How Lisa wanted about $400k less than Nine CEO
LISA Wilkinson’s pay dispute at Nine has highlighted the lucrative pay packets of some of Australia’s TV celebrities. These stars’ salaries have remained under wraps until now as industry estimates show how much they’re really on.
Opinion
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HOW can the Prime Minister earn just over $500,000 a year for running the country when Lisa Wilkinson can ask for four times that amount for hosting three hours of live breakfast TV a day?
Carrie Bickmore is rumoured to earn about the same while other breakfast and morning hosts earn anywhere from $400,000 to more than $1 million.
These figures are industry estimates but they highlight the ridiculousness of inflated salary packages of the talking heads on our television screens.
From stars of the movies to TV and radio, there’s absolutely no doubt we pay celebrities too much money for what they do.
The producers and runners behind the scenes absolutely do more work and often have to put in extra energy to keep the wheels turning.
But any debate over whether celebrities deserve their hefty pay packets is pointless as the market will pay what the market believes they are worth.
Yes, it is stupid money, especially when you look at minimum wage in this country of just $672.70 a week. That is $17.70 an hour.
A nurse working tirelessly in a hospital or a teacher moulding our future generations should be paid more than a journalist sitting in a television studio for three hours a day.
But life isn’t fair and we, as consumers, buy into that world of celebrity.
It is us to blame. Not Lisa Wilkinson.
The only salary cap for a TV presenter or actor is whether or not a network or film company is willing to pay them.
More often than not, men are paid more than women too. This isn’t fair either and that is why Wilkinson’s signing to Channel Ten for a rumoured $2 million plus is a win.
She wouldn’t have scored that pay packet had the market not been confident of a return on investment.
Any criticism of Wilkinson or suggestion of greed or diva behaviour or spreading herself too thin and putting a high value on her worth is rubbish.
Good on Lisa — she has every right to make a demand while the network had every right to refuse.
Nine’s loss is Ten’s gain. You could argue the noise created from the announcement has already paid her salary by Ten asserting themselves as players again, back in the game if you will.
Nine Entertainment’s annual report for the last financial year show network boss Hugh Marks took home $2.77 million in the year to June 30 — including a salary of $1.38 million, cash bonuses of $895,000, and shares worth almost $450,000.
I’d argue CEOs and execs in other businesses earn way too much also compared to everyday Australians.
For Wilkinson and other television presenters though, built into their salary is risk.
They can be hot one minute and not the next.
Shows are canned all the time, as are presenters.
There’s countless hosts, actors and reporters who have been ‘boned’ at the peak of their career only to be left slogging it out freelancing hoping for the next gig on air.
It can be tough. They are highly scrutinised both on air and off.
Karl Stefanovic wore the same suit for one year. Wilkinson wore the same blouse a couple of times and there was national outrage.
►Why Nine believes Karl is worth more than Lisa
►Nine boss hits out at Lisa Wilkinson
►Today star Sylvia Jeffreys in contract negotiations
►Fatty Vautin sidelined as Erin Molan takes the helm of Nine’s Footy Show
Women, whether we admit it or not, are heavily criticised for what they wear and how they look.
We, as viewers, are fickle, and often unfairly critical.
And whatever way you look at it, television stars lose a certain amount of privacy by being recognisable faces and that, to me, is worth monetary compensation.