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Armytage, Stefanovic and a TV HR disaster · The Front

• 0:03
  Speaker 1: From The Australian. Here's what's on the front. I'm Claire Harvey.
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  Speaker 1: It's Monday, October twenty twenty twenty five. It's finally happening.
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  Speaker 1: Anthony Albanesi will today touchdown in the United States for
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  Speaker 1: his long anticipated meeting with President Donald Trump. It's a
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  Speaker 1: high risk moment, given Trump's tendency to humiliate foreign leaders
• 0:26
  Speaker 1: on the agenda for Albanesi, submarines and trade. In return,
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  Speaker 1: the presidents likely to demand a huge uplift in Australia's
• 0:34
  Speaker 1: spending on its own defense. Another another law and order
• 0:42
  Speaker 1: embarrassment in Victoria, where weekend protests sought two police taken
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  Speaker 1: to hospital with serious injuries after demonstrators through rocks and
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  Speaker 1: bottles at them. It was a clash between self proclaimed
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  Speaker 1: anti fascists and anti immigration activists, but senior offices say
• 1:00
  Speaker 1: it was the left wingers, not the far right, who
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  Speaker 1: started the trouble. There's a supremely awkward situation developing around
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  Speaker 1: one of Australia's most high profile media franchises, Nine Entertainments.
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  Speaker 1: Today Program Nine's in talks with former seven star Samantha
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  Speaker 1: Armitage to pair up with long reigning host Karl Stefanovic.
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  Speaker 1: Just one problem, someone else already has the job, and
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  Speaker 1: that's not the only hr catastrophe brewing at the Broadcaster. Today,
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  Speaker 1: Media Diary editor Steve Jackson joins me, Look.
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  Speaker 2: It's good to see that breakfast television coulters are as uncomfortable.
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  Speaker 1: As ever and as dirty's tie, that's atory here. One
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  Speaker 1: of the most intriguing figures on Australian television is Samana
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  Speaker 1: the Armitage, the former host of Channel seven Sunrise. She's
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  Speaker 1: quite posh but also seems like a whole lot of fun.
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  Speaker 1: But she hasn't been on TV for a pretty long time,
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  Speaker 1: at least in the critical breakfast time slot. Joining me
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  Speaker 1: is The Australian's Media Diary editor Steve Jackson, to talk
• 2:15
  Speaker 1: about a potential return to primetime for Samantha Armitage. JACKO,
• 2:20
  Speaker 1: where's she been all this time?
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  Speaker 3: Well, she has been doing reality television for the past years.
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  Speaker 3: She's been working on a show called The Golden Bachelor,
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  Speaker 3: which we will see tonight Monday night on Channel nine
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  Speaker 3: for the first time.
• 2:32
  Speaker 2: Do you think you can find love again?
• 2:37
  Speaker 1: Do you think lightning.
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  Speaker 2: Can strike twice?
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  Speaker 1: Let's help?
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  Speaker 2: So are you ready?
• 2:44
  Speaker 1: I'm ready as I may have want to be.
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  Speaker 3: But she took a break a couple of years ago
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  Speaker 3: to spend time with her now ex husband down on
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  Speaker 3: the Southern Highlands and doing a lot of horse riding, etc.
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  Speaker 3: But she has been massively missed from the Australian media landscape.
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  Speaker 3: She's one of those people that love her and I've
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  Speaker 3: got to say most people love her because she's fun,
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  Speaker 3: she's vironment high energy. She is someone that people talk
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  Speaker 3: about love, talking about love, reading about.
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  Speaker 1: Breakfast television is hard, isn't it, Because you have to
• 3:12
  Speaker 1: segue from interviewing the treasurer to doing a recipe to
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  Speaker 1: spooking potentially some products that you might have to sell
• 3:20
  Speaker 1: depending on what your time slot is. What sort of
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  Speaker 1: mix of characteristics do you need to succeed in that
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  Speaker 1: quite cut throat world.
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  Speaker 3: It is one of those jobs that everyone thinks they
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  Speaker 3: could do, but few people actually can. You need to
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  Speaker 3: be well informed, you need to be friendly. You need
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  Speaker 3: to be ideally someone that people would love to have
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  Speaker 3: over for a cup of coffee and to talk about
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  Speaker 3: the latest news of the day. But to be across
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  Speaker 3: all those things and as you say, being able to
• 3:44
  Speaker 3: interview the Prime Minister of one second to talking about
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  Speaker 3: bon Jovi's latest track, The Next is a really difficult
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  Speaker 3: skill set.
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  Speaker 2: To do it at three a m.
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  Speaker 3: In the morning, and to have every little accident or
• 3:55
  Speaker 3: slip up of any words you say plastered through the
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  Speaker 3: pages of newspapers and on websites. It is really, really difficult.
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  Speaker 3: Let's not forget this is live television three hours every day.
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  Speaker 2: The ability to.
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  Speaker 3: Talk for that long on camera and be across everything
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  Speaker 3: is just one of the most difficult jobs in the
• 4:13
  Speaker 3: media industry.
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  Speaker 1: Probably the master of the art is Karl Stefanovic. So
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  Speaker 1: he's the long standing host of nine's Today Show. He's
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  Speaker 1: been paired with quite a lot of pretty formidable women,
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  Speaker 1: and he has a female co host at the moment
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  Speaker 1: in Sarah Arbo, who's very classy. She ticks all those
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  Speaker 1: boxes that you just talked about. Why would there be
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  Speaker 1: speculation about Sarah being replaced.
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  Speaker 3: Well, it's funny that you describe Carl as being the
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  Speaker 3: master of the art. Sam is the master of the art. Now,
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  Speaker 3: Karl's been there for twenty years, twenty one years. He
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  Speaker 3: had one little sort of year off He's gap year
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  Speaker 3: back in twenty nineteen. But Sam was the woman who
• 4:52
  Speaker 3: stopped Karl from winning nationally back in twenty thirteen, so
• 4:55
  Speaker 3: former Sunday Telegraph editor went across Neil Breen and for
• 4:58
  Speaker 3: the first six months looked like Today's Show was finally
• 5:02
  Speaker 3: going to lose the tag of the preenally second placed
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  Speaker 3: national commercial television breakfast show.
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  Speaker 2: Brennie was ep right.
• 5:08
  Speaker 3: Brennie was ep heaps the pressure on that year they
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  Speaker 3: were going to win. Midyear, Melissa Doyle exits at Sunrise.
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  Speaker 3: Samantha Armitage comes in gone. You know she is the
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  Speaker 3: master when it comes to breakfast television.
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  Speaker 2: Harry do you like Do you like all the girls?
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  Speaker 2: Like you like all the women? Harry?
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  Speaker 1: I was you were to all for me?
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  Speaker 2: But I'm not getting Harry, Liam come back interview with
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  Speaker 2: justin take one. I found an interview Dumbell.
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  Speaker 1: You said you have a shot of tequila before you
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  Speaker 1: go on stage?
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  Speaker 2: You do that? Does that just take me a job
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  Speaker 2: a little bit? Thanks Russell.
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  Speaker 1: That's very cold. It's not when you come to interview
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  Speaker 1: with celebrity and go away with the present like we
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  Speaker 1: do it all the time. We'll give it.
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  Speaker 3: So in at nine. They have wanted this for more
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  Speaker 3: than a decade. If we can get Karl, who people love.
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  Speaker 3: He's the kid from Queensland, come good, you know, with his'
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  Speaker 3: manaro and he's loved for a couple of rum and cokes.
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  Speaker 3: And Sam, who's the Sydney version of it, you know,
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  Speaker 3: love to have her over so much fun, so Virobrant.
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  Speaker 2: You put those together. It's a recipe for success.
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  Speaker 3: I don't think they even need someone who's like Michael Heey,
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  Speaker 3: who's the Vengali of television at nine. You don't need
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  Speaker 3: to be Michael Heey to know this is a winning formula.
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  Speaker 1: So you revealed in Media Diary a week ago that
• 6:38
  Speaker 1: nine was interested in Samanthromatis and that she was potentially
• 6:41
  Speaker 1: interested in a returned to Breakfast Television. Nine didn't confirm
• 6:45
  Speaker 1: or deny it at the time. What's happened Since.
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  Speaker 3: They haven't confirmed or denied it, not denying it is
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  Speaker 3: some people would say quite telling. But also nine has
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  Speaker 3: a very strong policy of not talking about contract negotiations.
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  Speaker 3: I can ask as many questions as I like. Unfortunately,
• 6:59
  Speaker 3: no one has to tell me the answers. But I
• 7:01
  Speaker 3: do know that she most definitely is going to be
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  Speaker 3: on the Today Show for at least a few weeks.
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  Speaker 2: This December, so this is going to be the real trial.
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  Speaker 3: She did fill in last summer while Carl and Sarah
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  Speaker 3: were both on leave. She didn't win in the ratings,
• 7:14
  Speaker 3: then read into that what you will, but she will
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  Speaker 3: be back this summer again and it will be seen
• 7:19
  Speaker 3: as another trial for Is this going to be the
• 7:21
  Speaker 3: pairing that we finally see hosting the show and making
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  Speaker 3: that last ditch bid to win while Carl's there?
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  Speaker 2: Because, let's face it, twenty one years in the hot seat.
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  Speaker 3: How many more years has Carl got in him that
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  Speaker 3: he's done it for twenty years already? It's a taxing show,
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  Speaker 3: as we've already discussed, it's a taxing show, and the
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  Speaker 3: fact that he's still there after two decades is impressive.
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  Speaker 2: But he's not going to be there forever.
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  Speaker 1: This is a really awkward situation for Sarah Arbo, who
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  Speaker 1: hasn't done anything wrong. She is doing a great job,
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  Speaker 1: but it's the classic situation of you don't want the
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  Speaker 1: substitute who fills in for you on holiday to be
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  Speaker 1: better than you. Nine surely has a fonsibility to sort
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  Speaker 1: this out quickly, don't they?
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  Speaker 2: For her sake?
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  Speaker 3: Look, you would like to think that they do, but
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  Speaker 3: this is the game they plan, this is the world
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  Speaker 3: in which they move, and you are getting paid a
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  Speaker 3: lot of money to bring in viewers.
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  Speaker 2: And we saw just.
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  Speaker 3: Last week that a breakfast show host in Brisbane wasn't
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  Speaker 3: achieving the numbers. He's ratings fell and he's gone. Now
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  Speaker 3: that said, that's why they get paid so much money
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  Speaker 3: because the risk is high. You put yourself out there
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  Speaker 3: and if you pull in the people, you reap the rewards,
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  Speaker 3: and if you don't, you're gone. So not saying Sarah's
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  Speaker 3: doing anything wrong, but if they think that they can
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  Speaker 3: get an edge by bringing in Sam and win, and
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  Speaker 3: that is a massive premium when it comes to advertising.
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  Speaker 3: Being number one or number two, we're talking about millions
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  Speaker 3: of dollars in advertising revenue that they can charge as
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  Speaker 3: being the premium number one show. It's big stakes. So yes,
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  Speaker 3: it would be nice if you know, everyone could have
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  Speaker 3: the job. Let's make everyone the host and keep everyone happy.
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  Speaker 3: But they're a win and losers and all these things.
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  Speaker 3: Sam is amazing, Sarah also amazing. Ideally you'd want them both,
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  Speaker 3: but unfortunately there are only two chairs.
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  Speaker 1: Television stations are notoriously brutal, pretty tough with their staff.
• 9:14
  Speaker 1: Generally people are on contracts, so they're not permanent employees.
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  Speaker 1: That means you have very little job security. How are
• 9:21
  Speaker 1: they at handling complex HR situations in AT nine?
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  Speaker 3: That's a it's a vexed question. Obviously, we saw a
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  Speaker 3: few dramas last year. But you know, the promise is
• 9:33
  Speaker 3: always that come to us, you can tell us your
• 9:36
  Speaker 3: dramas at any point, will keep all your complaints, your
• 9:39
  Speaker 3: allegations confidential. Sadly, I've learned in the past week that
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  Speaker 3: that isn't always the case, and there has been a
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  Speaker 3: massive confidentiality breach in AT nine relating to allegations against
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  Speaker 3: some of their biggest stars across all their divisions. I'm
• 9:54
  Speaker 3: talking across television, print and radio, where allegations made against
• 9:59
  Speaker 3: on their personalities have been sent to people not involved
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  Speaker 3: in the cases.
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  Speaker 2: Now, it's not a hack, it's not a.
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  Speaker 3: Deliberate breach, but these files have inadvertently been sent out
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  Speaker 3: to the wrong people, so someone who's not involved with
• 10:14
  Speaker 3: the cases is reading the allegations and we're talking about
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  Speaker 3: serious allegations. In one of the cases, we're talking about
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  Speaker 3: an on air sports presenter in Brisbane, Jonathan Upton, who
• 10:24
  Speaker 3: himself was once mooted as a potential host for the
• 10:27
  Speaker 3: Today Show, where he was asked if he could take
• 10:30
  Speaker 3: a workplace drug test because of some of the allegations
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  Speaker 3: about him. He took that drug test of his free
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  Speaker 3: will because he had nothing to hide.
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  Speaker 2: He passed it. They investigated him.
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  Speaker 3: He spent months off air last year, he missed out
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  Speaker 3: on going to the Paris Games because they are investigating
• 10:45
  Speaker 3: the allegations against him, and clean bill of health. There
• 10:48
  Speaker 3: was nothing to be found against him. He passed with
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  Speaker 3: flying colors. And yet the details of those serious allegations
• 10:55
  Speaker 3: made against him, which are unfounded, have now been made
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  Speaker 3: public to people at the network who aren't involved in
• 11:01
  Speaker 3: the case. And it's not just television, say this has
• 11:04
  Speaker 3: happened across print radio. One of the allegations as serious
• 11:08
  Speaker 3: allegations of bullying made against a high profile radio identity.
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  Speaker 3: The allegations against the radio host are still being investigated.
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  Speaker 3: So I can't even reveal who that person is at
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  Speaker 3: this point.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, how does that happen that the files about a
• 11:22
  Speaker 1: complaint end up in the wrong hands. That would be
• 11:24
  Speaker 1: a metaphor a defamation action potentially, wouldn't it it.
• 11:27
  Speaker 3: Would be because they've published it to people who aren't involved,
• 11:30
  Speaker 3: and obviously I've found out about it, so yeah, you
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  Speaker 3: would imagine. And it's a massive breach of privacy for
• 11:36
  Speaker 3: the people who were told come to us, your complaints
• 11:39
  Speaker 3: are safe with us. We're going to handle this and
• 11:41
  Speaker 3: for your complaints and your allegations, for both the person
• 11:44
  Speaker 3: who's complained and the person who's being complained about. It's
• 11:47
  Speaker 3: a disastrous breach of privacy for these allegations to be
• 11:51
  Speaker 3: made public, and by emailing it to just one person
• 11:54
  Speaker 3: who's not involved, that is making it public. We work
• 11:57
  Speaker 3: in a very small media industry where we love talking
• 12:01
  Speaker 3: about the media industry, and so these things are going
• 12:04
  Speaker 3: to travel. Hey did you know this is what so
• 12:05
  Speaker 3: and so has been accused of.
• 12:08
  Speaker 1: It comes in the context of nine attempting to fix
• 12:11
  Speaker 1: its culture, to create a culture of openness where people
• 12:13
  Speaker 1: feel willing to come forward because they have acknowledged that
• 12:17
  Speaker 1: there have been problems in the past with issues like
• 12:19
  Speaker 1: sexual harassment and misogyny, Allegations by women that they felt marginalized,
• 12:25
  Speaker 1: that even when they were promoted, that it was a
• 12:27
  Speaker 1: bit of a glass cliff situation where they only got
• 12:30
  Speaker 1: the job because some man had fallen over. Are these
• 12:33
  Speaker 1: two instances do you think just an HR muck up
• 12:36
  Speaker 1: or are they evidence of something more serious going on?
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  Speaker 3: Look for the record and to be abundantly clear, Claire,
• 12:44
  Speaker 3: I think nine has done a phenomenal job with the
• 12:47
  Speaker 3: procedures they've put in place, They've addressed the issues, They've
• 12:50
  Speaker 3: done everything they can. This is just a disastrous stuff up.
• 12:53
  Speaker 3: But I think generally and it's a disastrous stuff up
• 12:56
  Speaker 3: that will affect people's confidence in terms of come forward
• 13:00
  Speaker 3: because it's so difficult, as everyone knows in the media industry,
• 13:04
  Speaker 3: to make a complaint against someone who seems so powerful
• 13:06
  Speaker 3: if they're in a on air position. The last thing
• 13:09
  Speaker 3: that you want is to doubt the process. But generally speaking,
• 13:13
  Speaker 3: Nine have been phenomenal and you look at the bosses
• 13:15
  Speaker 3: they've got in there now. I think Fiona Die has
• 13:17
  Speaker 3: done a fantastic job, the executive producers, the.
• 13:20
  Speaker 2: Team they've got in there. I think they are trying
• 13:22
  Speaker 2: their best.
• 13:23
  Speaker 3: It's very difficult because, as we know, there's three sides
• 13:26
  Speaker 3: to every story. You know, their complaints, the complaint and
• 13:29
  Speaker 3: the truth that appears in the Australian media diary. So
• 13:32
  Speaker 3: I think they are doing a wonderful job. It's just
• 13:34
  Speaker 3: a shame when something like this happens and it undoes
• 13:37
  Speaker 3: the great work because people start doubting the processes that
• 13:40
  Speaker 3: are in place.
• 13:43
  Speaker 1: Coming up, another cringe worthy HR situation unfolding at rival
• 13:48
  Speaker 1: network seven. I guess one thing that Nine's got going
• 14:05
  Speaker 1: for it is that it's not being sued in a
• 14:06
  Speaker 1: class action by its own staff. That's happening at Channel seven.
• 14:10
  Speaker 1: I can't let you go without an update on that situation.
• 14:12
  Speaker 3: Well, we are seeing what is happening there and hopefully
• 14:15
  Speaker 3: I'll have more clarity on this in the days ahead.
• 14:18
  Speaker 3: Last week I revealed the senior reporter had been stood
• 14:20
  Speaker 3: down in the Melbourne newsroom. Someone had been snooping around
• 14:22
  Speaker 3: in her email. She told friends that she logged in
• 14:24
  Speaker 3: on the weekend and someone she could see via the
• 14:27
  Speaker 3: search history in her email someone had been searching for
• 14:30
  Speaker 3: a number of expletive words, one of which definitely wouldn't
• 14:33
  Speaker 3: be allowed on the front, as well as the INITIALSMA,
• 14:37
  Speaker 3: which is the Media Entertainment and Arts Alliance, which is
• 14:39
  Speaker 3: the union that represents journalists, as well as the name
• 14:42
  Speaker 3: of her law firm and which obviously sort of freaked
• 14:46
  Speaker 3: her out, according to her friends that told me that
• 14:49
  Speaker 3: she was like, obviously, they're searching through all my emails
• 14:53
  Speaker 3: to build a dirt FORI on her. I think hopefully
• 14:57
  Speaker 3: the situation involving that senior reporter sh be resolved. I'm
• 15:01
  Speaker 3: told that she has now been invited to return to
• 15:03
  Speaker 3: work contingent on her signing a new contract that might
• 15:07
  Speaker 3: limit her hours or pay. But it looks like we're
• 15:11
  Speaker 3: moving towards a solution in that particular dispute. The wages
• 15:14
  Speaker 3: war will continue. She might be back at work soon,
• 15:17
  Speaker 3: but she will also be heading towards court to say
• 15:19
  Speaker 3: you've got to pay us more money.
• 15:21
  Speaker 1: I can't wait to read what else you've got in
• 15:22
  Speaker 1: their diary.
• 15:23
  Speaker 2: Thanks Steve, Thank you.
• 15:34
  Speaker 1: Steve Jackson is The Australian's Media Diary editor. You can
• 15:38
  Speaker 1: read his Unmissible column, packed with all the news and
• 15:41
  Speaker 1: gossip from the media right now at The Australian dot
• 15:45
  Speaker 1: com dot au