Channel 10 threatens legal action over ‘unfair’ Lisa Wilkinson reports
Channel 10 has threatened to sue media outlets for defamation over ‘unfair’ reports on Lisa Wilkinson as a high profile barrister is hired to represent the TV personality following her Logies speech.
Network 10 has lashed out at other media outlets for their “inaccurate and unfair” reportage on Lisa Wilkinson since her Logie’s speech after the TV presenter was required to disengage from further public commentary about the Brittany Higgins’ trial.
In a statement on Thursday, the network reinforced its support for Wilkinson and said it was “closely monitoring all coverage” of the issue while warning the media of potential defamation.
“This reporting is now causing significant harm and we ask these organisations to cease this harassment to allow Lisa the best opportunity to give her evidence in court and to enable the trial to go ahead in a fair and timely manner,” the Ten statement read.
“There are significant facts that cannot be disclosed until after the trial has concluded.
“We are closely monitoring all coverage of this issue and Lisa and Network 10 reserve their rights in respect of any future defamation claims.”
It comes as a high profile barrister hired to represent Wilkinson - whose Logies speech contributed to the delay of the trial of the man accused of raping former Liberal staffer Brittany Higgins - could be costing up to $10,000 a day.
President of the Australian Bar Association Matthew Collins was hired to represent the Ten Network and Wilkinson hours after he appeared on the Seven Network’s Sunrise program saying it was a “serious possibility” authorities might charge the TV presenter with contempt of court.
Dr Collins criticised Wilkinson’s Logies speech as “ill-advised” in the interview after the ACT Supreme Court delayed the start of the trial, which had been due to start on June 27.
Top of the line barristers like Dr Collins cost between $8,000 and $10,000 a day if they have to appear in court.
Previously Dr Collins has acted in a number of significant media law cases, including actress Rebel Wilson’s defamation case against Bauer Media.
Lawyers acting for Lisa Wilkinson have promised the court the TV personality will not publicly discuss the alleged rape of Brittany Higgins after her Logies speech caused the delay of the trial.
The ACT Director of Public Prosecution Shane Drumgold has confirmed he received a letter from Channel 10 lawyers with the undertaking, and has also sought a similar commitment from the Australian Radio Network, which broadcasts “Amanda and Jonesy”.
The broadcast presenters were criticised by ACT Supreme Court Justice Lucy McCallum this week for their public comments on Ms Higgins’ case, which lead to the delay of the trial originally due to start on June 27.
Bruce Lehrmann has pleaded not guilty to sexually assaulting Ms Higgins inside Parliament House in 2019.
At a hearing on Thursday, Lehrmann’s lawyer Steve Whybrow asked for the trial to be delayed until the start of 2023, arguing the “bushfires are still burning” as a result of Wilkinson’s Logies speech.
But Ms McCallum rejected this request and rescheduled the four-week trial to start on October 4.
“Three months is a significant period, during which attention to prejudicial issues fades in the minds of the jurors,” she said.
“My assessment is that three months coupled with what I anticipate will be a dampening of the debate as a result of the judgement and communication I have received since, that will enable the trial to be conducted fairly.”
The court also heard Mr Drumgold was seeking to ensure several upcoming political books either did not mention the case or had their publication dates until after the trial.
Ms McCallum said it would be a “pretty thin book” if you took out everything that related to the allegations made by Ms Higgins, which are yet to be tested in court.
There was no discussion of holding Wilkinson in contempt of court, but Ms McCallum was scathing of the TV presenter as she further explained her reason for delaying the trial.
“The real concern … was the immediacy in impanelling a jury with a list of witnesses that included Ms Wilkinson in a week where no one could fail to have connected her name with success in publishing a ‘true’ story,” Ms McCallum said.
Ms McCallum said in her reading, coverage of the case this week in the wake of Wilkinson’s speech had rightly kept to the importance of ensuring a fair trial.
“The publicity this week has focused sharply on the very fact that was being overlooked, which was that a man is facing trial for a serious offence, and he’s entitled to the presumption of innocence,” she said.
Mr Drumgold raised concerns about several books about politics he believed to be due for release this year, including titles authored by journalists Sam Maiden, Peter Van Onselen and Nikki Savva.
He suggested to Ms McCallum he would contact the authors to confirm if they were writing books, and ask them to either undertake not to address issues of sub-judice related to the case or to delay the publishing of their works until after the trial.
Ms McCallum agreed, saying as long it was understood what was meant by “sub-judice” as she was “not confident that it was until this week”.
“What is meant by the term sub-judice is effectively what I said in my judgment: an allegation that has been made remains untested by law,” she said.
“So that any commentary about the maker of the allegation, the circumstances in which she made it, her own credibility, the number of times in which she’s said it, and the terms in which she said it – all of those are matters that are before the court.
“Because what is before the court is the obligation that remains to be tested.”
It comes as after her “unwise” speech contributed to derailing the trial of the alleged rape of Brittany Higgins, legal experts say TV presenter Lisa Wilkinson could potentially face contempt of court charges.
Wilkinson has been criticised by legal experts and television peers after her comments at Sunday’s awards night caused the trial due to start in the ACT Supreme Court next week was indefinitely delayed.
Bruce Lehrmann has pleaded not guilty to sexually assaulting Ms Higgins inside Parliament House in 2019.
Former Channel 10 weather presenter Tim Bailey slammed his colleague in a brutal tweet on Wednesday.
“Hey Lisa, pull ya head in. I know this might be difficult, because it is a very big head. But please try,” Bailey said in a now-deleted post.
10 news anchor Sandra Sully liked a tweet by show business reporter Peter Ford, which said: “Such serious consequences from Lisa Wilkinson … if only she’d stuck to silly stories like the paparazzi who stalked her in Chapel St.”
Sunrise presenter Natalie Barr also weighed in on the case, saying Seven would “often consult” their lawyers before putting a story to air.
“Would this have been the case where Channel 10’s lawyers should have stepped in and lawyered this speech?” she said.
Australian Bar Association president Matthew Collins said it was a “serious possibility” Wilkinson may be charged with contempt of court.
“It’s certainly possible that the authorities will be looking at the speech that she made to the Logies and assessing that speech against the standard that applies in this branch of the law,” he said.
“That standard is, did anything that she did do have a tendency to interfere with the administration of justice?”
Macedone Legal principal Sam Macedone said any comment in relation to a pending trial was “definitely unwise” because it may influence a jury, an issue of particular importance in the ACT where a case like Ms Higgins’ cannot be a judge-only trial.
Mr Macedone said it was even more staggering Ms Wilkinson had been warned by the ACT Department of Public Prosecutions, and still went ahead with her Logies speech.
“I think if it were to happen again, especially in relation to anyone from the media, that the most likely event would be a permanent stay of the trial,” he said.
Wilkinson has not commented publicly since the Logies, but on the day the trial was delayed, she liked a tweet pre-emptively criticising the court if it ruled her speech had jeopardised the chance of a fair trial.
No date has been set for the trial, but a mention hearing was set for 9.30am Thursday, when it is expected a date will be set to discuss further orders.
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Originally published as Channel 10 threatens legal action over ‘unfair’ Lisa Wilkinson reports
