars speak out about a sick culture of leaking during contract negotiations, new details have emerged over a story that rocked the Today show.
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EXCLUSIVE
Channel 9 insiders have revealed the original tip-off detailing what an Uber driver overheard when Karl Stefanovic and his brother Pete offered their unplugged views of colleagues in a cab was phoned in to 60 Minutes before it found its way to a rival media outlet, sparking fears it was an “internal hit job”.
As Nine stars speak out about a sick culture of leaking against TV stars during contract negotiations, new details have emerged over the story that rocked the Today show in 2018.
Sources have told news.com.au the original tip-off was phoned through to the 60 Minutes bunker before staff tipped off senior colleagues about what the driver had heard.
The story then mysteriously made its way to the pages of New Idea, sparking reports that the driver had scored $50,000 for the explosive account.
‘Right, so my job is on the line?’
Current and former Nine staff have told news.com.au they believe it was all part of a toxic culture that in some cases included leaking against their own staff to rival newspapers.
“It was certainly something that would happen,” a Nine star said.
“Stories would be written up about the negotiations and the pay rise they wanted. Really specific details and you just knew there would only be a handful of people who knew the negotiations.
“When they were in the process of changing hosts it would be in the newspaper. The information was accurate.
“You would read about your career in the paper and go, ‘Right, so my job is on the line?’”
The Nine employee said the TV station was a “f**king mess” because of the fallout from that culture.
‘They all copped it’: Nine insiders speak out
It was a tactic deployed against high-profile presenters, particularly on the Today show including Lisa Wilkinson and Karl Stefanovic, according to Nine sources.
“They all copped it, whether it was Sylvia Jeffreys, Georgie Gardener or Deb Knight,” another Nine insider said.
In 2018, details of Karl and Peter Stefanovic’s unplugged views about colleagues at Nine were leaked by the driver who claimed the brothers launched an extraordinary 45-minute attack on colleagues including Gardner, Richard Wilkins, Mark Burrows and Nine bosses.
Peter and Jeffreys, his wife and fellow Nine presenter, were in the back of an Uber car late at night, speaking to his brother and fellow Nine Network host Karl on speakerphone.
According to the driver, Stefanovic vented his frustration at new Today co-host Gardner, who he accused of “sitting on the fence” and not having enough opinions.
During the trip, the driver claimed that Peter complained at length that he “hated his job” and it was “sucking the life out of him”.
The Stefanovics both later issued apologies as speculation swirled about what exactly had been said during the conversation.
Peter also apologised for the conversation.
“I did a silly thing and feel awful for any embarrassment I’ve brought to my (Nine) colleagues, who I deeply respect,” he said.
News.com.au has also been told of claims that a Nine employee flogged details of Peter Stefanovic and Jeffreys’ wedding to paparazzi photographers tipping them off to the location for $500.
Female employee who complained about Darren Wick never interviewed
The latest round of stories about Nine follow the departure of legendary news boss Darren Wick.
News.com.au has also confirmed that Wick took a period of leave after a workplace complaint was made against him by a female employee who engaged legal counsel.
But she declined to participate in the workplace investigation when Nine called in an external legal firm to investigate.
Employment lawyers sometimes advise clients not to participate in such investigations claiming they are “a sham” established to arrive at predetermined outcomes.
If staff co-operate, the report is legal-in-confidence, which means neither the complainant or the accused can ever read the report or the findings.
Nine sources have confirmed to news.com.au that the complainant was never interviewed about her complaint.
As a result, there were no findings against Mr Wick regarding the complaint.
When Wick left the company in March, he explained he was simply “tired”.
“I don’t want to use the word ‘retiring’, because I don’t know how to sit idle. But I am going to take a very long break from what has been four decades of working as a journalist. I’m tired and need a rest,” he said.
‘Game of Thrones at board level’
Nine insiders claim the process of the investigation was “a mess” with Wick sidelined for six weeks and rumours swirling about him in the newsroom.
This was unfair to everyone involved according to Nine insiders and made it impossible for him to return to the newsroom regardless of the outcome.
“In the old days (former CEO) David Gyngell would have sorted that out in a week,” a Nine insider said.
The fallout has led to questions about how Nine is being run and claims there are “Game of Thrones” divisions at the board level.
Another Nine star told news.com.au that Wick could also be supportive of female staff when they returned from maternity leave.
“If he’s been a bad boy to women, obviously I haven’t known about it,” he said.
“But his record on women in the workplace, he’s the bloke who went ‘no, we are sending women over as foreign correspondents. Where previously they said no, because of war zones’.
“He rolled out the red carpet when women came back from maternity leave. It used to be that women went on maternity leave and they wouldn’t come back.
“Well, they certainly wouldn’t come back to the role they were in.”
However, Wick, who was single, did sometimes date journalists.
“He had occasional consensual relationships around the office. I never saw him proposition anyone,” the Nine insider said.
“I never saw him acting like a sleazebag and he always positioned himself in the office.
“He was a bloke who promoted women, he put women in charge of shows where previously they hadn’t been given those opportunities.”
Nine’s head of corporate affairs, Victoria Buchan declined to comment on why the complainant was not interviewed.
Originally published as ‘They all copped it’: Nine insiders speak out over toxic culture
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