Channel Nine has tightened its belt even further following the latest bloodbath of layoffs at the network.
Staff at the network’s flagship news show, 60 Minutes, have been told they will only be able to fly in economy class during work trips. The Australian.
The show’s employees are “angry” about the new mandate, the publication’s sources said.
“The news was not well received,” the report said.
However, two high-profile names on the weekly news show are said to be exempt from the new rule: Liz Hayes and Tara Brown were not invited to fly economy class.
Hayes, Brown, Tom Steinfort, Nick McKenize and Amelia Adams are the current hosts of the show.
Daily Mail Australia has contacted Nine for comment.
The latest blow to Nine’s staff comes less than a week after the broadcaster began another round of redundancies.
Channel Nine has tightened its belt even further following the latest massacre of redundancies at the network. Pictured, from left: Ross Coulthart, Allison Langdon, Liz Hayes, Charles Woolley and Tara Brown
Nine Entertainment’s publishing division has accepted 85 voluntary redundancies across the Australian Financial Review, Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, WAtoday and Brisbane Times, just weeks after hundreds of jobs were axed.
Among those leaving voluntarily are several veteran journalists and editors.
They include AFR senior correspondent Aaron Patrick, SMH chief sports writer Andrew Webster, former Herald gossip columnist Andrew Hornery and The Age culture editor Osman Faruqi. The Australian reported.
However, two prominent names on the weekly news programme are said to be exempt from the new “economy only” rule: Liz Hayes and Tara Brown will not be travelling in economy class. Both are pictured this month.
The company has also announced plans to cut up to 40 jobs at Pedestrian, roughly half of the company’s workforce.
The Sydney Morning Herald understands the company’s more specialist publications do not expect to survive the cuts and will lay off most, if not all, of their staff.
A spokesperson for the network revealed that affected staff in the newsrooms, print operations and commercial and audience growth divisions will leave in the coming months.
‘As anticipated in June, we have been working with our people to reshape the publishing business to ensure a sustainable future in response to the challenging advertising market and the collapse of the Goal “We are in agreement,” the spokesman said.
The latest blow to Nine’s staff comes less than a week after the broadcaster began another round of redundancies (pictured: Melbourne headquarters)
‘We will provide support to all employees making the transition from the company.
‘Each of these individuals leaves with our gratitude and appreciation for their contributions to Nine’s world-class masts.’
The layoffs are part of a $30 million cost-cutting plan for the media giant that involves eliminating about 200 of its 5,000 total jobs.
The decision prompted the Pedestrian Group boss to announce his departure along with plans to close deals with Vice, Refinery29, Gizmodo, Lifehacker and Kotaku.
Around 500 journalists from across the country have gone on a five-day strike ahead of the Paris Olympics to demand better pay and working conditions.
In June, Nine’s editorial director Tory Maguire, who runs The Australian Financial Review, The Age, The Sydney Morning Herald, Brisbane Times and WAtoday, said the end of the Meta deal had also hit the publishing side of the business.
“This week… the agreement with Meta ended and the significant revenues from that agreement ceased,” he said.
‘While we are encouraged by our constructive discussions with the federal government regarding code enforcement, the only thing that is certain at this time is that we do not have an agreement in place with Meta.
‘The advertising market remains very challenging and while the publishing and sales teams are working together on a variety of new initiatives, our FY25 outlook reflects the market outlook.’
Previous staff cuts and a proposed 10.5 percent pay increase over three years led the Nine’s heavily unionized workforce to strike during the first five days of the Olympics.
Editorial staff returned to newsrooms across the country after top brass agreed to an additional one per cent pay rise among their demands.
These included ethical use of artificial intelligence, a commitment to reporting on workplace diversity and agreeing to negotiate for fair treatment for freelancers.
Nine’s announcement of the cuts also came the same week that around 150 staff were made redundant at Seven West Media in a major round of redundancies, with three senior executives leaving the company.
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