60 Minutes scandal: Nine will keep writing cheques for stories, boss says

CHANNEL 9 will continue to pay for interviews despite the fallout from the 60 Minutes child abduction story, the network’s news boss has declared. But he said that from now on, journalists and executives, including himself, must stay fully informed.

Former 60 Minutes producer Stephen Rice pictured with wife Denise outside their Birchgrove home.

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CHANNEL 9 will continue to pay for interviews despite the fallout from the 60 Minutes child abduction story, the network’s news boss has declared, as friends and colleagues yesterday rallied to support sacked producer Stephen Rice.

News director Darren Wick said money was not the central problem with the Beirut story, where the Nine crew were arrested after having paid a “child recovery” agent for his role in the attempted snatch of two Australian-Lebanese children.

Chequebook journalism was “a red herring”, Wick said.

60 Minutes report fallout.

“I don’t think it compromises journalism.”

But he said, from now on, journalists and executives, including himself, must stay fully informed.

He said the payment to Child Abduction Recovery International, whose principal Adam Whittington is still in a Beirut jail, was not the “key issue”.

“I think the key issue was our understanding of the laws and consequences if things went wrong. We weren’t prepared,” he said.

The scandal has claimed just one victim at Nine — story producer Rice, who left Nine yesterday after 28 years as a scathing internal report was released.

Rice yesterday declined to comment when contacted by The Sunday Telegraph but a colleague who did not want to be named said he had clearly been made a scapegoat.

CCTV footage captured the moment contractors hired by Sally Faulkner allegedly abducting her children from their Lebanese grandmother.

“To be lumped with the whole thing is reprehensible,” the colleague said.

“They were told no one was going to get the sack so all went before the review board without any legal representation.”

Friends were also concerned that Nine had effectively pronounced Rice guilty.

Lebanese authorities are soon to announce formal indictment charges against all involved in the kidnapping of Sally Faulkner’s two children off a Beirut street.

“There is still a judge deciding if all four will be charged and Nine has declared Rice guilty. We’re all astounded,” the colleague said.

Ms Faulkner’s ex Ali Zeid al-Amin outside the Baabda Courthouse.

The report conceded that Sally Faulkner’s story was worthy of covering.

“To jeopardise the legal case is beyond the pale and Channel 9 has dropped Rice in it to extradite itself from its public relations problem.”

Wick said Rice had left Nine because he, not reporter Tara Brown, was ultimately responsible for all the decisions on the story.

He also hit back at criticism from former Nine journalist Hugh Riminton, who tweeted it was unfair that a sound recordist and cameraman had been censured while senior executives had not.

“Hugh ... doesn’t know what he’s talking about,” Wick said.

“Everyone was spoken to. This is one that slipped through to the keeper.

“That’s from myself down ... everyone just had a view that we’ll be all right, we’re bulletproof and if anything goes wrong (we can say) ‘We’re journos, we’ll be OK’.”