Aunty’s hit job: ABC’s Four Corners to air expose on prestigious Sydney school Cranbrook
Diary has been reliably informed that the ABC program was on the hunt as late as last Thursday for more info from those associated with the elite boys’ school in Sydney’s eastern suburbs.
The Four Corners’ expose on one of the country’s most prestigious schools, Cranbrook, will air on Monday night but it seems it’s never too late to try to slot in some last-minute content.
Diary has been reliably informed that the ABC program was on the hunt as late as last Thursday for more info from those associated with the elite boys’ school in Sydney’s eastern suburbs.
“Bit late, the promo has already gone out,” one source at the school told Diary.
Reporter Louise Milligan is heading up the investigation, and even she felt the need to ask does anyone really care about the goings on in one posh Sydney private school?
The promo dropped last Thursday, featuring Milligan asking one interviewee: “Why should the rest of Australia care about what’s happening at this fancy school?”
The school’s principal, Nicholas Sampson, rejected an invitation to be interviewed for the program and decided providing written answers was the safest way to respond.
He surely didn’t want a repeat of the disastrous performance by outgoing Woolworths CEO Brad Banducci who fronted Four Corners on February 19 and embarrassed himself when he was grilled by reporter Angus Grigg.
The supermarket boss walked out mid-interview before later returning to resume his seat after a pep talk from his PR minders.
2GB broadcaster Ben Fordham spoke to Cranbrook School council president Geoff Lovell on Friday and he didn’t hold back in sharing his disdain for the taxpayer-funded broadcaster. He said the school declined to take part.
“The whole school declined,” he said. “It was going to be a very difficult situation when we felt there was a lack of balance and the process was unfair, so we as a school didn’t put anyone forward to the ABC.
“We’ll wait to see what they say on Monday night.”
Milligan praised her own work on social media platform X, and urged viewers to tune in. “In my humble opinion, it’s very much in the public interest and it’s worth a watch.”
I have a story up Monday night on #4Corners. In my humble opinion, it’s very much in the public interest and it’s worth a watch.
— Louise Milligan (@Milliganreports) February 29, 2024
The episode will include interviews with former Cranbrook board member Jason Graham-Nye and activist Chanel Contos.
Why Ita Buttrose thinks Joe Biden shouldn’t run again
Ita Buttrose opted to give her final interview as ABC chair to News Corp’s Stellar, with journalist Sarrah Le Marquand writing the cover story for the Sunday magazine, as well as airing her chat with the media icon on the publication’s podcast, Something To Talk About.
In the interview, Buttrose set the record straight on a number of issues – namely, it was her decision to not seek an extension of her five-year term, she most definitely wasn’t pushed; she claims she brought “stability” back to the ABC; and she takes a dim view of reporters who are more concerned with their social media presence than delivering good old-fashioned journalism.
Who could she possibly be referring to?! We’re stumped!
But for someone who has remained staunchly apolitical throughout her term as ABC chair, 82-year-old Buttrose appeared to let slip that, in her opinion, 81-year-old US president Joe Biden was probably too old to be the leader of the free world.
“And despite [US president] Joe Biden thinking he should run another term – I don’t think he should – sometimes you need to examine yourself and say, ‘Well, I am a person of a certain age and everything’s fine, and cognitively I’m good’, but still, weigh it up,” she mused.
“You have to know in yourself when you need to step aside. I felt that. It had nothing to do with any current events.”
Interestingly, in a separate Q&A interview with journalist Peter FitzSimons from the Nine-owned Sydney Morning Herald, Buttrose wouldn’t be drawn on the future of the ageing Biden: “You’re asking me to practise age discrimination, and I won’t,” she told the SMH on Sunday.
As for her next move, she told Diary that she had agreed to chair the Advisory Committee of the Centre for Healthy Brain Ageing at UNSW, but also flagged her media days might not yet be over.
“Watch this space,” she told us.
This week Buttrose will be having a farewell get together with the ABC managing director David Anderson and other members of the ABC’s senior leadership team, before handing in her staff pass and breathing a huge sigh of relief.
Nothing sinister in Nine boss disappearance
The hot topic dominating conversations in the corridors of Nine’s offices across the country is the whereabouts of news and current affairs director Darren Wick.
Many have noticed his weeks-long absence from Nine’s Sydney headquarters – an odd time for any news executive to take an extended break, especially with the TV ratings season in full swing.
Wick has held the coveted news director job since 2012 and there’s no doubt there are others in the Nine camp eyeing off his role.
Diary attempted to contact Wick himself but there was no response.
Sources told Diary he’s on annual leave but that hasn’t stopped the rumours from swirling.
Chit chat around the water cooler/vending machine/in-house gym is that Nine Radio boss Tom Malone is among those who wouldn’t mind having a crack at Wick’s gig, but Malone himself declined to comment to Diary.
Last year, Nine was reportedly in the throes of an executive reshuffle, with speculation that a new super-role overseeing news, sport and radio was to be created, but it never eventuated.
Malone was in the running for that job, meaning Wick would report to Malone.
But Diary has been reassured there’s nothing sinister in Wick being on leave – we’re told he is taking some much-needed R & R after working through the summer to spearhead the launch of the new dual-presenter 6pm news bulletin in Melbourne, led by Alicia Loxley and Tom Steinfort.
Wick was also involved in overseeing the new graphics packages to be used by the news outlets, but you probably won’t find it on his CV.
Nine News Melbourne doctored an image of Victorian Animal Justice Party MP Georgie Purcell in January which Purcell said left her with “enlarged boobs” and a “revealing” outfit that aired on the 6pm news bulletin.
Nine’s Melbourne boss Hugh Nailonblamed the error on “automation of Photoshop,” but this was refuted by Adobe who owns the software program, with a spokeswoman stating that “human intervention and approval” was required to produce the image.
Diary is not suggesting that Wick had a direct role in the creation of the Purcell graphic.
In 2021, Wick was sentenced for high-range drink driving after recording a blood-alcohol reading of 0.227. He was sentenced to a nine-month intensive corrections order, and was banned from driving for nine months.
He was also required to undertake 100 hours of community service.
Bradbury award
The Melbourne Press Club’s Lifetime Achievement Award is meant to be one of media’s most prestigious awards but there’s a growing list of high-profile journalists who have turned their back on it.
Spies told Diary veteran 3AW broadcaster Neil Mitchell and former Age editor Gay Alcorn were both sounded out for the honour, to be announced at the 29th Quill Awards for Excellence in Victorian Journalism later this month, but both politely declined.
It’s certainly not a good strike rate for the MPC – last year Diary revealed that Nine’s Tracy Grimshaw knocked back the big gong, and instead it was awarded to former ABC radio presenter Jon Faine.
The MPC said the award is to honour a “journalist or journalists whose career has left an extraordinary mark on Victorian and Australian journalism” and it’s usually given to someone approaching retirement or who has finished their careers in the media.
Grimshaw reportedly changed her mind in 2023 because she didn’t want all the fanfare that goes with accepting the award, while Alcorn told Diary her career was far from over and she, too, didn’t want to be put in the spotlight.
“I haven’t retired, and, yes, I know it isn’t just for retired people,” Alcorn said. “And maybe it’s a female thing, but I would find the attention uncomfortable.”
Mitchell hung up his microphone in December and while he still appears as a guest on 3AW’s Drive program with Jacqui Felgate each week, has his own podcast (Neil Asks Why) and recently wrote a front page exclusive for the Herald Sun on Victoria’s ambulance service, he also declined the MPC’s offer.
His reason? Logistics.
“I can’t get there this year,” Mitchell told Diary. “It’s a long-term family commitment. I couldn’t be there.
“I’ve got absolutely nothing against the Lifetime Achievement Award and if I’m fortunate enough to be offered it at some stage in the future, and I’m able to accept it, I will.
“The Lifetime Achievement Award is a very important speech on the night and the person who receives it should be decent enough to be there and deliver that speech, and I can’t be.”
Had he been able to attend, Mitchell said he had “no objection” to accepting the prestigious gong. “I would be a bit embarrassed by it but I have no objection,” he said on Sunday.
“You’ve got to be there and talk to people, and you’ve got to engage the room.”
You most certainly do – who could forget last year’s speech when Faine chose his moment in the limelight to criticise “urban white” commentators who opposed the voice to parliament referendum.
Mitchell later took a swipe at Faine on his 3AW mornings show and told listeners: “I am going to apologise to Jon for being urban and white even though he’s the same, but what worries me here … I’m told his comments were met with applause and cheers from some of the elite of Melbourne’s media.”
It’s not the first time Mitchell has been offered the Lifetime Achievement Award. He said he was sounded out for it a few years ago but it was “a bit early”.
“I was still heavily involved in daily journalism,” he said. “I’ve always been of the view (you accept it) when you’re towards the end of your career. And even though I’m still working a lot, I am getting to the end of my career.”
So, with Mitchell and Alcorn saying no to the MPC’s big award, it will be interesting to see who comes through the pack, Steven Bradbury-style, to grasp the prize.
The honours will be announced at the Quill Awards in Melbourne on March 15.
Golden duck
Seven West Media’s much-hyped digital newspaper, The Nightly, launched last week to not-terribly-much fanfare, with the first edition accompanied by a masthead mission statement from editor-in-chief Anthony De Ceglie.
De Ceglie, who was last seen performing an embarrassing newsroom skit with a wrestler, said The Nightly would deliver “quality journalism for smart Australians” and would “fight for the mainstream middle”.
Its very first edition carried a feature on legendary former Australian cricketer Allan Border, with the classic opening line: “If Allan Border didn’t exist they would have made him up.”
Funny then, that while the main image featured in the piece was captioned ‘Allan Border’, the man in the picture was in fact former cricket star Dean Jones.
It might not seem much, but to the “mainstream middle”, confusing AB with Deano is an editorial crime of some significance.
After a few hours, somebody at The Nightly twigged to the error, and Border was restored.
Party poopers
When the nation is still on a high of Swiftmania after the American singer-songwriter came Down Under to perform at seven sellout shows in Melbourne and Sydney, you can always rely on the left-wing, party pooper publication, The Guardian, to kill the mood.
Guardian UK reporter Laura Snapes announced last week that the masthead’s website was publishing Swift Notes, a newsletter which will focus on the popstar’s success and her “record-breaking, norm-shifting, joyously deranging and sometimes infuriating cultural influence”.
“Her influence is so vast that writing about her sometimes feels less like documenting a singular pop career than it does reporting on the affairs of a small nation,” Snapes opined. “I can’t lie: this can feel exhausting.”
But the subsequent outrage didn’t come from workers who have jobs that are legitimately exhausting.
No, the hate spewed forth from Guardian subscribers who were affronted that they had mistakenly received an email from The Guardian about the Swift newsletter.
The horror!
London-based head of newsletters at The Guardian, Toby Moses was quick to circulate a memo to say “sorry” to readers who were sent the email in error.
“Today you received a copy of Swift Notes, our new newsletter on Taylor Swift, from Laura Snapes,” he wrote.
“Due to an error in our email system, the newsletter was sent out to some people who are not subscribed to it. It shouldn’t have happened. We’re putting steps in place to make sure it doesn’t happen again.”
When Diary asked the Guardian Australia about the stuff up, we were told: “It didn’t come from us, so we have nothing further to add, other than, yes, it’s rectified.”
Mushroom deal
It’s the story that gripped the nation and made headlines around the world.
The mystery surrounding the mushroom meal cooked up by Leongatha mother-of-two Erin Patterson on July 29 resulted in her being charged with three counts of murder and five counts of attempted murder.
And now The Australian’s associate editor, John Ferguson, who broke the story, has signed a book deal with HarperCollins Australia that will delve into the case that rocked the small Victorian regional town.
Ferguson has started researching and preparing work for the book and said the interest in the story, that resulted in the deaths of Patterson’s former in-laws Gail Patterson, Don Patterson, and Gail’s sister Heather Wilkinson, was overwhelming.
Heather’s husband Ian Wilkinson survived the lunch.
Ferguson told Diary: “There has been unbelievable interest in the story domestically and overseas,” he said. “It’s one of those rare stories that does laps of the globe each time there is a significant development.”
A committal hearing is due to begin on May 3.
Nick Tabakoff is on leave
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