EXCLUSIVE
Nine has sacked its second high-profile news director in as many weeks as the brutal killing season continues at the embattled broadcaster.
Simon Hobbs, the network’s veteran news director, was the latest senior executive to get the chance after staff learned he had been fired on Wednesday afternoon.
His shock departure comes less than a week after Nine’s Queensland news director Amanda Patterson was unexpectedly ousted during a video call with the channel’s new news boss Fiona Dear.
No reasons have been publicly given for Patterson or Hobbs’ departure.
Nine insiders said they were called to an editorial meeting in Sydney on Wednesday and told Hobbs was simply ‘no longer in charge’.
As news of his resignation spread through the network, Dear sent an email about his departure to staff, while also advising that the company was now looking for three new news directors in Sydney, Brisbane and Perth.
“I wanted to let you know about some further changes to the News & Current Affairs leadership team,” Dear said in the email.
‘Simon Hobbs wraps up at the end of this week… with Nine.
“Current Deputy News Director Margie McLew will assume the responsibilities of News Director until a permanent replacement is finalized.
‘Simon will support Margie from home to ensure a seamless transition and transfer of leadership before he exits the business on Friday 15 November.
‘We are looking to fill three news director positions… the positions are now online… and I encourage anyone interested to apply or get in touch for a confidential discussion.’
Simon Hobbs led Nine’s Sydney newsroom for 13 years before being fired on Wednesday
Fiona Dear, Nine’s head of news and current affairs, told staff that Hobbs will work from home for the rest of the week before finishing at the company on Friday.
Hobbs has run Nine’s Sydney office for almost 13 years, having rejoined the network in 2012 after six years as a producer in the US.
The veteran journalist did not answer his phone when contacted by Daily Mail Australia on Wednesday afternoon.
Nine staffers had braced themselves for more headlines after Patterson was called into a meeting with the network’s Brisbane-based People and Culture representative last Thursday, only to be told her three-decade career at the network was over .
After being informed of the company’s decision, she was immediately escorted from the channel’s Mount Coot-tha studios without being allowed to return to her office or address her former staff.
The Nine veteran, who has held the top position since 2016, has not publicly commented on her dismissal but has since retained the services of famed employment lawyer John Laxon in indications that she will challenge her dismissal.
Hobbs’ departure comes less than a week after his Queensland counterpart Amanda Patterson also suffered the blow
Former Perth news director Gareth Parker has also left his position to take up a new role as the network’s national news content director in Sydney.
In an email confirming her departure, Dear said: “Just 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 at short notice until QTQ EP Brendan Hockings returns from the US and is on annual leave.
“Brendan will then serve in this role until we complete the recruitment process to ensure leadership stability during this period.”
The Perth news director role became available after former news boss Gareth Parker was asked to lead the station’s national news desk three weeks ago.
Although Hobbs and Patterson’s departures come just weeks after the findings of an outside investigation into the network’s toxic editorial culture were made public, there is no indication that any of their departures were related to the review.
Former Nine chief executive Mike Sneesby ordered the independent inquiry in June before leaving the company for unrelated reasons, just five weeks before the damning findings were made public last month.
The survey, conducted by Intersection, a workplace culture agency, found a nine had “a systemic problem with abuse of power and authority; bullying, discrimination and harassment; and sexual harassment’.
Mike Sneeby commissioned the independent report into Nine’s workplace culture in June, but left the company five weeks before the findings were completed.
The survey found that 57 percent of staff in the media company’s broadcast division had experienced bullying, discrimination or harassment in the past five years, while a third said they had been sexually harassed in that period.
According to the report, the company’s toxic culture was enabled by ‘a lack of accountability from leadership; power imbalances; gender inequality and a lack of diversity; and significant distrust in leaders at all levels of the company.”
Sneesby’s departure came three months after Peter Costello was forced to resign as chairman of Nine in June after he appeared to deliberately knock over a reporter who bombarded him with questions at Canberra airport.
Ironically, the reporter had asked Costello if he continued to support Sneesby’s current reign as CEO.
Former finance Stanton has been appointed acting CEO while a formal recruitment process for Sneesby’s replacement is underway, although insiders speculate he is likely to take on the role full-time.
Former Nine chairman Peter Costello resigned in June after a controversial meeting with a reporter at Canberra Airport while being peppered with questions about Sneesby
Costello is captured on video during the run-up as the reporter falls to the ground
Stanton has vowed to reset the media empire’s culture in the wake of the scandal, telling staff in an email that there would be zero tolerance for toxic behavior in the company’s newsrooms.
“Since the publication of the report, we can appreciate the strong desire to understand accountability for inappropriate behavior that has occurred in our workplace,” he told staff.
“There is no place at Nine for the abuse of power, bullying, sexual harassment or inappropriate behavior as outlined in the Intersection report or for people who behave in such a way.
“Change will happen at Nine and individuals will be held to account for this type of behaviour.
“The board and management are united in the need to accelerate change in support of the workplace reform programme.
Nine’s acting CEO Matt Stanton says he has a zero-tolerance policy on bullying
“We currently have a number of active investigations into issues raised by employees, some of which are being led by an external investigator with whom we are working.
“No two cases are the same, and I am sure you can appreciate that these investigations must be conducted in a manner that follows a fair and proper process, and that may take time.
‘This will not be influenced by outside interests or public scrutiny.
‘There are different outcomes that can emerge from a formal investigation process, depending on whether the claims can be substantiated. If a complaint is upheld, the consequences will be appropriate and proportionate, ranging from advice, formal disciplinary action to termination of employment.”