‘Suicidal’: Bombshell 7 allegations aired on Four Corners

An explosive Four Corners episode has lifted the lid on allegations of a deeply “toxic” and sexist culture at the network.

Staff working for Channel 7 have lifted the lid on what they claim is a the deeply toxic and sexist workplace environment, with two women allegedly left feeling suicidal.

Four Corners spoke to more than 200 people for the bombshell expose in which staff made allegations of a “boys club” where women were forced to work harder than men.

One female journalist claims she was told to handover her hard-won stories to male journalists while another said she had to work late while her male colleagues went out and got drunk.

Perhaps most shockingly, one woman threw herself in front of a car outside the network’s Brisbane office after allegedly working extremely long hours for not much more than minimum wage.

When she told the network she was leaving they allegedly said they wouldn’t allow it and said she would have to keep working for another six months.

“The only way I can describe it is I felt like I had a noose around my neck,” the young woman told Four Corners.

Four Corners have lifted the lid on the "toxic" workplace culture at Channel 7.

One of the woman’s colleagues received a call from her in which she was “wailing, hysterical, incredibly emotional”.

In notes taken of the incident, they wrote: “Couldn’t understand what she was saying apart from ‘they won’t let me go’, ‘i’ve f**ked up my career’, ‘I want to be hit by a car’.”

The woman hung up the phone then ran in front of a car, which mercifully stopped and failed to hit her.

She then jumped towards another car, before rolling down a hill.

Two ambulances were called and the woman was taken to hospital. The woman never returned to Channel 7.

Another woman, who is suing 7 for sexual discrimination, said she was left feeling suicidal after working on the network’s Spotlight program.

She claims she worked 10-12 hour days, seven days a week and was once forced to use her own money to finish a story, leaving her with no money for rent while she waited for expenses to be reimbursed.

“[It was] incredibly stressful,” she said.

The woman said she became very unwell with a respiratory illness and was coughing up blood.

Seven reporter Olivia Babb made allegations against the network.

She said her doctor said she needed to go home.

“I just started sobbing because the pressure of going home and not going back to the office and what the retribution would be if I did that was so great,” she says.

“[The doctor] said, ‘If you don’t go home now, you’re going to be in bed with pneumonia for six weeks … I’ll call an ambulance to your office if I have to.’”

The journalist claims that the network wanted her to keep working at home.

“I got to the point where I was suicidal, and I remember in one particularly dark moment where I’d worked all weekend,” she says.

“I rang Lifeline, and I made a doctor’s appointment because I knew I was so close to taking my own life. And I had a child that I couldn’t do that to because I was a single parent.”

Spotlight has come under fire after it was revealed in April that it paid Bruce Lehrmann’s rent for a year.

Mr Lehrmann was charged with the rape of Brittany Higgins but the charge was dropped after his trial collapsed.

He has always strongly denied the allegation.

One Seven employee, Olivia Babb, who works in regional Queensland also told of unsustainable salaries.

While Ms Babb earns $60,000 she said some of her highly qualified co-workers were forced to take second jobs to make ends meet.

She feared she would become homeless.

Ms Babb also said she felt “harassed and bullied” during her time at Seven.

“It is one of the most degrading, soul-crushing places you can work,” the former reporter said.

“You really think #MeToo has made any difference to Seven?“I have never seen anything come through that makes us think that it even happened, that Seven even knew about #MeToo.”

Solicitor Josh Bornstein, who has multiple clients taking legal action against Seven, said there was “enormous hostility to women”.

In a statement after Four Corners aired, Seven West Media said it was “clearly concerned about allegations of poor behaviour and mistreatment of of employees”.

However they added that a “number of matters raised represent old issues that have been well aired and dealt with, in some cases many years ago”.

“A number of people who have displayed behaviour not reflective of SWM’s values have already been removed from the organisation,” the statement continued.

“We encourage all Seven West Media team members to call out any behaviour that does not reflect our values. Whistle-blower protections are in place and are regularly re-emphasised with all staff.”

News.com.au has contacted Channel 7 for comment.