EXCLUSIVE
The country’s two largest commercial television networks are locked in a cruel “star war” as they try to convince their rivals’ best and brightest talent to change channels.
Sources inside Seven’s Sydney headquarters said the network has been forced to fend off Nine’s interest in at least half a dozen of its young reporters as the two broadcasters battle for ratings supremacy.
The attempted talent raid comes as Seven launched its own assault on Nine’s ranks, convincing three of its star AFL panellists on its Footy Classified show to jump ship.
“We haven’t seen poaching raids of this scale since the 1990s,” a senior network official told Daily Mail Australia.
“It’s super aggressive right now – there are fewer viewers, so the battle for attention has never been more intense and the networks are doing absolutely everything they can to try to get ahead.”
Seven insiders said Nine had predominantly been targeting its emerging star reporters in its newsrooms across the country as part of an unprecedented blitz.
The revelations come amid reports that Nine was becoming increasingly concerned about the “huge experience gap” between its own big-name news presenters and its next generation of stars.
Network insiders said the award-winning Seven Melbourne Political reporter Sharnelle Vella was at the top of Nine’s aggressive “target list” seeking to tackle that issue.
Vella has impressed news bosses with her hard-hitting stories on Seven’s evening bulletin alongside her co-hosting duties on the hit Dead Bodies podcast.
Seven’s award-winning reporter Sharnelle Vella is reportedly at the top of Nine’s poaching “hit list” as the network tries to convince at least half a dozen of its rival’s rising stars to quit the ship.
The versatile journalist has impressed with her hard-hitting stories on Seven’s Melbourne News, her hit podcast Dead Bodies and her exclusive interview with former CFMEU boss John Setka.
Additionally, he proved himself to be a top-notch talent with his exclusive interview with former CFMEU boss John Setka for the network’s Spotlight show in August.
Sources said Nine had also targeted Vella’s highly-respected colleague Cassie Zervos, who has become a fast-rising star in Seven’s Melbourne newsroom since joining from the Herald newspaper’s crime desk. Sun from the city six years ago.
Across the country in Perth, sources said Nine had shown strong interest in versatile young reporter Kate Massey, who has been with Seven for almost four years after starting out as a producer at Nine’s talk radio station 6PR .
Also attracting attention in the nation’s capital is national health editor Jennifer Bechwati, named Canberra Press Gallery Journalist of the Year in 2020.
7News Melbourne reporter Cassie Zarvos’ reporting has gained a following among news bosses
Sydney reporter Natasha Squarey is also on the list of young stars targeted by rivals.
Early morning news reporter Liam Tapper, who reports from Sydney for Seven’s national breakfast show Sunrise, was also on the list, along with fellow Sydney news reporter Natasha Squarey and European correspondent Ashlee Mullany.
“Nine has a much bigger news division than Seven because they also have highly staffed shows like A Current Affair and 60 Minutes, so they have a bigger budget and more opportunities to offer young reporters,” a source said.
“They’ve been looking to take advantage of all the disruptions in the newsroom here to attack and steal the best from our young reporters and hopefully destabilize us a little at the same time.”
Seven did not comment when asked if it had been forced to set aside a war chest to retain its best and brightest stars or how it planned to retain all its in-demand reporters.
Nine was similarly cagey about its plans, although one insider categorically denied the network was on a poaching spree.
The rebuttal comes as the cash-strapped broadcaster continues to cut costs..
In Perth, Kate Massey is among Seven’s most sought-after rising stars
Young Sunrise reporter Liam Tapper (left) could not be snatched away from Seven
Jennifer Bechwati has made a name for herself as a talented young reporter in the Canberra press gallery.
Outgoing Nine boss Mike Sneesby slashed the media company’s budget earlier this year, cutting around 200 jobs as part of $30 million worth of cuts.
The pain will continue with Sneesby’s interim replacement, Matt Stanton, announcing that another $50 million will be cut from the company’s underlying costs this financial year.
The cuts were expected to hit some of the network’s highest-profile (and highest-paid) stars, some of whom would take pay cuts while others would be eliminated entirely and replaced with younger, cheaper options.
Daily Mail Australia previously revealed that the contracts of all on-air personalities within Nine were being reviewed as part of a cost-cutting audit.
By contrast, Seven sources claimed their network had already completed its budget cuts and were not expecting further cuts this financial year.
Instead, the channel was looking to invest its presenter programming in key “growth areas”, particularly its AFL coverage.
European correspondent Ashlee Mullany has long been on the Nine Targets list
Nick Riewoldt returns to Australian television after moving to the United States with his family two years ago.
Two months ago, Seven managed to convince former Port Adelaide premiership winner Kane Cornes to defect from Nine’s Footy Classified and join its AFL coverage from next year.
In a series of ongoing coups, co-presenter Caroline Wilson revealed she would also be switching channels alongside Cornes, before fellow presenter and sports media mogul Craig Hutchison recently confirmed he would also be switching Nine for Seven.
Seven revealed last month that it had also lured St Kilda legend Nick Riewoldt back to television after the football great quit a successful career with Fox Sports in 2022 and moved to the US with his young family of five.