In their own words: Nine staff in their own words after damning report into culture at the media company

Furious broadcaster Ray Hadley demanded that ‘cover-ups must end’ in the wake of the damning report into the toxic culture of bullying and sexual harrassment at Channel Nine.

Furious broadcaster Ray Hadley demanded that ‘cover-ups must end’ in the wake of the damning report into the toxic culture of bullying and sexual harrassment at Channel Nine.

“I can think of a case that I mentioned recently where someone in power is abusing young staff, and I don’t care whether it’s the biggest name in the business or someone a bit down the pecking order, there can’t be a cover up simply because someone is a powerful person, be they a presenter or a manager, there can’t be a cover up anymore.” Hadley said on 2GB on Friday.

“It’s got to end.”

The 80-page report releeased on Thursday featured numerous first-hand accounts from anonymised staff, past and present, with allegations of bullying, sexual harassment and verbal abuse.

‘It must end,’ said 2GB’s Ray Hadley. Picture: Rohan Kelly

The investigation was launched after shock allegations were made against Nine’s former head of news Darren Wick, with several women coming forward to claim he had sexually harassed them and was part of a toxic culture in the newsroom.

Hadley said as a senior presenter at the network, he had made it his duty to ensure women and junior staff “felt safe” on the job.

“I see it as the role of senior presenters to make sure the people who work immediately with me feel safe, particularly young women,” he said.

“I have, of course, five granddaughters and two grandsons. I have three daughters. So in many respects, I think about the young women I work with as my daughters… I think about what judgement I’d make if my daughter was subjected to something like this.

“We all have to do better at Nine Entertainment, we have to do better. And that starts with the chair, and she wants to do better. It starts with the board. They want to do better,” he said.

‘BULLIED INTO SUBMISSION’: NINE STAFF TELL

Nine’s 80 page report features countless first-hand anonymised accounts of working at the media company. Here, The Daily Telegraph extracts some of the damning commentary that covers abuse of power, sexual harassment and bullying.

Here are their stories:

“Punishment island”

“I have worked with and under [manager] for many years. It’s widely known … that they bully staff.

“The act of bullying is to intentionally cause emotional harm and that’s what [this manager] has done to dozens of employees. They intentionally and repeatedly belittle individuals, who are always below [them] in the workplace structure, until they can’t take it anymore. This is a clear abuse of power.

“Typically this includes picking on one employee for a period of time and then moving on to someone else …. We call this “punishment island”. A desolate and dark place no one wants to be. And if you’re not on “punishment island” that month, seeing your friends and colleagues there is just as distressing.

“The bullying has many forms, at times it’s yelling at the individual or in other instances it’s covert. For years both men and women have not spoken out due to a fear over what will happen to their careers.

Both myself and colleagues of mine have experienced bullying numerous times by [Individual].”

Nine Entertainment chief executive officer Mike Sneesby, chief finance and strategy officer Matt Stanton and chief sales officer Michael Stephenson delivering the company's annual results on Wednesday, August 28, 2024. Source: Channel 9

“Verbal abuse”

“People in positions of power can harass unchallenged. Verbal abuse is common. Shifting the blame is a common occurrence and leadership often supports perpetrators due to bias. Passive aggressive remarks are made constantly. Racist, homophobic and other offensive comments have been made by senior peers and when taken to direct senior leadership there are no consequences.”

“Bullied into submission”

“This behaviour is a daily occurrence in the newsroom in particular. Women are constantly bullied into submission and to a point where we have no confidence or self-worth left. If you challenge your male superior, they more often than not respond aggressively and it costs you professionally and financially. [They] … make you feel you’re replaceable and should be grateful to work at Nine, despite the fact all the women in the newsroom are accomplished, intelligent and hard working. There’s an enormous pay gap due to this fact as well because you’ll simply be pushed aside if you have the audacity to believe you’re worth more money.”

“I would cry in my car”

“[She is a] toxic bully. I would cry in my car when I arrived at work because I knew I had to deal with her. She would set you up to look stupid. She would constantly undermine you … She had a real disregard for people’s wellbeing. She would say: ‘A thousand people would kill for this job’.”

“There just to look pretty”

“It’s an unspoken rule that the male reporters are automatically assigned all the serious hard-hitting stories – politics, finance and domestic violence, as if they are the only credible ones that will be taken seriously or considered trustworthy and reliable. Women reporters seem to be there just to look pretty. Women’s right to report seems tied to appearance. A woman presenter was told when she got pregnant ‘why would you go and do that?’ What is more important – the news content or what I look like?!”

“Eroded my confidence”

“I had been warned about him … I was in my 20s … His comments about my body were constant … He made me feel like I was just a piece of meat to be ogled at … and that he was the credible one just because he was the older man … Over time, this eroded my confidence … It just chipped away at it.”

“‘Just tell me when you’ve done it’”

“There was a work function … known for plenty of heavy drinking. At one point in the evening, [Individual] was standing in a circle with myself, my boyfriend at the time … and a few other newsroom colleagues. There were a few harmless jokes about the relationship etc., before [Individual] said to my partner … ‘You can f**k her in my office if you want … just tell me when you’ve done it’. I don’t need to comment on how disgusting this is.”

“Joke about sexual assault”

“While we like to believe that the #MeToo movement improved working conditions for women, the Nine newsroom reeked of a man’s locker room. I had regularly overheard men … boisterously joke about sexual assault … and objectify women in general … I knew it was a ‘man’s place’.”

The long-awaited report into broader culture issues at Nine Entertainment will be shared Thursday. Pictured is an email to employees.

“Destroyed me as a human being”

Channel Nine … destroyed me as a human being. They ghosted me out of a job. I lost my career. This was the price I paid for speaking up. The minute I spoke up my life was over.

“Pretty good looking”

“My immediate supervisor remarked that a person of a particular race was “pretty good looking” considering their ethnicity, to which I also belong.”

“Blind drunk, slurring his words”

“He was blind drunk, slurring his words and swaying as he tried to stand. I saw him outside sitting alone with a female friend/colleague of mine. I was told by people who were looking out through the glass that he was trying to kiss her. A senior female staff member was laughing and sent a junior female staff member to try to intervene.”

“Entirely inexcusable”

“The way staff have been bullied, harassed, intimidated and controlled in my workplace by aggressive and manipulative behaviour by two senior managers is entirely inexcusable. Nine has either allowed or turned a blind eye to such behaviour to continue for far too long.”

“Seemingly enjoying humiliating her”

“A male [presenter] belittling a female [junior staff member] following a minor slip and he continued to berate this person seemingly enjoying humiliating her and making her even more nervous and insecure.”

Originally published as In their own words: Nine staff in their own words after damning report into culture at the media company