Nine has pressed ahead with replacing one of its most powerful news directors, even though ousted boss Amanda Paterson is suing the company and demanding she be reinstated in the role.
The network’s national head of news and current affairs Fiona Dear informed staff that Nine-lifer’s popular Brendan Hockings had been named the channel’s new Queensland news director shortly after midday on Thursday.
Hockings, who began his career at Nine as a production assistant in its Brisbane newsroom in May 2005, has been working in the role on an interim basis since Paterson was unceremoniously sacked last month.
Paterson claims the network unfairly used the highly publicized culture report’s anonymous findings on its “toxic” work culture to fire her after 31 years of service during a seven-minute Zoom call on Nov. 7.
She has since taken legal action against Nine Entertainment and Dear, seeking damages arising from the unlawful dismissal and demanding to be reinstated to her old job.
The latter appears unlikely to happen, with Dear moving quickly to install Hockings full-time and announce his appointment as one of his final pieces of business before taking leave over the festive period at the end of the week.
The Queensland job is one of the most critical at the network, and Hockings will be responsible not only for overseeing Brisbane but also the channel’s news operation in Darwin and the Gold Coast newsroom, which serves one of the fastest growing cities in the country.
Tellingly, there was no word on a full-time replacement for ousted Sydney news boss Simon Hobbs, who unexpectedly parted ways with the company the week after Paterson was fired.
Highly regarded journalist Brendan Hockings will take over as Nine’s powerful Queensland news director full-time after serving in the role for more than a month.
Former A Current Affair star Amanda Patterson was unceremoniously sacked as Queensland news boss last month and is suing to get her job back.
Competition for the role has been fiercely contested both internally and externally, with leading candidates including Nine Newsrooms veterans Mark Burrows and Damian Ryan, as well as 60 Minutes’ star reporter Amelia Adams and her executive producer Kirsty Thomson.
Across the country in Perth, Nine employees were informed on Thursday that their interim head of news, Michael Genovese, had also been appointed full-time.
The well-known and respected journalist, who is married to Seven Crime reporter Jerrie Demasi, has been serving as the City’s top editorial chief since his predecessor Gareth Parker moved to Sydney to head up the national news desk.
Genovese made headlines earlier this year after a casual pre-press conference conversation she was having with Perth mayor and former Sevens star Basil Zempilas, referencing the Australian Open women’s final, was caught by a “hot microphone.”
Critics initially thought they had caught Zempilas describing the match as “a reserve game”, before explaining that he had actually been joking with Genovese about the challenge of presenting the news on the same night as tennis.
“Before today’s press conference, Michael and I were talking about how presenting the news when there is a big sporting event at the same time means that a small audience will see the news,” Zempilas clarified.
Then I say words to Michael like, “Are you reading the news tonight?” He says yes and I say, “Tennis starts tonight, right?”
Then he says: “The women’s final.” And then I say, referring to reading the news against that broadcast, “it’s like the reservations then.”
Nine’s new Perth news boss Michael Genovese and the wife of Seven crime reporter Jerrie Demasi
Perth Mayor Basil Zempilas appeared to let slip that he considers the Australian Open women’s final a “reserve match”; However, he has since clarified that this was not the intended meaning.
‘Reading the anti-tennis news was what I referred to as “being the reserves.” Not tennis. I cannot make this clearer or be more emphatic.
“It is completely false and flatly wrong to suggest otherwise and I will not be accused of having said something I did not say.”
“Before today’s press conference, Michael and I were talking about how presenting the news when there is a big sporting event at the same time means a small audience will see the news,” he tweeted shortly before 6 p.m. on Saturday. .
Dear said the appointments of Hockings and Genovese came after a painstaking selection process as the media giant seeks to rebuild the shattered morale of its newsroom following a devastating year of scandals.
“We have been overwhelmed with requests from highly talented journalists and leaders during this process and these internal appointments show the depth we have within 9News,” Dear told staff.
‘Both Brendan and Michael are exceptional journalists, leaders and people, and we are extremely fortunate to have people of their caliber appointed to these key leadership positions to drive our transformation and continue to elevate Nine’s culture.
“Over the past few months, they have provided leadership stability and strong editorial guidance to their respective newsrooms, and I am proud to formally announce them in these roles today.”
Hockings, who had previously earned praise within the network for his work as the network’s national director of news events, said he felt privileged to take on the powerful Queensland role.
Zempilas has worked as a tennis commentator at the Australian Open, as well as hosting Channel Seven’s Weekend Sunrise show (pictured with Monique Wright).
Nine’s head of national news and current affairs Fiona Dear made the appointments before going on holiday over the holidays.
“I constantly marvel at the creativity, passion and dedication of our 9News Queensland team,” he said.
“I am honored to take on this role and look forward to leading this extraordinary team of people as we tell the best stories from Queensland and the Northern Territory.”
His comments were echoed by Genovese in Western Australia.
“Nine Perth has been my home for over a decade and it is a privilege to take on the role of news director and lead the team working here,” he said.
“As Western Australians turn to 9News as their trusted source of information, we remain committed to delivering the stories that matter to Perth, every day.”
News of Hockings’ appointment will do little to quell the ongoing legal dispute between Nine and former editorial colleague Paterson.
Although Hockings and Paterson are understood to have been on good terms throughout the time they worked together, Paterson has since hired celebrity employment lawyer John Laxon to help her get her job back.
On the day Nine fired her, Paterson claims she was asked to attend a quick meeting with Dear, who appeared via video link from Sydney and told her her job was being terminated with immediate effect.
Ousted Queensland news boss Paterson claims she was taken from Nine’s Mt Coot-tha headquarters in Brisbane and had to wait in the car park while someone went to collect her puppy.
Paterson was then escorted out of the building without the opportunity to say goodbye to staff or retrieve her puppy from her office, which was there as part of Nine’s workplace pet policy.
Instead, they sent a Human Resources staff member to look for the puppy while Paterson waited in the network’s parking lot.
Paterson was reportedly told she had been fired as a result of three alleged workplace violations.
They included failing to complete his internal online ‘training modules’, botching a contract extension for one of his staff members, and an incident in the office in which he made a light-hearted reference to the company’s recent removal of ‘assholes’.
In an email confirming his departure, Dear said: ‘I wanted to let you know that QTQ news director Amanda Paterson has finished with Nine today.
‘While we formalize the internal and external recruitment process to replace the role, Kate Donnison has agreed to step in on a short-term basis until QTQ EP Brendan Hockings returns from the US and takes his annual leave.
“Brendan will assume the role until we finalize the hiring process to ensure stability in leadership during this time.”
No reasons have been publicly offered for Hobbs’ shock departure, which Dear announced to Nine’s Sydney newsroom staff during a town hall meeting on November 13, a week after Paterson was sacked.
Nine are yet to announce a replacement for former Sydney news chief Simon Hobbs.
“I wanted to let you know about some additional changes to the news and current affairs leadership team,” Dear said in the email.
‘Simon Hobbs will finish… with Nine at the end of this week.
‘Current deputy news director Margie McLew will assume news director responsibilities until a permanent replacement is finalized.
‘Simon will support Margie from home to ensure a smooth transition and handover of leadership, before closing the business on Friday 15 November.
“We are hiring for three news director positions… job ads are now available… and I would encourage anyone interested to apply or get in touch for a confidential chat.”
Hobbs had led Nine’s Sydney operation for almost 13 years and rejoined the network in 2012 after working as a producer in the US for six years.
Employees were quick to point out that none of the emails thanked the outgoing news bosses for their time at the network or their contribution to the company.
Executive shakeup follows revelations. Today show political reporter Airlie Walsh is also suing the network in federal court for sex discrimination.
The details of his claim have not yet been made public, but are understood to relate to historical interactions with several senior executives.