Nine veteran’s major call amid network scandals

A former Channel 9 boss has slammed the leadership of the company under embattled Nine Entertainment chairman Peter Costello.

A former Channel 9 boss has slammed the company’s leadership under embattled Nine Entertainment chairman Peter Costello.

Collingwood president Jeff Browne told the Herald Sun on Sunday that he had been approached to consider a return to the network following Mr Costello’s physical altercation with a journalist at Canberra airport on Thursday.

“I’m deeply disappointed to see the recent press regarding the Nine Network, a once mighty organisation which I proudly served for nearly eight years,” Mr Browne told the newspaper.

“It reminds me of the importance of culture in the workplace and good governance around the board table.

“It also reminds me of the recent task I took on at Collingwood three years ago and the importance of values-based leadership.

“Not only has the business failed to achieve a culture of mutual trust and respect, it has failed to deliver any incremental value to shareholders.

“Clearly, there needs to be a top-down and bottom-up review and a cultural reset.

“I have been contacted by a number of Nine executives who are lamenting the current situation and want to see change.”

Collingwood president Jeff Browne. Picture: Mark Metcalfe/Getty Images

Mr Browne, managing director of Channel 9 from 2009 to 2013, confirmed he would be interested in replacing Mr Costello as chairman to help “restore the company to its true position as a leader in the Australian media space”.

He said while he did not “know the full details” of the airport incident, “obviously it requires some investigation”.

Mr Costello was accused of knocking The Australian’s Liam Mendes to the ground as the journalist was following him through the terminal and asking him a series of questions related to Nine’s handling of harassment allegations against its former news director Darren Wick.

Mr Costello denies knocking Mendes over.

In the video, Mr Costello appears to walk towards Mendes before the reporter crashes to the ground and falls backwards with his legs in the air as the camera keeps rolling.

Mr Costello, who is seen standing over Mendes, then turns and walks away as the reporter lies on the ground.

“You’ve just assaulted me,” Mendes says to Mr Costello while lying on the floor.

Peter Costello at Canberra airport. Picture: Liam Mendes

Mr Costello said Mendes fell over after he backed into an advertising placard.

“I did not strike him,” Mr Costello later told reporters at Parliament House.

The Nine chairman was in the nation’s capital for the launch of Nine’s newly renovated Canberra bureau in the press gallery.

He said any suggestion he should resign was “rubbish” and he did not “lay a finger” on the reporter.

“As I walked past him, he walked back into an advertising placard and he fell over,” Mr Costello told Nine newspapers.

“I did not strike him. If he’s upset about that, I’m sorry. But I did not strike him. I wasn’t angry. Just like you blokes here if you’re backing back, and there’s a placard behind you, you can walk into it. I’ve seen it happen a million times, I’ve seen it here at Parliament House a million times, reporters back into the bollards and fall over.”

Mr Costello bluntly rejected any suggestion he assaulted the journalist.

“It’s not assault,” he said.

“As I said before he was backing backwards. He hit an advertising placard. I did not lay a finger or a fist or anything else.”

Mr Costello has rejected any suggestion he assaulted the journalist. Picture: David Beach/The Australian

Australia’s longest-serving Treasurer and former deputy Liberal leader was backed by opposition leader Peter Dutton, who said they had been friends for over 20 years and “I’ve never seen any active aggression from him”.

“Firstly, I don’t know Liam, but he’s obviously an excellent journalist,” Mr Dutton told Channel 9 on Friday.

“And, the most important thing is that I hope that he’s okay. But the Peter Costello I know is somebody who doesn’t have an aggressive bone of that nature in his body, and I hope that the matter can be resolved amicably. And, we move on.”

But Treasurer Jim Chalmers slammed Mr Costello, saying the head of a media giant should know to treat reporters respectfully.

“I think it’s really important that we treat journalists with respect, that journalists are safe in their workplace,’’ he said.

“And if anyone should know that, it should be the chairman of a major media organisation. It’s a matter for the journalist whether or not that’s taken any further.”

Nine radio star Ben Fordham from Sydney’s 2GB said on his Friday show that “boss, you’ve had a shocker”.

“This is what I wrote to the former federal Treasurer last night who’s now the chairman of Nine who own this radio station,” Fordham said on his program.

“I said, ‘You’ve got to address the airport incident, you know that better than anyone, and there’s only one place to do it, 2GB at 7.15am.”

“I haven’t received a response.”

Originally published as Nine veteran’s major call amid network scandals