ABC boss Steve Ahern, who hired former host Antoinette Lattouf, quits the broadcaster after Gaza saga
Steve Ahern, who was acting head of the ABC’s Capital City Networks, recently announced his resignation - six months after giving approval for Antoinette Lattouf to fill in on mornings.
The ABC radio boss responsible for the appointment of Antoinette Lattouf to act as a fill-in host in December has quit.
Spies told Diary that Steve Ahern, who was acting head of the ABC’s Capital City Networks when the saga erupted, recently announced his resignation, six months after he gave approval for Lattouf to fill in for mornings host Sarah Macdonald.
Fair Work Commission documents lodged in the legal matter between Lattouf and the ABC state: “Ahern, upon the recommendation of Ms (Elizabeth) Green (ABC Sydney content director), and after consulting up and down the ABC hierarchy, approved the engagement of the applicant (Lattouf) to replace Ms Macdonald.”
Legal lingo fails to capture the full drama of the “engagement of the applicant” but, in layman’s terms, Ahern’s decision to give Lattouf the presenter’s mic for that fateful stretch in December turned into a nightmare.
As has been well documented, Lattouf was given the chop after completing just three of her five shifts as fill-in host.
No one at the ABC was willing to discuss the circumstances behind Ahern’s departure, but it’s believed to be related to his involvement in the Lattouf drama. He will be replaced by Pat Emmett.
The FWC documents show Ahern emailed Green after Lattouf’s first shift in December to say: “Elizabeth, can you give me some feedback on the item in question please. We will need to talk to Antoinette urgently about what she says about Gaza.”
At that time, the ABC was on high alert over Lattouf’s posts on social media relating to the Israel-Hamas war, and indeed the broadcaster’s wider coverage of the conflict.
The documents also showed it was the “recommendation” of Ahern, head of audio Ben Latimer and acting head of editorial standards Simon Melkman to advise chief content officer Chris Oliver-Taylor that Lattouf shared a social media post by Human Rights Watch reading: “HRW reporting starvation as a tool of war.
“The Israeli government is using starvation of civilians as a weapon of war in Gaza.”
Earlier this month, FWC deputy president Gerard Boyce resolved that Lattouf was sacked by the taxpayer-funded broadcaster and the matter will now proceed to the Federal Court.
Of course, Lattouf’s activist stance should not have come as a surprise to head honchos at the ABC. Just weeks before she took to the ABC microphone Lattouf, a Lebanese-Australian, boasted on social media she could not be fired over her views relating to the Israel-Gaza war.
In a social media reel, Lattouf said “f..k them” to anybody who did not want to work with her as a result of her views on the war.
Sneesby ducks Nine’s Canberra office party
Last Thursday night’s opening of the Nine Network’s revamped news bureau in Parliament House in Canberra was supposed to be that office’s night of nights.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese was coming, and so too the company’s big dogs, chair Peter Costello and CEO Mike Sneesby.
Best of all, in these austere times, the political journos were going to be treated to some mid-tier champagne, some OK cheese, and some crackers and dip.
Trust us when we say that in the media, that’s as good as it gets at these events.
But unfortunately, things went awry when Costello got entangled at Canberra Airport.
The mood changed pretty quickly after that and, while the Nine chair put on a brave front at the function, a fair few people were walking on eggshells, we’re told.
Amid all the drama though, the no-show of Sneesby didn’t escape eagle-eyed staff. With the company’s morale – and share price – in free-fall, it was more than strange that the CEO didn’t turn up to what was a pretty big deal for its flagship political bureau.
We asked a Nine spokesperson why Mr Sneesby didn’t attend, but didn’t get a reply.
Another insider told us something about a rescheduling of his calendar, or some such.
Whatever the truth, Sneesby’s absence on Thursday night stuck out like the proverbial.
One internal theory was that Costello and Sneesby, by mutual agreement, had agreed it was best they weren’t photographed together. Who knows if that was the case.
And remember, Sneesby had already opted not to go before Costello’s airport fracas!
Whatever the truth, it’s been well and truly overtaken by the dramatic resignation of Costello on Sunday afternoon.
But Diary is willing to bet Sneesby will front up to the next big staff event. A healthy portion of staff remain furious at the company’s handling of the departure of ex-news boss Darren Wick, and Costello’s resignation won’t automatically paper over all those cracks.
Sneesby has plenty of work to do.
Lisa’s speech therapy
Former Project co-host Lisa Wilkinson hasn’t said a word publicly since she walked out on to the steps of Sydney’s Federal Court in April and declared victory in the Bruce Lehrmann defamation trial against her and her employer, Channel 10.
But Wilkinson re-emerged last week, taking to the podium at the Cannes in Cairns event and letting rip with a zinger at her own expense. Kind of.
Joking that the speech she was about to deliver had been checked off by her lawyers, Wilkinson can be heard saying: “Now before I begin, I do want to confirm that I have had this speech legalled by my independent legal team, so don’t anybody panic, least of all me.”
Cue chortles.
Wilkinson was of course referencing her infamous speech at the Logies in 2022 ahead of the trial involving Brittany Higgins. That trial was subsequentlydelayed due to the TV presenter’s on-stage address.
ACT Chief Justice Lucy McCallum said at the time Wilkinson’s Logies speech could “obliterate” the ability of a jury to distinguish between an allegation and guilt.
Anyway, we can all laugh about it now, right?
As a prelude to her keynote speech at the event in Cairns, Wilkinson explained to the audience that she was a very big deal, and helpfully set the record straight on some of the more salacious rumours about her, and her future career prospects.
“My name is Lisa Wilkinson and as my CV will attest, after more than 40 years in the media business I’ve pretty much done it all – possibly not a bad way to be in this hugely ever-changing media landscape that we find ourselves in 2024,” she said. “And for those of you who don’t know me, you may have seen me in the headlines.”
If the audience members are loyal followers of Media Diary, they certainly would have seen her pop up, once or twice!
Wilkinson then took aim at the “trashy gossip media”, although made no mention of the fact she used to work in that glamorous pocket of the industry.
“I’m not negotiating to go into breakfast radio or back into breakfast TV,” she mused.
“None of the salary figures you have ever seen attached to my name in the press have ever been correct and (ex-Sunrise co-host) Sam Armytage and I are not having a steamy, secret affair.”
Wilkinson has been absent from Ten’s screens for 18 months, but remains on the payroll until December, so whatever she’s getting paid, it’s pretty good coin if you can get it.
Wilkinson also said she had been watching on as her former employer, Nine, has been besieged by allegations of sexual harassment and misconduct at the network following the exit of former news boss Darren Wick in March.
Wilkinson was Nine’s Today Show co-host alongside Karl Stefanovic from 2007 to 2017, with the pair directly reporting to Wick most of that time. “If you’ve been following the headlines in recent weeks, you’ll also see that demand for change is happening in the workplaces of the media companies that they work for,” Wilkinson said in Cairns.
As the speech drew to a close, Wilkinson asked herself: “Do I have regrets? Sure. But they’re not the ones you might imagine.”
We may never know.
Old emails
Last Friday’s announcement of an internal investigation into the conduct of Channel 7 journalist Robert Ovadia has left plenty of insiders at the network scratching their heads.
The probe into the news veteran – one of the highest-paid journalists at the company – was launched despite a formal complaint not being lodged about him.
Sources told Diary the matter is relating to emails exchanged four years ago between Ovadia and a former Seven female employee. The content of the emails is unknown.
The investigation into Ovadia, being overseen by Seven’s HR department, has not yet been completed.
Ovadia has been employed at Seven for 23 years and remains on leave.
He has engaged high-profile media lawyer John Laxon to represent him in the matter.
When Diary contacted Ovadia on the weekend, he said: “I can’t confirm anything or even defend myself, for now.
“My lawyer has entrusted me not to talk, and I have to trust his advice.”
Ovadia has posted several messages he has received from current and former colleagues in the past few days on his Instagram account.
One post read: “I’m devastated for you. You taught me how to write and be a journalist.
“There’s no one I respect more as a fellow colleague and bloke.
“My family is thinking of you and your family tonight.”
Another anonymous post read: “You were one of the only people who welcomed me at 7News and actually mentored me. To be honest, it was because of you I realised journalism was my path.”
When Diary contacted Seven West Media news boss Anthony De Ceglie about the matter, he would not comment.
Seven’s newsroom last week also saw the departure of chief of staff Andrew Frampton as part of a revamp at the network.
It’s understood that De Ceglie, who assumed the senior news role at Seven in April amid the fallout from the Spotlight debacle, is looking to cut costs across the company’s news division.
Beep button
While we’re on the subject of swearing, it seems the producers at ABC Melbourne may have been dozing off last week when mornings host Raf Epstein interviewed so-called “rental activist” Jordan van den Berg, better known online as “Purple Pingers”.
Van den Berg encourages people to squat in unoccupied properties across the country if they see an empty home.
Just walk right in, roll out your sleeping bag, and away you go.
But Epstein was caught unaware when the interviewee decided to drop the f..k bomb just before 9am – perfectly timed for when parents are dropping their kids off at school.
Epstein asked Pingers about the state government’s housing policy. “Just finally, one thing I wanted to ask you about the state of rentals in general, a ton of landlords actually rang us last week and said those minimum standards are going to push them over the edge. If they do need to comply (with them), the rents are going to go up.
“Dozens of people rang in and said that, what do you think?”
Pingers didn’t hold back.
“If you can’t afford your investment property, if you can’t afford to keep an investment, sell your f..king investment, it’s not that difficult.”
Epstein didn’t bite. Wisely, perhaps.
But when Diary went back to listen to the interview with Pingers, the ABC had removed the bad language.
Horse. Bolted.
When Epstein came back on after the 9am news, he was quick to apologise.
“Got texts like this: ‘I think Jordy just said the most sensible thing we’ve heard in this rental argument, if you can’t afford your investment, sell you’re effing property’, and yes, that did slip through,” Epstein said. “That’s not condoning (it).”
Thank goodness for that.
Nick Tabakoff is on leave
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