The Channel Seven bloodbath is far from over, a new report claims.
More famous faces are in the spotlight and some of the network’s biggest stars are facing pay cuts to keep their jobs. Daily Telegraph reported on Sunday.
Respected news presenter Mark Ferguson is in danger, the paper claims, and “starts six weeks of enforced annual leave this week”.
The network will consider replacements for her role once her contract expires, the report said.
The names being considered to take Ferguson’s place include Michael Usher, Angela Cox and Angie Asimus, the Daily Telegraph reports.
David Koch, who is still under contract to Seven after leaving Sunrise, is unlikely to renew his deal, the report claims.
Sonia Kruger is likely to survive, “but will likely take a ‘cut’ to her $1.3 million salary,” a source told The Daily Telegraph.
Dr. Chris Brown is also safe, but could face a pay cut on his rumored $2 million contract.
According to a new report, the bloodbath at Channel Seven is far from over. Sonia Kruger (pictured) is also likely to survive, “but will no doubt take a ‘cut’ on her $1.3m salary,” a supposed source told The Daily Telegraph.
Weekend Sunrise presenter Matt Doran has a “question mark” over his future, the paper says, but any decision is up in the air.
However, Samantha Armytage is safe and set to renew her contract to present Farmer Wants a Wife.
Sunrise star Mark Baretta’s deal takes him until 2025, but the paper claims he will “likely take a pay cut” to keep his job.
Veteran journalist Ann Sanders may be leaving the network, but plans to do so “on her own terms,” the paper says.
Daily Mail Australia has contacted Channel Seven for comment.
David Koch (pictured), who is still under contract with Seven after leaving Sunrise, is unlikely to renew his deal, the paper said.
Dr. Chris Brown (pictured) is safe, but could face a pay cut on his rumored $2 million contract
This comes as another Seven News veteran leaves the network amid a massive wave of staff changes and redundancies.
After almost 18 years with the network, Adelaide reporter Andrea Nicolas will leave television for politics in the coming weeks to take up a role as senior media adviser to South Australian Treasurer Stephen Mulligan.
She will replace Jennifer Salter, who previously worked as a television reporter.
Salter’s husband, Chris Salter, was Ms Nicolas’s former boss in Seven’s Adelaide newsroom but has since moved to Melbourne where his wife will join him once Ms Nicolas takes up her job. Adelaide Advertiser reported.
“Andrea leaves with our full support and gratitude for her extraordinary contribution to Seven News Adelaide for nearly two decades,” said Seven News Adelaide news director Mark Mooney.
Respected newsreader Mark Ferguson (pictured) is in danger, the paper says, and “this week (begins) six weeks of enforced annual leave”.
Weekend Sunrise presenter Matt Doran (pictured) has a “question mark” over his future, the paper claims, but any decision is up in the air.
“It’s a fantastic opportunity and we wish him every success. We’ll try not to make it too hard for him.”
Nicolas studied journalism at the University of South Australia before working as a freelance journalist for Seven in the UK.
He also worked for the ABC and BBC before joining Seven’s news team in Adelaide in 2007.
Nicolas said she is excited to “join a talented team” in her new role.
“It’s been an incredible 18 years at Seven, working on and off with some of the best in the business and gaining a huge variety of experiences, but I’m looking forward to a new challenge and the next chapter,” he said.
The news came just days after Queensland news presenter Sharyn Ghidella was sacked.
Sunrise star Mark Baretta’s (pictured) deal takes him until 2025, but the report claims he will “likely take a pay cut” to keep his job.
It comes amid news that Adelaide-based Channel Seven reporter Andrea Nicolas (pictured) is to leave the network to take up a role as senior media adviser to South Australian Treasurer Stephen Mulligan.
Ghidella, who had been the face of Seven News in the Sunshine State since 2007, confirmed her dismissal in an impassioned Facebook post last 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.
But she was determined not to go quietly and criticised the ailing network for prioritising gimmicks like astrological readings over retaining veteran talent.
“When you work in television for as long as I have, not a day goes by that you don’t expect a tap on the shoulder… After 38 years, I finally got a tap on the shoulder,” Ghidella began.
‘It wasn’t exactly how I expected it to end up at Channel Seven.
‘I was sitting in the salon for work when I got a call telling me that after 17 years at the chain, my time was up.’
Ghidella later said her recent time at the network had been “miserable” and that she was glad to be walking out the door.
“While I am a little saddened by this decision, I also feel a certain relief. As has been widely reported, the past two weeks on television have sadly been a miserable affair,” he wrote.
Veteran reporter Sharyn Ghidella (pictured) confirmed she was fired from the network on Friday.
New news and current affairs director Anthony De Ceglie (right) has made several staff changes at the network.
‘A long list of talented, loyal and dedicated employees have been shown the door, in what seems to have been a never-ending process of slowly ripping off the band-aid when it comes to removing what has been deemed excess stock.
“These people are some of the best content creators in the industry. They’re good people and it’s been heartbreaking to watch.”
Meteorologist Paul Burt, who has been reporting for the Gold Coast and Brisbane news bulletins since 2013, has also been shown the door.
Meanwhile, leading international journalist Hugh Whitfeld will return to Australia as Seven streamlines its news operations into a national news desk.
New News and Current Affairs Director Anthony De Ceglie announced he had appointed Whitfeld, 39, as the new section’s editor in an internal memo last week.
‘The Seven News National News Desk will house a centralised team of journalists whose responsibility as expert editors on their beat will be to deliver exclusive content beyond what is seen on television,’ the email, seen by the Daily Telegraphread.
Specialist rounds cover everything from business and aviation to property and Asia.
The Canberra and Foreign Affairs Offices will also report to the new national office.
Whitfeld has spent the past decade working as a foreign correspondent across Europe, where he has covered several major stories, including the war in Ukraine and the death of Queen Elizabeth II.
In his new role he will be based at Seven’s Eveleigh headquarters in Sydney’s inner-southern suburbs.
Ashlee Mullany will be Seven’s only correspondent in Europe and will report to the National News Desk alongside US correspondents Tim Lester, David Woiwod and Mylee Hogan.
De Ceglie has also promoted Sunrise executive producer Sean Power to news director in Sydney. His former role will be taken by Jake Lyle.