Embattled Nine boss Darren Wick’s $1m golden handshake

Darren Wick left the media company with a generous payout, despite senior management being aware of allegations the veteran newsman had behaved inappropriately towards female staff.

Former Nine news boss Darren Wick.

Nine news boss Darren Wick left the media company in March with a near million-dollar golden handshake, despite senior management and the board being aware of allegations the veteran newsman had behaved inappropriately towards female staff.

The Australian understands that Wick, 60, agreed to a financial settlement of close to $1m upon his departure from Nine – which equates to more than his annual salary – even though he left under a cloud after discussions at board level about his alleged workplace improprieties.

Nine’s seven-person board is chaired by former federal treasurer Peter Costello; the media company’s chief executive, Mike Sneesby, also sits on the board.

Neither Mr Costello nor Mr Sneesby responded to requests for comment on Thursday. Wick also didn’t respond to The Australian’s messages.

On Monday, The Australian revealed that Wick left Nine news on March 15 following allegations of inappropriate behaviour towards a female staff member. Contrary to what Nine’s communications team said publicly at the time, it’s understood that Wick’s position was deemed by the board to be untenable, and although the news veteran publicly announced his “resignation”, he was in fact “pushed out”.

Wick, who helmed Nine’s news division for 13 years and worked for the media company for a total of 29 years, cited ­fatigue as the reason for his ­departure.

The revelation of Wick’s generous payout is certain to cause further fury in Nine’s already disenchanted television newsrooms across the country.

On Wednesday, staff within Nine’s TV news and current affairs division expressed anger at an attempt by the company’s senior management to placate journalists over the inappropriate behaviour of Wick towards female staff which, according to The Australian’s sources, dates as far back as two decades.

The network’s director of television, Michael Healy, the head of people and culture, Vanessa Morley, and communications and public affairs chief Victoria ­Buchan, convened an emergency meeting with staff to address the rolling scandal but the tone of the meeting left many female journalists enraged.

The Australian has been told the widespread perception among staff was that management was downplaying the seriousness and consequences of Wick’s alleged conduct, and ignoring a wider cultural problem within the company.

One staffer at Wednesday’s meeting asked whether there was a “cover-up” relating to Wick’s behaviour, and was told there was not. According to the senior managers conducting the meeting, the network was duty-bound to protect the confidentiality of any workplace issues lodged by staff.

Management was also asked why Wick returned to Nine’s Sydney office in late April – more than a month after he resigned – to enjoy what some staff described as a “victory lap” that lasted several hours.

When it was explained that Wick had returned to hand back his IT equipment and fill out various forms, several staff laughed incredulously, The Australian was told. “The mood after the meeting was that Nine is not taking this matter seriously,” one insider said.

Eyebrows were also raised over the title attached to Wednesday’s online conference, given the accusations levelled at Wick: “The All Hands” meeting.

On Wednesday, Sky News’s Sharri Markson reported that Wick had sexually harassed an on-air Nine personality at an awards night on the Gold Coast.

“On the dance floor at the Gold Coast Logies after-party, he was gropey, he had his hands everywhere, breathing heavily in my ear, I had to peel him off me,” the woman said. “Any other man I might have kicked or pushed, but he was my boss.”

Earlier on Wednesday, Mr Sneesby sent a company-wide email in which he urged staff to come forward with complaints about ­“inappropriate behaviour”.

“Many of you will have seen external media over the last few days that draws attention to our internal processes and policies regarding complaints about conduct in the workplace,” the Nine CEO said.

“It is important for everyone at Nine to know that we don’t ­tolerate inappropriate behaviour in the workplace and want to know if there is inappropriate ­behaviour occurring, so that it can be addressed promptly.”

Nine staff have privately questioned why management has been slow to act on historic instances of inappropriate behaviour within the company.