Defiant ex-Nine news boss Darren Wick breaks cover

WATCH | Darren Wick has been confronted with the question he has carefully dodged for six months, over a scandal still reverberating through Nine after his departure amid sexual harassment allegations.

Former television news boss Darren Wick appears stony-faced when confronted in Sydney on Sunday. Picture: Liam Mendes

Stony-faced, silent and dressed in a hoodie and gym shorts, Darren Wick appears to roll his eyes after finally being confronted with the question he has carefully dodged for six months: “What have you got to say to the women who have made allegations against you?”

As one of the most powerful television news bosses in the country for 13 years, it’s the type of scene Wick is intimately familiar with – the subject of a scandal quizzed as they head to their car, a method performed by many of his journalists at A Current Affair and Nine News.

But on Sunday in Sydney’s northern beaches it’s Wick’s turn and he has no answers he’s prepared to share about his central role in a scandal still reverberating through Nine after his departure over sexual harassment allegations involving some of the network’s most high-profile stars.

It has helped bring down the company’s chairman, Peter Costello, and engulfed chief executive Mike Sneesby, who is overseeing a widespread review into the network’s culture sparked by Wick’s departure in March amid accusations of serious misconduct against women in the company’s television news division.

One Nine insider told The Australian that despite the pressure that Mr Sneesby was under, he appeared to have a “renewed sense of resolve” since returning from the Olympics. “But the main feeling across the business is that it’s a matter of ‘wait and see’. No one really knows how bad the report will be, so a lot of us are just holding our breath until it drops.”

Wick has kept the lowest of profiles since March when he ­received a $1m golden handshake from the TV network, which at the time celebrated his departure as a well-earned retirement.

Current and former staff at Nine traumatised by the saga have expressed concern over a delay of the report and have even questioned whether it will be publicly released. “A lot of people took part, but how can we trust this board to act on anything?” one current staffer said.

“They’re not actually obliged to, and they’re not obliged to release the whole thing. We might never know what’s in it.

“There are a lot of people who are really, really hurting within the business, not only the people who have made the allegations of immediate harassment but ­everyone.

“There are people feeling guilt for not knowing or being able to support struggling colleagues when they needed it. At the same time, it’s a huge reality check for all of us about the general toxicity we’ve all been conditioned to ­accept and not question.

“It doesn’t end with the directors, it filters down. They all have people following their lead.”

On Sunday, Wick appeared rested and fit after a stint at a gym, before he headed to a Woolworths on Sydney’s northern beaches. When he was approached while walking to his car, Wick continued his six-month ­silence and refused to answer a ­series of questions over the ­allegations.

Wick leaving a Woolworths in Sydney’s northern beaches

He appeared unrepentant

“What have you got to say to the women who have made allegations against you?” he was asked. “Why haven’t you spoken publicly about these allegations, Mr Wick?”

The questioning continued: “These are serious allegations of groping, sexual harassment and manipulation. You don’t have anything to say at all?”

On May 20, two months after Wick had resigned, The Australian broke the story that the 60-year-old had left the company after a formal complaint of inappropriate behaviour had been made against him by a female newsroom employee.

Following that exclusive report, many other women were emboldened to report their own experiences of being subjected to inappropriate behaviour by Wick, and spoke of the wider toxic culture at Nine, and the failures of management to address the problem.

It was also revealed that Wick left the company with a near million-dollar payout despite Mr Costello and senior management, headed up by Mr Sneesby, being aware of his alleged misconduct at the time of his resignation.

Wick, pictured during his time as Nine news director.

One former Nine employee told The Australian on Friday: “Many former and current staff from Nine have described their ­interviews as being like therapy, because they’d never before ­spoken openly about their ­treatment.

“For some, it actually validated their feelings, as the interviewer was both shocked and sympathetic when they shared their experiences. Many of the issues and stories shared during this process by former and current women from Nine involve both senior male and female staff, and some of the most toxic behaviour they ­experienced was at the hands of one senior woman.”

External consulting firm Intersection has been commissioned to conduct the independent investigation, which is understood to be scrutinising predatory behaviour, power and gender imbalances among staff, salaries being used to weaponise employees, and a boozy ­culture.

When announcing the independent review in late May, Mr Sneesby said it was “critical we face up to any failings”.

“I believe we have taken positive steps in recent years at Nine to improve our culture … but the ­recent reports that detail alleged serious failings of leadership in television news clearly tells me more work needs to be done to ensure we have a safe and inclusive workplace throughout Nine.”

Speculation about Mr Sneesby’s future increased when he carried the Olympic torch through the streets of Paris in July, just after Nine announced significant job cuts across the company.