Nine’s Peter Costello, Mike Sneesby, admit to ‘integrity failures’

Nine’s chair Peter Costello and CEO Mike Sneesby have made the frank admission that the media company ‘needs to do more’ with regards to its ‘failings with integrity.

All staff at Nine Entertainment will be required to undertake “refreshed sexual harassment prevention training” over the next month, as the company concedes it needs to “rebuild the culture” of its news and current affairs division following damaging allegations of widespread mistreatment of female staff.

The seven-person Nine board met on Thursday for the first time since The Australian revealed allegations of inappropriate conduct – including sexual harassment – had been levelled at Nine’s ex news boss Darren Wick.

Despite speculation that Nine chair Peter Costello and the company’s chief executive officer Mike Sneesby were fighting to save their jobs on Thursday, over their handling of the Wick matter, both survived the lengthy board meeting.

Mr Costello, Mr Sneesby and the company’s head of human resources Vanessa Morley issued an all-staff email after the meeting, offering the frank admission that the company “needs to do more” with regards to its “failings with integrity”.

“At Nine we do work that has an important value to the community. In order to continue to do this it is critical we face up to any failings with integrity and create a workplace that is respectful and positive for all,” the trio’s statement said.

“We recognise we need to do more.”

In the past 12 days, The Australian has spoken to more than a dozen former and current female Nine employees who have alleged that Wick behaved inappropriately toward them during his 13 years as the network’s news and current affairs boss.

Each of those women expressed disbelief that senior management had declared they were unaware of Wick’s alleged inappropriate conduct over many years.

The Australian has also reported that staff – especially female staff – across Nine’s newsrooms have been enraged by what they perceive to have been management’s dismissive attitude in relation to the seriousness of the allegations levelled at Wick, and the “toxic culture” he presided over.

Nine Entertainment chair Peter Costello and chief executive officer Mike Sneesby. Picture: James Brickwood

On Thursday, the board agreed on “actions to drive cultural change at Nine”, in addition to the external independent review into the company’s TV arm which was announced earlier this week.

“It is important we all acknowledge the trauma some of you have experienced in the past, and the distress and frustration the substance of these reports has caused. We also acknowledge and thank those who have come forward to share their experiences with us directly in the last two weeks, and the courage they have shown,” the all-staff email stated.

A dedicated hotline to report sexual harassment or other inappropriate behaviours will be made available to all current and former employees, while staff will have access to an anonymous survey on sexual harassment and other inappropriate behaviours.

The company’s 4000-plus employees will be required to complete “refreshed sexual harassment prevention training” within the next month.

The external review announced earlier this week is specific to the television news and current affairs division, and will examine the recent reports “that detail alleged serious failings of leadership in television news and current affairs, including misuse of power and inappropriate behaviour,” the company-wide email stated.

The review will be conducted by Intersection, an independent, external organisation “specialising in trauma-informed workplace cultural transformation and in creating safe, respectful and inclusive workplaces”, and will be finalised by the end of July.

Nine’s share price closed at $1.41 on Thursday, down 1.4 per cent.