Nine’s head of TV Michael Healy has ‘escaped scrutiny’ in the fallout over disgraced news boss Darren Wick

The troubled media company has further questions to answer over the handling of disgraced news boss Darren Wick’s exit from the business earlier this year.

Clockwise from top left: Outgoing Nine comms chief Victoria Buchan, former CEO Mike Sneesby, ex-news boss Darren Wick, CEO Matt Stanton, news director Fiona Dear, director of TV Michael Healy and ex-chair Peter Costello (centre).

Nine’s director of television Michael Healy lavished disgraced news boss Darren Wick with praise in a widely distributed internal email, despite knowing the outgoing executive was the subject of an extensive investigation relating to alleged misconduct involving a female employee.

The revelation has raised fresh concerns about the integrity of Nine’s executive team, as the company continues to deal with the fallout from the devastating external cultural review, which this month found the media giant had a systemic issue with “abuse of power and authority; bullying, discrimination and harassment; and sexual harassment.”

“In the broadcast division, the drivers of inappropriate workplace behaviours were found to be a lack of leadership capability and accountability, power imbalances and gender inequality and lack of diversity,” the review found.

Mr Healy has been at Nine for more than three decades and remains the director of television – a position he has held for 14 years.

The Australian has determined that he was aware of the serious complaint made in January about Wick’s alleged misconduct yet still decided to send an email to staff in the company’s broadcasting division commending the news boss for his service when he announced his resignation in March this year.

In an after-hours email, sent to staff on March 15 as part of the internal announcement that Wick was leaving the business, Mr Healy personally thanked “Wickie” and said he had “enormous impact” during his 29 years at the business.

“I personally want to thank Wickie for his commitment to the Nine News brand and wish him well,” Mr Healy wrote.

The Australian is not saying Mr Healy was involved in any misconduct himself, only that he was aware of the complaint levelled against Wick at the time he generously farewelled him in an email to staff.

The Australian has repeatedly contacted Mr Healy in recent days to ask what he knew about the investigation into Wick, whether he stood by his comments praising the disgraced news boss and whether he would apologise to staff for his remarks.

Mr Healy has not responded to questions. On Sunday, lawyers representing Mr Healy said: “He (Mr Healy) has behaved appropriately at all times in this matter.”

Sources said Mr Healy had also taken over from Wick as head of news and current affairs in a caretaker role in January after Wick was stood down.

The longserving news and current affairs director never returned to work but did not formally resign until two months later.

Mr Healy’s conduct during the Wick saga has been the subject of much newsroom discussion in recent weeks, with one insider saying: “He sent that gushing email about Wick and was involved in helping cover it all up.

“He’s somehow escaped scrutiny. He’s old school Nine, part of the furniture, part of the culture”.

Mr Healy reports to Nine’s acting chief executive officer Matt Stanton.

When Wick left the business in March he too sent an email to the TV division and blamed his departure on exhaustion.

“After many long beach walks and even longer conversations, I know in my heart that this is the right time for me to step down and leave Nine,” Wick wrote in an all-staff email.

Wick said he was “tired” and needed a “rest”, before signing off with: “I genuinely do LOVE YOUSE ALL.” The Australian has been told the communications sent out by both Wick and Mr Healy were done in conjunction with Nine’s outgoing head of communications Victoria Buchan.

She will leave the business at the end of November after being made redundant this month.

The Australian reported last week that Wick’s replacement, Fiona Dear, has also been accused of being complicit in the mistreatment of staff.

In a report published last Wednesday by the Women’s Leadership Institute Australia, she said she was “angered” by the rotten workplace culture at Nine and was upset that she “had to clean up someone else's shit”. Dear was appointed as Nine’s director of news and current affairs two months after Wick departed and was known to be a close confidant of his.

She previously served as deputy news director and newsroom chief of staff under Wick.

The Australian understands that she is yet to hold a formal meeting with her newsroom staff to address the damaging findings of the independent review into Nine’s workplace culture.

Originally published as Nine’s head of TV Michael Healy has ‘escaped scrutiny’ in the fallout over disgraced news boss Darren Wick