After a week in Paris, Nine Entertainment’s chief executive, Mike Sneesby, will be back at work on Wednesday just as 500 of his journalists return to the newsroom after a five-day strike.
Sneesby spent a week at the Olympics in Paris where he entertained sponsors and clients, as well as carrying the Olympic torch in the run-up to the games. Nine paid $305m for the exclusive rights to the next five games, from Paris in 2024 to Brisbane in 2032.
Guests of Nine Entertainment’s corporate hospitality included the powerful sporting executive Peter V’landys, who is both the Australian Rugby League Commission chair and Racing NSW chief executive. The Sydney Morning Herald has a multimillion-dollar deal with Racing NSW to print the form guide.
Also in Paris at Nine’s expense was the NRL’s chief executive, Andrew Abdo. Channel Nine is three years into a five-year deal, worth $115m a year, for the broadcast rights to the NRL.
The acting director of the media section of the Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance, Michelle Rae, said journalists from the company’s publishing division would return to work at 11am on Wednesday.
“Nine has committed to return to negotiations on Wednesday and must come to the table with solutions and an offer that shows that they are as dedicated to quality journalism as the journalists are,” Rae said.
Representatives of the journalists from the Age, Sydney Morning Herald, Brisbane Times, Australian Financial Review and WAtoday have a meeting scheduled with management shortly after they walk back into work as a group.
The strike exposed tension between the publishing and television arms of Nine, which merged with Fairfax Media in 2018.
Nine TV personalities – including Today hosts Karl Stefanovic and Tim Davies – have been posting on social media about their adventures in Paris, much to the chagrin of striking staffers who have forgone a week’s pay.
Guardian Australia revealed on Monday that three Labor ministers who were scheduled to appear at a summit hosted by the Australian Financial Review withdrew because they did not want to address the conference while journalists were on strike.
The AFR’s government services summit was cancelled at the last minute by Nine, which had planned to persist with the conference in the midst of the strike.
The managing director of publishing, Tory Maguire – who has been handling the enterprise bargaining agreement negotiations with staff – cancelled her trip to Paris to handle the ongoing crisis.
Last week, journalists employed by Nine Entertainment’s publishing division voted overwhelmingly to strike over pay, hampering the company’s initial coverage of the Paris Olympic Games.
The reporting on the ground in Paris has been handled by a few exempt correspondents and editors.
Nine is the official broadcaster of the 2024 games, paying $100m for the broadcast rights for this year alone.
