Rita Panahi: Network Ten showdown with Lisa Wilkinson becomes high-rating soap opera

Channel 10’s legal woes have become a soap opera and each new eye-opening revelation highlights how some segments of the media are proudly divorced from reality.

Channel Ten’s legal woes have become a soap opera with eye-opening revelations, regular plot twists and a cast of outlandish characters led by media veteran Lisa Wilkinson and Network Ten chief executive Beverley McGarvey.

We will leave the deliberations about any defamation against Bruce Lehrmann to the lawyers and learned federal court judge Michael Lee, but there is no doubt that Channel 10 lied to its viewers and doubled down on those lies when some of us questioned their official narrative.

You’ll recall Wilkinson’s much publicised resignation as co-host of The Project back in November, 2022. She went out blaming segments of the media and playing the victim.

“To be clear, I’m not leaving Ten, and we’re looking at some exciting work ideas ahead, but I have to be honest with you, the last six months have not been easy,” she said.

“The relentless targeted toxicity by some sections of the media has taken a toll.”

Veteran journalist Lisa Wilkinson was dumped from The Project, according to court documents released last week. Picture: NCA NewsWire

Network Ten chief executive Beverley McGarvey removed former host of The Project Lisa Wilkinson from the desk in response to backlash over her Logies speech. Picture: Supplied

She must’ve forgotten to mention that much of the criticism came after a Logies speech that led to a rape trial being delayed by months.

Whether she got dud advice from Ten or not, and it looks like she did, is almost immaterial; anyone who has been near a newsroom knows that once charges are laid you cannot say or write anything that could prejudice a trial.

And, it’s worth noting that Wilkinson was a highly paid veteran in her 60s at the time of the breach, not some wet-behind-the-ears intern.

When some, including entertainment reporter Peter Ford, questioned whether the decision to step down from The Project was Lisa’s and Lisa’s alone, they were accused of spreading lies.

Both Network Ten and media identity Lisa Wilkinson will soon head back to court to defend allegations of defamation against Bruce Lehrmann. Picture: NCA NewsWire

A Network 10 spokesman said: “To be perfectly clear, this was Lisa’s decision. Any inference to the contrary is completely false”.

But last week we learnt that Wilkinson was in fact dumped from The Project.

“I was shocked, embarrassed and deeply disappointed by McGarvey’s decision to remove me from The Project,” Wilkinson said in an affidavit.

That would be Ten’s CEO Beverley McGarvey who, a month after removing Wilkinson, was sending internal memos to programming and editorial staff bagging Australia Day and making wild generalisations about Indigenous folk.

Each new revelation in the court case highlights how segments of the media are proudly divorced from reality. Present company excluded, of course.

Rita Panahi is a Herald Sun columnist