Unwanted anniversary looms as Guardian’s wheels start to fall off
It’s been almost a year since the masthead’s long-serving political editor, Katharine Murphy, left for Anthony Albanese’s office. The fallout from her departure has been spectacular.
Next Wednesday marks a very special anniversary for the Guardian Australia – it’s a year to the day since the wheels started to fall off at the left-leaning news website.
On January 29, 2024, the masthead’s long-serving political editor, Katharine Murphy announced she was leaving journalism to work in Anthony Albanese’s office.
Her announcement initially was greeted with predictable jokes from unkind newspaper gossip columnists who suggested Murpharoo had already been working for the ALP for years in her guise as a Guardian hack.
But what was not clear at the time was that her departure would unleash hell and fury in the newsroom.
Since Murphy left, several senior Guardian gang members also have bailed amid allegations of infighting, bullying, low morale and rampant Marxist bias (OK, we made that last bit up, sorry).
As noted last year by this column, post-Murphy evacuees from the Guardian included Amy Remeikis, Daniel Hurst, Mike Bowers, Peter Hannam and most recently chief political correspondent Paul Karp, who was reportedly the subject of an HR complaint made by veteran Canberra gallery journo Karen Middleton, who joined the unhappy team in early 2024.
Karp, who is joining the reporting ranks at The Australian Financial Review, posted on social media on his way out the door: “I’m proud to have stood up for what I think is right including by successfully pushing for positive cultural change internally. I wish them all the best with the substantial task of rebuilding the Canberra bureau.”
We tried to reach the Guardian’s editor Lenore Taylor for a chat but she wasn’t interested, although we hear she travelled to Canberra in December to try to calm the farm.
Taylor handballed our polite inquiries to the Guardian’s spokesperson who said the masthead had a longstanding practice “to not publicly comment on operational matters”.
Which is unfortunate as there are plenty of people at the Guardian who are happy to comment privately on the masthead’s operational matters.
There are two theories doing the rounds as to why things have gone south – one is that Murpharoo was such an admired figure with her Guardian colleagues that her replacement (in this case, Middleton) was always going to struggle to be as popular – a bit like when they replaced Charlie Sheen with Ashton Kutcher on Two and a Half Men. It just wasn’t the same.
But a likelier theory as to the wider malaise at the Guardian is this: Diary has been told by several insiders that there is growing frustration at a lack of initiative from senior editors, who are allegedly unwilling to take the slightest editorial and legal risks that are the hallmarks of any newsroom worth its salt.
“It feels like that lack of risk-taking has left our output a little stale and lacking the punch of our earlier years,” one insider said.
With the federal election looming, the thinned-out Canberra bureau of the Guardian is facing a tough task to keep pace with its rivals.
Today show star sidelined over $50,000 ‘prize’
Nine news and sports presenter Alex Cullen won’t be waking up with Today on Monday as he sweats on the outcome of an internal investigation into allegations he accepted $50,000 from colourful businessman Adrian Portelli for – wait for it – giving the rich guy a new nickname.
Cullen, 44, has been stood down from his plum on-air role on the Today show pending the obligatory review at Nine.
Just what that joint needs – another probe into (alleged) shocking conduct.
Here’s what we know – and don’t know – about what is shaping as the second biggest own goal by a prominent Australian identity so far in 2025 (Luke Sayers still has Cullen covered, we reckon).
Last week, Melbourne billionaire Portelli – who achieved a degree of fame in 2022 when he rocked up to the house auctions of Nine’s hit show The Block in an orange Lamborghini Murcielago SV – declared on social media that he was sick of being referred to in the press as “Mr Lambo” or “Lambo Guy”.
Clearly, for Portelli, the struggle is real.
Anyway, Portelli pledged to give $50,000 to the first person who called him “McLaren Man” on air.
Enter Cullen.
On Friday morning’s edition of Today, Cullen, who was in Melbourne to cover the Australian Open tennis, dutifully referred to Portelli as “McLaren Man” during a live cross with the show’s hosts, Karl Stefanovic and Sarah Abo.
Cullen’s cash grab prompted much chortling between him and Stefanovic, with Stefanovic also airing Portelli’s preferred nickname.
But Portelli declared Cullen the winner, taking to Instagram to post a screenshot of a bank transfer to the sports journo, accompanied by the comment: “We have a winner! Well played sir.”
However, come Saturday night, Cullen was no longer a winner. His bosses at Nine got wind of the “donation” and then the company’s spokespeople were deployed to release the gibber.
The official statement read: “Nine is taking this matter extremely seriously. Appropriate action has been promptly taken, including arranging for the funds to be returned.
“While we review the circumstances in which this occurred, Alex has agreed to stand down.”
The unofficial statement must surely have been: “WTF”.
Early on Sunday, Diary asked Nine a series of reasonable questions, namely: How did Portelli get Cullen’s bank details? Did Cullen disclose the transaction to anyone at Nine, or did his bosses just learn about it while doom-scrolling on Instagram on Saturday evening? And who is conducting this “review”?
The Nine spokesperson couldn’t answer our questions because the review is “ongoing”.
Really? You’d think the entire investigation would go like this: “Alex, in 25 words or less, can you please explain what happened?”
We sent a message to Nine chairwoman Catherine West to ask if the board was involved in the Cullen review. Crickets.
We texted Stefanovic to ask if he was sticking by his on-air colleague? We didn’t hear back.
Cullen couldn’t be reached for comment. Diary hopes for Cullen’s sake that this is all just a giant misunderstanding. A joke gone wrong.
It would seem highly unlikely that he intended to keep the money for himself, given that he made fun of Portelli’s “offer” on national television.
That said, if he did pass on his bank details to Portelli and failed to inform his bosses about it, he’ll need to mount a strong argument as to why he shouldn’t lose his job, especially given the ongoing efforts by Nine management to clean up the place following the devastating findings of last year’s Intersection report into the company’s toxic workplace culture.
Trump’s moment
Local TV networks are starting their coverage of the US presidential inauguration very early on Tuesday morning in Australia.
The event, to be held in the Capitol Building’s rotunda, kicks off at 3.30am AEDT – although for some reason Channel 10 has listed a 1am start in TV guides.
The ABC coverage gets under way with ABC News Breakfast anchors James Glenday and Bridget Brennan.
They will be crossing to Washington where North American correspondents Jade Macmillan, Barbara Miller and Carrington Clarke will be joined by new US correspondent Kamin Gock.
Seven is starting its coverage at 3am with foreign editor Hugh Whitfeld anchoring in studio in Sydney. Joining him will be Dr Keith Suter and Simon Jackman.
The coverage will continue on Sunrise from 5am. 7News US correspondent Tim Lester will be reporting from Washington.
Nine also is starting at 3am with Today anchorsKarl Stefanovic and Sarah Abo in the Sydney studio alongside chief political editor Charles Croucher. On the ground in Washington for Nine will be reporters Jonathan Kearsley and Lauren Tomasi.
Sky News is promising in-depth coverage of president-elect Donald Trump’s first 100 days in office, starting of course with his inauguration.
The presidential inauguration broadcast will be anchored from 3.30am by Peter Stefanovic in Sydney, alongside Sky News Washington correspondent Annelise Nielsen, who will be reporting live from Washington, together with Sky News chief election analyst Tom Connell and Sky News anchor Chris Kenny. Kenny will also broadcast The Kenny Report live from the US throughout the week (Monday to Thursday) at 5pm.
Tonagh’s fresh start
Acting Nine chief executive Matt Stanton hasn’t had much of a summer break. The changes at the media company have been coming think and fast.
In the past month, Nine has farewelled chief sales officer Michael Stephenson, chief marketing officer Liana Dubois and Stan chief executive Martin Kugeler.
That’s a start, at least, to meeting the targeted $50m worth of savings as Nine resets its operating model.
Joining the business is former Foxtel Group executive Amanda Laing. She returns to Nine as MD (streaming and broadcast) after eight years at Foxtel. These changes mean the top-heavy TV division will report to Laing.
Staff watching the executive musical chairs are wondering whether more changes will be made after the Intersection review released three months ago found employees in the broadcast division had been routinely bullied, intimidated and sexually harassed.
The most appointment with the most impact, though, could be the arrival of Peter Tonagh as a Nine director. Tonagh has a CV worthy of a chairman.
He’s a former chief executive of Foxtel and News Corp, an interim chief executive of REA and was a director of Village Roadshow.
He keeps busy now by chairing policy software provider SecureFast, data and AI consultants Quantium, filmmaking educator Bus Stop Films, and home insurance disrupter Honey.
Tonagh’s most recent board appointment arrives with no shares in the business.
That’s something other directors have rectified recently with investments from Mandy Pattinson ($50,000), Catherine West ($50,000) and Andrew Lancaster ($44,500).
The share price has ticked upwards recently, close to $1.28 on Friday after hitting a low of $1.11 in November.
As for Stanton, the smart money is that he will be confirmed as Nine’s next chief executive in coming weeks, most likely before the release of the company’s half-yearly results in late February.
Gelmi’s new gig
Popular sports presenter Abbey Gelmi will replace Kelli Underwood as host of ABC chat show Offsiders in 2025.
Gelmi, the granddaughter of Olympic gold medallist Herb Elliott, will front the sports panel program when it returns from its summer hiatus on Sunday, February 2, for its 20th season.
Gelmi’s star has risen in recent years, having fronted Channel 7’s coverage of the summer and winter Olympics as well as the Commonwealth Games, and she has been involved in AFL, cricket and motorsport.
In a statement on Sunday, Gelmi said: “The opportunity to talk all things sport with the calibre of panellists who frequent the show is both exciting and humbling. It’s an honour to follow those who have hosted before me and I can’t wait for the early Sunday mornings!”
Perth radio wars
Just one day before he starts a new role at ABC Radio Perth, media veteran Gary Adshead opened fire on his former employer, Nine Radio’s 6PR.
The former talkback host hit out in The Sunday Times at Nine Radio for dumping him in “no man’s land” and giving up on the Perth news and current affairs market.
Adshead told Diary his new ABC job as host of the drive program is about the only place he hasn’t worked in Perth media over a 40-year career.
When 6PR decided to move his timeslot from 9am-noon to 10am-2pm, Adshead pulled the pin on the station late last year.
He was quickly offered a role at the ABC and, when he accepted, Adshead said 6PR tried to negotiate to keep him.
“I’m now looking forward to what I do best – news and current affairs on drive as opposed to trying to straddle a 10am to 2pm shift at 6PR.”
As to Nine Radio’s strategy for Perth, Adshead said there was a plan to dump the news format for music.
“When we were telling them changing the 6PR timeslots was a mistake, we were told if that didn’t happen they would close the doors, and sell the station to an owner for a music format. That would have impacted a staff of 55. That is now off the books apparently because the board wouldn’t support it.”
Adshead denied Nine Radio’s claims there was a 6PR revenue shortfall, noting there was correspondence seen at the station reporting on climbing ad sales.
Nick Tabakoff is on leave.
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