Nine’s papers and TV still afflicted by hack attack

Media giant Nine Entertainment continues to be beset by major technical problems in the wake of Sunday’s cyber attack.

Media giant Nine Entertainment continues to be beset by major technical problems in the wake of Sunday’s cyber attack, with the company’s major newspapers carrying apologies for the “compromised” quality of its print editions and the network’s live TV shows struggling with ongoing logistic challenges.

Those responsible for the attack have not been identified, and the company said its “containment strategy” was having a “flow-on effect” on some parts of the business. On Tuesday, Nine’s three major metro newspapers — The Australian Financial Review, The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald — published 24-page editions as opposed to the usual 36-page editions.

Meanwhile, Nine’s flagship 6pm Sydney news bulletin on Tuesday required technical assistance from the network’s Melbourne control room, although the broadcast was free of the glitches of Monday’s broadcast.

Nine’s major newspapers each carried an “editor’s note” on Tuesday, which included an apology for the “disruption” and the “compromise you will note in the quality of our newspaper today.”

The Australian has been told that senior figures at the company’s major newspaper titles were unsure whether the printed product would be published at all on Tuesday but a limited print run was achieved, despite staff being unable to access usual production technology or normal design functions.

The Age’s Tuesday edition ran several stories on NSW politics, and very little Victorian content.

Despite reports on Nine’s websites on Tuesday that the Australian Federal Police and NSW police were investigating the cyber attack, The Australian has been told this is not the case.