EXCLUSIVE
Indigned Nine staff have accused the company of attempting to “cover up” the systemic toxic culture within the network’s newsrooms following a damning independent investigation into the business.
Daily Mail Australia can reveal 60 Minutes star reporter Dimity Clancey, Melbourne news presenter Tom Steinfort and A Current Affair weekend presenter Deborah Knight were among the most outspoken critics at a staff meeting nationally on the company’s response to the review.
The report, by workplace culture firm Intersection, found that Nine’s embattled media empire had ‘a systemic problem of abuse of power and authority; intimidation, discrimination and harassment; and sexual harassment.’
More than 120 past and current employees took part in the review and reported their own experiences of inappropriate workplace behavior within the company.
Senior executives were briefed on the report’s conclusions on Thursday morning before being polled by about 300 staff during a meeting broadcast live across its national network of newsrooms.
The investigation found that 57 per cent of staff in the media company’s broadcast division had experienced bullying, discrimination or harassment in the past five years, and a third said they had been sexually harassed in the same time period.
The report said the company’s toxic culture had been enabled by ‘lack of leadership responsibility; power imbalances; gender inequality and lack of diversity; and significant distrust of leaders at all levels of the business.”
It is understood that staff were told that because the review had been carried out by an external company, none of the complaints would result in action being taken against individual perpetrators without a separate internal investigation.
60 Minutes star Dimity Clancey was outraged by Nine’s response to a damning independent investigation which found the media empire has ‘a systemic problem of abuse of power and authority; intimidation, discrimination and harassment; and sexual harassment’.
Sources said Clancey was incensed by the company’s lack of action and complained that many Nine employees had “poured their souls” for hours, complaining about specific people, only for Nine to once again fail to act.
Nine’s board said the report had made 22 recommendations to reset the culture of its business and it had committed to implementing them all.
Recommendations included reviewing and updating the company’s code of conduct, investigating an external complaints management system, establishing a best practices process for hiring, and updating mandatory training on inappropriate workplace behavior.
But angry staff said the recommendations did little to address deeply personal complaints raised during the investigation and took no action against those who had behaved inappropriately.
Welcome to ‘Punishment Island’
Many of the complaints related to both male and female managers in the network’s news and current affairs division, with staff describing horrifying examples of rampant harassment.
“My manager has frozen me for talking about a story,” one staff member told investigators.
‘Everyone calls it ‘Punishment Island’. When I was younger, I would cry over something like this.
‘Now I have disconnected. I’m exhausted from the games.’
Another described ‘Punishment Island’ as ‘normally… bothering an employee for one period of time and moving on to another.
“If you’re not on Punishment Island that month, seeing your friends and colleagues there is just as nerve-wracking.”
Respected Nine star Deborah Knight also wanted more answers at the reunion.
Another said of her newsroom manager: ‘(She’s a) toxic bully. I cried in my car when I got to work because I knew I had to deal with her.
She would set you up to make you look stupid. She constantly undermined you… She had a true disregard for people’s well-being. She said: “A thousand people would kill for this job.”
Many believed that the company’s male reporters were given all the serious stories, while the women were not.here just to look pretty.’
Have you even worked at Nine News… if (the guy) hasn’t grabbed your ass?’
Individual whistleblower in Nine Intersection report
“Women’s right to report seems tied to appearance,” said one employee.
‘A presenter was told when she became pregnant ‘why would you go and do that?’ What is more important: the content of the news or my appearance?
There were repeated complaints about unwanted sexual advances made by predominantly senior male staff towards younger colleagues.
Some of the perpetrators’ behaviors were so well known that newcomers were warned about them soon after joining the company.
“I had been warned about him… He was in his twenties… His comments about my body were constant,” said an investigative employee.
“He made me feel like I was just a piece of meat to be ogled at… and that he was the most believable just because he was the older man… Over time, this eroded my confidence… It just eroded it.”
Melbourne newsreader Tom Steinfort, pictured with co-presenter Alicia Loxley, was among those who spoke at Nine’s meeting with staff about the report.
Another said: ‘(My supervisor) told me ‘don’t let him touch your boobs.’ It was mainly aimed at young women. The women were constantly crying because of their interactions with (Individual). “The younger women were afraid to speak.”
A third recalled: ‘When I was at (location), (individual) tried to groom me. He also touched my butt at the Christmas party and on other occasions he rubbed my legs under the table. In (location) I saw him do it to other women.’
Another staff member said: ‘On my first day working in the… newsroom, I overheard some of the other female reporters talking about (Individual). One of them said: ‘Have you even worked at Nine News… if (the guy) hasn’t caught your ass?’
Cover-up culture
Almost as bad, some claimed, was the company’s culture of cover-up with senior executives deployed to ensure no one spoke out about the harassment and bullying.
“The day after (the inappropriate workplace behavior) occurred, (the individual) approached me about it,” one staff member said.
‘I thought I wanted to see if I was okay or if I wanted to do something about it, but no. She was there to make sure I didn’t say anything, that I didn’t complain.
“She made it very clear that it would not be in my best interest to make an issue of this.”
The outgoing executive, pictured at the Paris Olympics with Today show host Karl Stefanovic, has been criticized for a series of “tone-deaf” decisions this year.
Nine employees said the toxic culture at the network was so entrenched that “we used to talk about being bullied, harassed or publicly humiliated like we would talk about the weather”.
“Now when I look back, I’m horrified at how normalized it has become,” said one research staff member.
They also complained that the chain had an alcohol-driven culture and that cases of alcohol abuse were mocked or not dealt with appropriately.
‘There was a work function… known for excessive drinking. At one point during the night, (the individual) was standing in a circle with me, my boyfriend at the time… and some other colleagues from the newsroom,” one said.
‘There were some harmless jokes about the relationship, etc., before (the individual) said to my partner… “You can fuck her in my office if you want… just tell me when you’ve done it.” I don’t need to comment on how disgusting this is.
The independent investigation was commissioned by former Nine boss Mike Sneesby in June, following a series of damaging allegations about the network’s disgraced head of news and current affairs, Darren Wick (pictured).
Another complained: “I was repeatedly propositioned by my direct manager at Nine over an extended period of time and felt like I couldn’t say no forcefully because he controlled my salary.”
Nine chairwoman Catherine West unequivocally apologized to the company’s 5,000 employees for being forced to endure systemic bullying and harassment.
“Today is an incredibly difficult day for Nine as we confront these findings and reflect on serious cultural issues as an organisation,” he said.
‘The behavior described in the report is unacceptable. Abuse of power, bullying, sexual harassment and inappropriate behavior are not okay. This behavior has no place at Nine.
‘We recognize that many of our past and present employees have been harmed by poor workplace culture, the prevalence of inappropriate workplace behaviors and Nine’s past inadequate response to those behaviors.
‘To anyone who has experienced inappropriate behavior that does not comply with Nine’s values, we are deeply sorry. On behalf of the board of directors, I apologize unreservedly.’
The report was commissioned by recently deceased Nine chief executive Mike Sneesby in June, following a series of allegations against the network’s former head of news and current affairs, Darren Wick, but he resigned last month, weeks before his publication.
