The presence of the Nine TV personality Scott Cam in Paris to promote The Block was the final provocation for print journalists contemplating strike action on the eve of the Paris Olympic Games.
“How many jobs at Nine publishing could have been saved if a TV personality with nothing to do with the Olympics was not going to bed right now in luxury hotels in Paris?” the Age reporter Broede Carmody told ABC Radio ahead of journalists striking for five days.
There was always going to be a culture clash between Channel Nine and the print mastheads once owned by Fairfax. The Olympics has been the spark for the biggest fallout since Nine merged with Fairfax in 2018.
Commercial TV networks have traditionally used the Olympics as a platform to promote upcoming shows and the 20th season of The Block, a major success for the network, is no exception. But for journalists facing the loss of 90 jobs the expenditure on TV stars in Paris seemed unreasonable.
It didn’t help that Nine’s chief executive, Mike Sneesby, took part in the torch relay hours after the strike was announced.
The anger in newsrooms at the Age, the Sydney Morning Herald, the Australian Financial Review, Brisbane Times and WAtoday has been described as “white hot” after several months of tense enterprise bargaining negotiations were interrupted by news of a substantial cut to editorial resources.
Nothing that Nine’s managing director of publishing, Tory Maguire, offered at tense crisis meetings in Melbourne and Sydney on Thursday was enough to call off the strike. An improved pay offer was rejected.
“It’s just not good enough,” Carmody said. “We’re struggling during this cost-of-living crisis, and we can’t take a real wage cut. And at the same time as we were seeking greater protections so that AI couldn’t take our jobs … the company announced up to 90 jobs [cut] at our newsrooms. It’s an awful, awful situation.”
Reporters at Olympics join strike
Perhaps feeling the pain of the stop-work the most will be the 20-odd journalists, including the Age chief reporter, Chip Le Grand, and the AFR business reporter Zoe Samios, who travelled to Paris to cover the Olympic Games, described by Carmody as “the work trip of a lifetime”.
Unlike foreign correspondents, such as the Europe correspondent, Rob Harris, they are not exempt from strike action and will have to take part in the strike as much as it hurts.
Editorial workers at Nine Publishing mastheads will be on strike from 11am AEST tomorrow.
— MEAA (@withMEAA) July 25, 2024
We want a pay rise in line with CPI, a commitment to workplace diversity, safeguards around AI and a fair deal for freelancers. #MEAAmedia #DontTorchJournalism pic.twitter.com/LwP3k3FmS8
Sources say the SMH editor, Bevan Shields, got up at the staff meeting to urge staff to consider the wellbeing of those over in Paris. One staffer said that was “emotional blackmail”, which brought cheers from the crowd.
Sneesby ‘profoundly disappointed’
Sneesby told staff on Friday morning he was “profoundly disappointed” by the decision to strike.
“Regrettably, the union action comes on the eve of one of the biggest news events on the planet, the Paris Olympics. We have invested significantly to bring unrivalled coverage of the 2024 Games to our valued audiences through Nine’s world-leading journalism,” Sneesby said in a note to staff seen by Weekly Beast.
Sneesby was adamant the strike would not affect the coverage and Nine would continue to “seamlessly deliver the best coverage for our audiences”.
Where the job cuts fall
More details emerged this week on where the cuts would fall: 10 to 15 staff on the Age and the Sydney Morning Herald would go; six to eight from the national team of federal politics, business, world and environmental journalists.
Would love to be covering my first Olympics.
— Dan Walsh (@dan_walsh64) July 25, 2024
But 70-90 redundancies from a profitable section of the business, no hint of exec bonuses being given up, laughably stingy EBA talks and Scott Cam being put up in a five-star Paris hotel?
We’ve got a few things to sort out first. https://t.co/pgvrobBErH
When staff argued for a higher pay offer, Maguire reportedly said if the company went any higher they would have to cut even more staff.
I’ll quit if James takes over, Bolt says
The mood is not much better at rival media company News Corp Australia, which celebrated the 60th anniversary of The Australian at the same time as the New York Times published a bombshell report that Rupert Murdoch is in a secret legal battle pitching the ageing mogul and his heir apparent, Lachlan Murdoch, against three of his other children.
The story was taken so seriously by the Sky News Australia host Andrew Bolt that he threatened to quit if James Murdoch takes over News Corp.
How would we cope? pic.twitter.com/AFGLDcN1dE
— Chris Bowen (@Bowenchris) July 25, 2024
“James could sack me if he did take over, but he wouldn’t need to. I wouldn’t be the only one who wouldn’t work for him,” Bolt said.
“It’s a values thing. A freedom thing. I don’t know if he gets that.
“I haven’t been asked to say this. I haven’t even talked to Lachlan for a couple of years. I didn’t ask for permission to say this.”
Lachlan lashes X at Oz gala
In the absence of Rupert Murdoch, the chosen son Lachlan hosted the gala dinner at the Australian Museum on Thursday night. Sitting at the top table with the media mogul was the prime minister, Anthony Albanese, and Coalition leader, Peter Dutton.
“For 60 years we have spoken fearlessly, and will continue to do so,” Lachlan told the crowd.
“For 60 years we have criticised and praised, and brought independent thinking and ideas to our readers and into our communities.”
In his speech he criticised social media platforms like Elon Musk’s X as “very dangerous”.
“And this is why journalism, real journalism with real journalists, is so important,” he said.
“Journalists first and foremost report the news, accurately and without bias. We report the facts. We ask questions. We seek the truth.”
Albanese reportedly said Rupert Murdoch “willed into being a newspaper” in an “act of audacity, of ambition and of optimism that reflects the qualities and the story of our great nation”.
Among the 250 guests were the former prime ministers John Howard and Tony Abbott, New South Wales premier Chris Minns, the governor general, Samantha Mostyn, and Senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price.
Business leaders included the Fortescue Metals executive chair, Andrew Forrest, Premier Investments chair, Solomon Lew, Atlassian co-founder Scott Farquhar, Merivale boss Justin Hemmes and Myer executive chair, Olivia Wirth.
The former ABC and Nine journalist Chris Uhlmann has been welcomed into the fold at the Oz and was one of “six prominent Australians” chosen to speak. “We need to reject shallow nationalism and redeem the idea of patriotism,” Uhlmann said.
Painful redundancies roll on
With all eyes on the 60th anniversary and Lachlan in town, News Corp tried to keep a lid on the painful news about the rolling redundancies at the Murdoch empire in an effort to save $65m.
Some of the most experienced News journalists were quietly culled and there were farewells held at the Shakespeare hotel in Surry Hills this week and many a farewell card signed.
This is the final day of daily journalism for the great Sue Dunlevy, our top medical/health policy reporter. A big loss for News Corp readers. pic.twitter.com/rPZ8cwnGv5
— Malcolm Farr (@farrm51) July 25, 2024
Decades of experience was let go when the much-admired veteran national health reporter, Sue Dunlevy, was made redundant, among dozens of others. Her departure will be a big loss to the reporting of health policy in this country.
A straight shooter, Dunlevy has risen above politics and allowed her reporting to do the talking in a 36-year career at News Corp.
• This story was amended on 26 July 2024 to accurately reflect what Bevan Shields said at the staff meeting.
