Seven news boss Craig McPherson has quit after weeks of scandals engulfing the news division
The boss of trouble-plagued Channel 7 has quit the media company after weeks of turmoil engulfing the network.
Seven West Media’s director of news and current affairs Craig McPherson has quit after weeks of turmoil at the network including the naming of the wrong man as the Bondi Junction killer and scandal surrounding the Spotlight program.
On Monday Seven staff were informed that Mr McPherson has stepped down from his role and will be replaced by Anthony De Ceglie, the editor-in-chief of The West Australian, The Sunday Times, website PerthNow and 19 suburban papers.
It is understood the management changes had been in the works for weeks and the catalyst was the recent scandals that led constant bad headlines for Seven.
Mr McPherson’s exit also comes amid a complete overhaul of Seven’s management team including the departures of chief executive officer and managing director James Warburton who left on April 18.
Mr Warburton did announce last year he was departing the company by the end of June and this was brought forward by two months.
The company’s former chief financial officer Jeff Howard took over from Mr Warburton on April 19.
Commercial director Bruce McWilliam also left this month and so too did Spotlight executive producer Mark Llewellyn and producer Steve Jackson.
Mr De Ceglie, 38, takes on the new title of the director of news and current affairs and editor-in-chief, Seven West Media.
He will also oversee TV programs including 7NEWS, Sunrise, The Morning Show and 7NEWS Spotlight – he begins in the role on Tuesday and will move to Sydney next week.
Insiders told The Australian he’s long had the ear of Seven West chairman Kerry Stokes since he joined the company in 2019 which helped his career trajectory.
He also recently launched the digital publication The Nightly and one insider described replacing Mr McPherson with him as the equivalent to the “old school versus the new school.”
“Craig was still in the dark ages, it was all about Seven versus Nine,” the insider said.
Sources told The Australian just last week Mr McPherson’s job – which he began in 2015 – was safe despite the recent scandals engulfing the network and he was working at Seven’s Eveleigh headquarters in Sydney’s west on Friday.
A spokesman would not comment when asked if Mr McPherson’s departure had anything to do with the Bondi murderer bungle or scandal plaguing Spotlight.
Mr McPherson said in a statement: “It’s a decision I have been considering for a while and believe now is a good time for all to have a fresh start.
“To the hundreds of staff who represent the 7NEWS brand across Australia and the globe, you bring it all to our viewers’ homes every day and night.”
He thanked Mr Stokes and CEOs past and present who said had been supportive of him during his tenure.
He also said he will be “taking a long break to spend time with all my family.”
Mr McPherson’s partner is one of Seven’s star talents, Sonia Kruger.
His departure comes just days after the network paid out a six-figure sum to 20-year-old student Benjamin Cohen who was wrongly named as the Westfield Bondi Junction murder on Weekend Sunrise the day after the mass killings.
It also follows claims by former Spotlight producer Taylor Auerbach that the station reimbursed Bruce Lehrmann for his expenditure on sex workers and cocaine– this has been vehemently denied by the network.
Under Mr McPherson’s tenure it was also revealed that Channel 7 paid one year’s rent for Lehrmann in Sydney in return for his participation in his exclusive sit-down Spotlight interview which was conducted with Liam Bartlett in June.
Seven is yet to announce who will be Mr De Ceglie’s successor.
Chris Dore, the former editor-in-chief of The Australian, will be acting editor of The West Australian and other West Australian Newspapers titles and he will relocate to Perth next week while filling the role.
While Mr De Ceglie does not have broadcast experience, insiders told The Australian he will have strong support from the director of morning television Sarah Stinson and the news directors in each major metropolitan market.
This includes Neil Warren in Sydney, Shaun Menegola in Melbourne, Michael Coombes in Brisbane, Chris Salter in Adelaide and Ray Kuka in Perth.
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