‘Punishment Island’: Nine’s culture of shaming, ghosting and belittling revealed

Managers in Nine’s broadcast division would single out employees and belittle them until they could take it no more as part of a culture in which workers were routinely shamed, gaslighted and intimidated – sometimes to the point of self-harm.

“We call this ‘punishment island’,” said one Nine employee who cannot be named. “A dark and desolate place no one wants to be.”

Nine released a long-awaited cultural review on Thursday afternoon.Credit: Sam Mooy

A report on the company’s culture released on Thursday found belittlement, public white-anting and the abuse of power were commonplace in its broadcast news division, and leaders lacked accountability and often made decisions based on status, relationships or self-interest.

The findings were part of a cultural review into the company by independent firm Intersection that was prompted by the high-profile exit of former news and current affairs boss Darren Wick this year.

However, staff in the broadcast division were furious that the report that was handed to the company didn’t name any perpetrators, and none of the bullies, power players and “toxic” staff whose behaviour was criticised, were held to account. “It feels like people who have behaved badly are getting off Scot-free,” said one.

The report paints a picture of an organisation lacking accountability, where decisions are based on personal gain or preference, and where an individual’s role or status can be used to bully, harass or punch down. Across the company, almost a quarter of staff reported experiencing sexual harassment.

The first two-thirds of the report include a deep-dive into Nine’s broadcast news and current affairs division, based on 122 interviews. The final third outlines the results of a company-wide survey based on 934 respondents.

It details abuses of power imbalances becoming commonplace at Nine, led by a culture of fear in taking complaints to the human resources division.

“When I left Nine I was a shell. I was broken. I had no confidence […] It was a really horrible time,” said one anonymous staff member. No individuals were named in the report.

Another described “punishment island” as “typically … picking on one employee for a period of time and moving onto someone else”. “If you’re not on punishment island that month, seeing your friends and colleagues there is just as distressing.”

Staff from Nine’s broadcast division fired angry questions at acting chief executive Matt Stanton when they were briefed on the findings at 1pm, furious at the failure to identify any of the people responsible for the behaviour outlined in the report.

“You can’t have systemic change if you have bad actors still in bad roles,” said one senior female journalist, speaking on condition of anonymity. “Matt says the behaviour stops today – what about people who perpetrated the behaviour yesterday?”

More than half of employees in Nine’s broadcast department – which makes up more than one-third of the company – reported experiences of bullying, discrimination or harassment over the past five years, while 30 per cent experienced sexual harassment.

“I have endured thousands of microaggressions over time. It is death by a thousand cuts … there was a point when I wanted to kill myself,” one interviewee said.

There was an accepted objectification and exploitation of women specifically identified in the broadcast division, including leaders and co-workers openly commenting on the appearance and bodies of women, in particular those who appear on-air, pregnancy discrimination, and women who are caregivers being exploited due to fear about job security.

“They used to say, when they were considering women for roles, that they’d rate her on her ‘f---ability’. They obviously can’t say that now – so they say ‘that woman has star power’ instead. But it means the same thing,” an interviewee said.

Two-thirds of employees in the radio division, which includes 2GB and 3AW, reported being victims or witnessing abuse of power or authority, while 49 per cent experienced bullying, discrimination or harassment. Almost a third (29 per cent) experienced sexual harassment.

One-third of staff at Nine’s subscription streaming service Stan reported experiencing sexual harassment.

Nearly half of the staff in Nine’s publishing division, which includes The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age and The Australian Financial Review, experienced or witnessed abuse of power or authority in the past five years, while one in five experienced sexual harassment.

The fallout from Wick’s departure and the handling of complaints against him has rocked the company, which has also been hit by chairman Peter Costello’s resignation after a run-in with a reporter at Canberra Airport, and chief executive Mike Sneesby retiring on September 27.

Former Nine CEO Mike Sneesby retired in September.Credit: AAP

Stanton addressed all staff on Thursday afternoon after Intersection briefed him and the board earlier in the day.

The report said practices in Nine’s broadcast news and current affairs division created an ecosystem of inequality, where poor performance wasn’t dealt with, high performers were overworked, bullies rewarded, and those not in favour were given undesirable tasks such as being allocated the worst stories, shifts or denied advancement opportunities.

While high, the prevalence of sexual harassment is below the very high industry rate (64 per cent in information media and telecommunications) and just under the national average across all industries (33 per cent), according to the report.

It said the most common experiences of bullying, discrimination or harassment in the last five years in the broadcast division could be characterised by a senior male leader’s behaviour towards women, which included berating them, publicly criticising them, and bullying them.

“I was completely bullied out of my job ... I lost my career and [had] no recourse. [Individual] does not like being challenged by women,” one respondent said.

Known perpetrators were not dealt with, the report said. Instead, employees were warned to avoid certain people, or leaders attempted to cover up inappropriate behaviours.

It also criticised the lack of a safe reporting culture at Nine.

Fewer than one in six victims said they reported the most recent incident of bullying, discrimination or harassment, and fewer than one in 10 reported their most recent incident of sexual harassment.

As one interviewee said, it was drilled into staff “to never go to HR”. Some who did felt they were blamed.

Another senior journalist said addressing the culture rather than the individuals would not fix the problem. “Culture is people, behaviour and what’s acceptable as a standard,” she said.

“And if it’s so-called systemic, then that means the system needs a cleanout. How can people be expected to work for and alongside those that allowed this culture to be created and exist for years?”

Nine’s board and leadership team endorsed all 22 recommendations. Nine chair Catherine West apologised unreservedly to past and present employees in a note shared by Stanton.

“As a board, we are deeply sorry,” West said. The board has asked Stanton and his management team to produce a comprehensive response plan to address the issues raised in the report in November.

The company has been in turmoil in the months since reports of Wick’s behaviour became public, led by a significant round of cost-cutting and redundancies, controversy over Sneesby carrying the Olympic torch in Paris, and a five-day strike by publishing staff before a tough set of full-year financial results weeks before Sneesby’s resignation.

Chief financial and strategy officer Stanton was appointed interim boss and the board has engaged a recruitment firm to help appoint a permanent replacement. One of Stanton’s first moves, announced this week, was to make the company’s top communications executive Victoria Buchan redundant.

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