Karl Stefanovic’s lawsuit shocks Nine chief Hugh Marks
Hugh Marks admits he was left in the dark over Karl Stefanovic’s defamation action.
Nine Entertainment boss Hugh Marks has admitted he was left in the dark about star Karl Stefanovic’s legal action against a rival media company.
“I was unaware that was the step he was taking,’’ Mr Marks told The Australian on Thursday.
Mr Marks revealed he was blindsided during an interview about the government’s response to the landmark digital platforms inquiry undertaken by the competition regulator.
Stefanovic’s surprise defamation action against The Sunday Telegraph and columnist Annette Sharp was revealed in this newspaper on Thursday, and comes just weeks after Mr Marks personally resurrected the journalist’s television career by reappointing him as co-host of embattled breakfast television show Today.
The 45-year-old father of three, whose popularity had slumped last year following a difficult and very public divorce, claims his reputation has been “greatly injured” by a series of articles in The Sunday Telegraph that suggested he would take a pay cut to return to the Today show.
The legal action was launched in the Federal Court on Monday against Nationwide News (publisher of The Sunday Telegraph and The Australian) and Sharp, seeking unspecified damages, aggravated damages and for the online articles to be taken down.
The move has surprised Nine insiders who believed Stefanovic would attempt to avoid sparking potentially damaging controversy before he starts back at Today next month.
Nine desperately needs to win viewers back to Today after a dismal ratings performance this year.
Stefanovic has hired high-profile defamation lawyer Mark O’Brien and barrister Bruce McClintock SC to represent him.
His court documents argue that he should be paid aggravated damages in part because of a tweet by Sharp last month that said “this Karl Stefanovic restoration really peeves me. Why are men allowed to fail in our society and women aren’t?”.
Stefanovic was axed from the Today show last December, soon after the high-profile wedding to shoe designer Jasmine Yarbrough in Mexico. The wedding followed two years of negative publicity around his separation and ultimate divorce from his first wife, Cassandra Thorburn.
Media attention on Stefanovic's personal life was partly blamed for the drop in Today’s audience, particularly among women.
Nine last month announced Stefanovic would return to co-host Today with journalist Allison Langdon next month, replacing Georgie Gardner and Deborah Knight, whose groundbreaking appointment as two female hosts had “regrettably not been reflected in ratings”.
Stefanovic has just over one year left on his contract with Nine worth in excess of $2m a year.
There has been much speculation about whether the return of Stefanovic will give Nine a much-needed ratings boost for Today against rival Sunrise on Seven.
Stefanovic and Langdon worked on air together during Nine’s coverage of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s wedding last year, and appeared to have an easy chemistry during the coverage, which insiders at the network think could work in 2020.
A directions hearing will be held on February 11 at the Federal Court in Sydney.
News Corp Australia declined to comment. Stefanovic and his agent did not respond to inquiries.
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