‘No d**kheads’: Tough new rules at Seven

The boss who took control of Channel 7 in the wake of the sex workers and cocaine scandal has declared he’s ushered in some tough new rules.

The news boss who took control of Kerry Stokes’ Channel 7 in the wake of the sex workers and cocaine scandal has declared he’s ushered in a “no d**kheads” policy as he urged the Prime Minister to consider a “rebate” to help fund Spotlight’s journalism.

News boss Anthony De Ceglie has hit back at the backlash the network has received for innovations in the 6pm news including horoscopes and satire and hiring younger news bosses in a speech at the Melbourne Press Club.

And he’s urged Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to axe the tax on commercial TV broadcasters and consider a new rebate for TV current affairs warning the current state of play is stopping him from hiring more journalists.

The Seven Network announced a huge shake-up in the wake of the Spotlight scandal with news chief Craig McPherson stepping down and West Australian editor Anthony De Ceglie moving to Sydney to take on the role.

Nat Barr and Matt Shirvington.

The changing of the guard follows news.com.au’s exclusive report that a Spotlight producer, Taylor Auerbach, had spent $10,000 on a corporate credit card to order two Thai masseuses to his home after a boozy dinner with Bruce Lehrmann. Mr Lehrmann denied getting a massage.

In the fallout from the story, Spotlight executive producer Mark Llewellyn - whose credit card was used without his knowledge or consent to order two Thai masseuses by the younger producer - left the company and the program’s chief of staff Steve Jackson was dumped from his appointment as the head of NSW Police media.

Mr De Ceglie said he had a simple approach to fixing the culture at Seven.

“I am also a strong believer that as a leader you need to enforce a ‘No D**kheads’ policy,’’ he said.

“It only ever takes one toxic person to disrupt an entire team.

“And if they’re not dealt with then they can become a cancer that infects the whole staff.”

“Ryan Stokes has a leadership philosophy that he calls the “Owner’s Mindset”. Its 10 guiding principles are also on my white board.

“Among them are points like “doers over delegators”, “value pace over analysis-paralysis” and be “crystal clear on drivers”.

“The final point in Ryan’s guiding principles is my favourite – that everything in leadership is personal.

‘Romper room’ executives

Mr De Ceglie also said he made no apologies for appointing a fresh new team of news executives including some who are under 30.

“Some industry insiders have commented on the relative youth of the team, with one columnist even dubbing us The Romper Room after the classic children’s TV show,’’ he said.

“Of course, the irony was that most of us are so young we actually had no idea what they were talking about.

Anthony De Ceglie. Picture: Supplied

“And, as I told the team, if the biggest criticism we face is our age then I’ll take that any day of the week.”

Mr De Ceglie said an old-school theory about the daily ratings driven culture is that it creates an atmosphere of only two emotions – winning and losing.

“I believe that Channel 7 and Channel 9 are news companies first and foremost,’’ he said.

“We are the shining light on the hill in an increasingly dystopian world of conspiracy theorists and deepfakes and anti-vaxxer cookers.

“Elon Musk doesn’t care about the truth.

“In fact, he revels in peddling lies and boasts about using his bin fire of a site to influence the US election.

“Meanwhile, Mark Zuckerberg is seemingly happy for Meta to profit off the page impressions that child sex offenders create when they routinely use his site to prey on their next victim.

“Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has labelled Meta arrogant bullies who should fess up to the damage they cause.

“If the Prime Minister is genuinely worried about the toxicity of Facebook and Meta and X and TikTok … then bloody well give a helping hand to the journalism that fights for facts.”

Albanese acts like newsrooms are still bathing in profits

De Ceglie said the Albanese Government still acts like newsrooms are still bathing in the rivers of profits.

“Free to air networks like Channel 7 still pay an archaic “broadcast tax” that was designed sixty years ago during an era of super profits that simply no longer exist,’’ he said.

“At a time when a viewer can access 10 hours of news on Seven’s free-to-air channel on any given day … the so-called Commercial Broadcast Tax is actually just a tax on journalism.

“The cost of the Commercial Broadcasting Tax this financial year for stations like Seven, Nine and 10 will be a combined $45 million.

Big changes are afoot at Seven. Picture : NCA NewsWire / Nicki Connolly

“I ask the Albanese Government how many journalism jobs do they think that is?

“No other comparable jurisdiction in the world places tax burdens of this kind on broadcasters.

“Make no mistake, I am using today’s speech to call on the Albanese Government and the Dutton Opposition to vow to scrap the Commercial Broadcast Tax immediately in the name of journalism.

“The future of the news and the future of the truth in our democracy depends on it.

“I want to go one step further though.

“The Government must also immediately investigate a rebate for the costs of producing news and current affairs.

“As I said earlier, journalism is the greatest job and the greatest privilege in the world.

“But we need help.”

Originally published as ‘No d**kheads’: Tough new rules at Seven