Liz Hayes’ brutal move months after leaving Nine fuels feud rumours
Nine veteran Liz Hayes has all but confirmed a bitter feud with her latest move, giving a “one fingered salute” just months after leaving the network.
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Liz Hayes has all but confirmed nine years of tensions between her and 60 Minutes executive producer Kirsty Thomson, her longtime boss, with news the veteran reporter will present a one-off report for rival Channel 7 current affairs program Spotlight.
Two months after resigning from Nine, Hayes has extended an emphatic one-fingered salute to her former 44-years at the station by agreeing to dust off a story she previously worked on for 60 Minutes before it was shelved, an interview with the widow of celebrity chef Jock Zonfrillo.
Seven confirmed Hayes’ guest appearance this week with Hayes set to reshoot an interview for which Nine retains the original unbroadcast vision.
Nine insiders on Thursday said Hayes and Thomson had a bitter falling out after Nine’s botched child-recovery story in Beirut Lebanon in April 2016.
Thomson was the program’s chief-of-staff under executive producer Tom Malone when the story began taking shape.
Two months before the “grab” Thomson was promoted to program EP.
Both Thomson and Malone received promotions from Nine CEO Hugh Marks in 2016, Malone rose to head of sport, however it was Thomson a Lebanese court directly pointed a finger at over the program’s failed attempt to recover the two children of Brisbane mother Sally Faulkner.
“The Australian television was the one that funded the operation, through the sole call of Kirsty Thompson,’’ a translated excerpt from one Lebanese court document stated.
The children had been detained in Beirut after their father Ali Elamine obtained a religious order granting him sole custody without Faulkner’s knowledge.
Four 60 Minutes reporters were jailed in Beirut for two weeks over the story; reporter Tara Brown, producer Stephen Rice, cameraman Ben Williamson, sound operator David Ballment.
Despite Nine conducting an internal investigation that found “inexcusable errors” had been made in researching the story, which would be dubbed the “gravest misadventure in the program’s history”, just one person was sacked, the respected Rice who Nine’s review did not blame.
The episode tore apart Nine’s news division and drove a wedge between colleagues.
Hayes sided with the crew and Brown, who would later confirm a relationship with veteran producer Gareth Harvey, Hayes’s longtime producer.
Harvey and a fellow 60 Minutes producer Phil Goyen, who like Harvey had once been considered a future 60 Minutes EP, have since migrated to Seven’s Spotlight, easing Hayes’ move across the dial.
The news of Hayes’ guest appearance is a coup of sorts for Seven, which has battled to win its timeslot after seeing its budget slashed in recent years.
Zonfrillo’s widow, Lauren Fried, the chef’s third wife, is a marketing executive who has her own TV profile as an occasional panellist on the ABC’s Gruen Transfer.
She is also a budding author who has written a book, Till Death Do Us Part: Life Without Jock and Learning to Live with Intention due for release in coming weeks. It coincides with the two-year anniversary of the chef’s death.
After changing her surname to Zonfrillo, Fried has been marking the milestones on social media since her husband, father to her two young children, died in mysterious circumstances, in April 2023, in a Melbourne hotel room.
Fried was abroad at the time and Zonfrillo, who had a history of heavy drug use, was to have been celebrating the launch of the latest season of MasterChef that same night.
‘THE ONE THAT GOT AWAY’
Such a shame Liz Hayes hadn’t been on Nine’s payroll at 60 Minutes when the program was weighing up the merits of interviewing John Singleton, father of Bondi Junction stabbing victim Dawn, on the anniversary of the tragedy this month.
As an ex-wife of Singleton, Hayes might have suggested the interview wasn’t such a smart idea, as the actions and comments of Dawn’s family have subsequently revealed.
At least the Hayes/Singleton chemistry would have been on display, 34 years after their split after one turbulent year of marriage in 1991.
These days the pair are on better terms with Singleton telling anyone who cares to listen (including this writer) that “Lizzie” was the one that got away.
The task of interviewing Singleton instead went to Tracy Grimshaw, who sources last week insisted had once also been pursued by the much-married much-divorced Singleton.
It could be argued Grimshaw has now twice consecutively been let down by 60 Minutes’ production team.
Dawn Singleton’s family, including the devoted mother who raised her, Julie, filed a lawsuit in the NSW Supreme Court the Friday prior to the interview broadcast, a sure fire indication, one would have thought, that members of the grief-stricken family were not at all happy with the former ad exec giving voice to his lone objections to a public inquest.
His statements, though not declaration of love for his dog, were later called into dispute by Dawn’s surviving sister Daisy, as exclusively revealed by news.com.au the morning after the 60 Minutes interview.
Last year Grimshaw was tasked with interviewing Elle Macpherson about her breast cancer battle.
In the interview Macpherson claimed she’d rejected the conventional medical advice of 32 doctors after being diagnosed with breast cancer in 2017, preferring instead, after two lumpectomies, to pursue a holistic approach to treatment including spiritual, herbal and chiropractic therapies.
60 Minutes and Grimshaw were criticised afterwards for failing to consult medical experts for what some believed was an irresponsible television segment.
Grimshaw later defended it saying she felt it important to respect Macpherson’s right “to do whatever she wants”.
MUSICAL CHAIRS
As the bottom threatens to fall out of Kyle & Jackie O’s dreams of national radio domination, the duo’s seemingly snookered bosses at Australian Radio Network (ARN) have gone shopping.
While some believe throwing money at a problem is an inefficient and largely ineffective way to deal with it, it appears ARN CEO Ciaran Davis – who we hear has picked up a little house in Ireland, perhaps a back-up plan of his own - is not one of them.
Following the exodus of advertisers from the KIIS FM breakfast show (which ARN this week maintained was “stable”), Davis has opened up the company coffers to go after a squad of sales guns who he evidently hopes can stem the flow of advertisers out the KIIS FM door.
In December Davis employed former Nine sales kingpin Michael Stephenson, the man many said should have been appointed the company’s next CEO. That role went instead to Matt Stanton.
Stephenson, on a package worth $1.25 million at Nine – making him the second highest-paid man on Nine’s books behind former CEO Mike Sneesby – made his not-very surprising exit from the company and the role of chief sales officer in December.
Days later his move to ARN was announced.
As ARN’s chief operating officer Stephenson has been tasked with arresting the exodus of advertisers from the Kyle & Jackie O show and leading the company’s revamped commercial strategy.
After settling in at ARN, he’s evidently looked around and decided he needed a revamped sales force, and fast, before the end of the financial year.
In the past week there has been a rush of appointments.
First came news he has recruited Nine’s former director of sales, Richard Hunwick. Hunwick this week stepped into the equivalent role at ARN.
Then this week came news of two more new hires.
Stephenson has brought over Nine’s ex director of data and digital ad products, Ben Campbell, who starts at ARN from June 2.
He has also hired Jenni Lees as director of the radio company’s new creative solutions division, Integrate by ARN. Lees returns to Australia from the UK and started in her role this week.
The appointments follow the promotion of Lauren Joyce to chief audience and content officer in January. She replaced outgoing content boss Duncan Campbell.
Whether the new crew can reverse the damage following the past 16 months of ad boycotts and damning ACMA investigations remains to be seen.
LAURA HADLEY’S CANCER CRUSADE
Ray Hadley’s daughter Laura’s achievement in raising almost $55,000 in a Children’s Cancer Institute (CCI) fundraiser has been confirmed by sources.
Earlier this year the retired radio commentator confirmed his granddaughter, three-year-old Lola, daughter of Laura and husband Brad Clark, had been diagnosed with leukaemia.
In March Hadley’s former employer 2GB revealed Laura was participating in an 86km walk to raise money for Children’s Cancer Institute’s 86K initiative, an event that raises funds to find a cure for childhood cancer.
Thanks to Hadley’s profile, the event was promoted by other media and soon Laura went straight to the top of the CCI fundraising leaderboard with her efforts pulling in $54,988 before the end-of-March event deadline.
Amongst top donors were furniture transport company Pedemonts ($5.02k), Terry Tzaneros of Ags World Transport ($5.02k), Pepe Bonaccordo ($3.02k), Clive Thomas Ct Freight ($3.02k) and Linda Penn of Lowes Menswear ($2.52k).
Grandpa Hadley is also listed as donating $715, horse racing tipster Lizzie Jelfs $263 and Ben Fordham $100.
One hundred per cent of Laura’s haul, the CCI website confirms and called a “phenomenal effort”, will go to the cancer charity.
Originally published as Liz Hayes’ brutal move months after leaving Nine fuels feud rumours
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