Channel Seven employees, worried about their jobs amid mass layoffs, have reportedly turned their anger on the network’s biggest stars.
With presenters such as Natalie Barr and Matt ‘Shirvo’ Shirvington, as Sunrise presenters, pocketing hundreds of thousands of dollars in salaries each year, some Seven insiders have said tensions are starting to rise among workers behind the scenes.
A source told Daily Mail Australia on Thursday that some believe Seven is “slowly sinking” and that employees at the bottom of the ladder are bearing the brunt of job and funding cuts, while TV stars continue to earn the big bucks.
“It’s not just the big talents who get the extra money, but also the people in management… There’s definitely bad blood there,” the source said.
‘Of course, it’s an unspoken grudge, but we talk about it a lot without anyone listening. We express our anger and our contempt for it. The general idea is that we are on a ship that is sinking very slowly.’
Daily Mail Australia has contacted Seven for comment.
Nat, 56, who has been hosting Sunrise since June 2020, has never revealed her exact salary, although she is believed to earn more than $1 million a year for hosting Australia’s top breakfast TV show.
Co-host Shirvo, 45, joined the show in June 2023, replacing former star David Koch, who reportedly earned more than $1.5 million a year despite only working four days a week.
Channel Seven employees, worried about their jobs amid mass redundancies, have reportedly turned their anger on the network’s biggest stars. Pictured, from left: Seven: Natalie Barr, Mike Amor, Sharyn Ghidella, Michael Usher, Chris Reason and Mark Riley
Shirvo, a former Olympic sprinter, is believed to have signed an initial salary deal of $400,000 a year with the network, which was subject to an increase when the time came to improve ratings.
A source told Daily Mail Australia at the time: “Shirvo is young, attractive and charismatic but he’s still largely unproven, which is why he’s being paid half of what Kochie earned.”
The source said they expected her salary to rise to $750,000 if ratings and audience response went in her favor.
This comes after Channel Seven confirmed a controversial change to its TV news bulletins – which will include an astrological report from ‘Astro Tash’ – amid a split at the network over a radical restructuring as 150 jobs are cut at the channel.
With presenters such as Sunrise’s Natalie Barr, 56 (right) and Matt ‘Shirvo’ Shirvington, 45 (left) pocketing hundreds of thousands of dollars in salaries each year, some Seven insiders have said tensions are starting to rise among workers behind the scenes.
Several insiders said Tuesday there was now a tense atmosphere at the station, with some employees “miserable” and taking sick days to look for work elsewhere after a new regime took power intent on changing things.
A ’10 Second’ astrological report just before the 6pm weather bulletin, as well as a weekly comedy sketch on Fridays at 6.57pm hosted by Mark Humphries are some of the key changes viewers will notice over the coming week.
Meanwhile, many viewers don’t seem to be happy either: Australians threatened to boycott Seven after the network premiered the new satirical segment hosted by comedian Mark Humphries.
Meanwhile, many viewers don’t seem to be happy either, with Australians threatening to boycott Seven after the network debuted the new satirical segment hosted by comedian Mark Humphries (pictured).
The 6:57pm newscast will be a weekly segment following the Friday news bulletin and is just one of a number of changes being introduced to the channel.
Humphries decided to make several jokes about President Joe Biden after the latter made several gaffes during a high-pressure press conference.
“Today, people around the world were waiting with bated breath to hear from Joe Biden, the leader of the free world, for now,” the comedian began.
‘His press conference was delayed by more than an hour, presumably because the President was late or, more likely, because he was late walking.
Meanwhile, reports emerged on Friday that Sharyn Ghidella (pictured), 58, a news presenter for Queensland’s Channel Seven, was sacked over a phone call from the network she had worked for for 17 years.
“And you know it was serious because of the way the White House presented it. A big boy press conference. And that’s technically correct if you use Benjamin Button’s definition of “boy.”
“Biden, who is 81 but doesn’t look a day older than 90, spoke fluently on a variety of issues and allayed voters’ fears about his age – that’s what I wish I could tell you.”
Viewers were divided over the sketch: “You’ve sacked Sharyn Ghidella and now at the end of the news you have a very unfunny, stupid, moronic idiot!” wrote one woman on X, with a second adding: “I will never watch Seven News again.”
Meanwhile, reports emerged on Friday that Ghidella, 58, a long-time news presenter for Queensland’s Channel Seven, was fired by phone call from the network where she had worked for 17 years.
Ghidella, the face of Seven News in Queensland since 2007, confirmed the news in an impassioned Facebook post on Friday.
She said her “tap on the shoulder” finally came while she was in the salon, admitting it was something of a “relief” after several anxious weeks over media job cuts.
The Daily Mail Australia has been told morale was already “at an all-time low” following the Bruce Lehrmann fiasco on the Spotlight programme and the sacking of veteran reporter Robert Ovadia.
And the raft of new changes following the appointment of new news and current affairs director Anthony De Ceglie is being viewed with concern by some long-time news insiders at the network.
A source told Daily Mail Australia on Thursday that some believe Seven is “slowly sinking” with bottom-ranking employees bearing the brunt of job and funding cuts while TV stars continue to earn big bucks. Pictured: Former Sunrise presenter David Koch
One critic called the changes “depressing” and said: “All the journalistic credibility we have worked for for so many years is being destroyed. People are devastated. It looks like a funeral here.”
But the new boss hit back at critics, insisting that morale is “excellent” and that “trying new things” is part of the chain’s bold new future.
Mr De Ceglie presented the changes as a necessary restructuring of a stagnant format that has not changed in decades.