WEBVTT - How Nine jumped the shark

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<v Speaker 1>You can listen to the Front on your smart speaker

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<v Speaker 1>every morning to hear the latest episode. Just say play

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<v Speaker 1>the news from the Australian. From the Australian, here's what's

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<v Speaker 1>on the Front. I'm Claire Harvey. It's Friday, September thirteenth.

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<v Speaker 1>The government has stripped combat medals from up to nine

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<v Speaker 1>current and former officers after they were accused of turning

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<v Speaker 1>a blind eye to war crimes by their subordinates. Fatal

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<v Speaker 1>Opposition Defense spokesman Andrew Hasty, a former SAS captain, says

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<v Speaker 1>senior commanders have been led off the hook for a

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<v Speaker 1>lack of moral courage that went all the way to

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<v Speaker 1>the top. That story is live now at the Australian

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<v Speaker 1>dot com. Doreue used to be the great powerhouse of

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<v Speaker 1>TV in Australia. Now it's a bit of a soap opera.

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<v Speaker 1>We've yet another top executive out the door. So what's

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<v Speaker 1>going wrong at the entertainment giant? What was the moment

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<v Speaker 1>when Nine Entertainments jumped the shark?

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<v Speaker 2>What have you got to say to the women who've

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<v Speaker 2>made allegations against you?

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<v Speaker 1>Was it when the Australians James Madden and Sopheels wereth

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<v Speaker 1>revealed nine's TV news boss was facing unproven misconduct allegations.

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<v Speaker 3>Why weren't you upfront about why you left Nine?

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<v Speaker 1>Was it when the company's chairman shoved our journalist Lamb

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<v Speaker 1>Mendez to the ground at Canberra Airport. You've just assaulted me,

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<v Speaker 1>You've just pushed me. It's all on camera, mister Castillo.

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<v Speaker 1>Was it when he then tried to deny it. I

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<v Speaker 1>did not lay a finger or a fist or anything else.

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<v Speaker 1>Or was it when he then left his job good evening?

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<v Speaker 4>The former Federal Treasurer Peter Costello has resigned as chair

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<v Speaker 4>of nine Entertainment.

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<v Speaker 1>Maybe it was when the chief executive stayed at a

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<v Speaker 1>luxury boutique hotel in Paris and ran with the Olympic

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<v Speaker 1>torch while his staff was striking for better pay. Why

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<v Speaker 1>don't you to stop and have a chat to us now?

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<v Speaker 3>So I'm meeting my family and you're a.

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<v Speaker 1>Boss of a media business here for work or are

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<v Speaker 1>you here on a holiday with your family? On Thursday,

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<v Speaker 1>Mike Sneezebe was out. Here's his statement read by an

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<v Speaker 1>AI Voice.

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<v Speaker 4>In recent months, I have reflected greatly on my plans

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<v Speaker 4>for the future and in consultation with my family and

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<v Speaker 4>those close to me, I made a personal decision to

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<v Speaker 4>consider new opportunities in twenty twenty five.

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<v Speaker 1>James Madden is The Australian's media editor. James Mike Sneezbe

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<v Speaker 1>is considering new opportunities for twenty twenty five. What might

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<v Speaker 1>they be?

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<v Speaker 2>He is, Well, he's certainly not committed to any new

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<v Speaker 2>job at this early point. I think that's just a

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<v Speaker 2>comfortable phrase to say when perhaps you're leaving somewhere earlier

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<v Speaker 2>than initially planned. But look, he's been three and a

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<v Speaker 2>half years in the top job at nine as CEO.

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<v Speaker 2>The dogs have been barking though for Mike for the

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<v Speaker 2>past six months, and he made reference to that, I

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<v Speaker 2>think in his statement this morning where he said it's

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<v Speaker 2>a year that's really tested the resilience of everyone at

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<v Speaker 2>nine and acknowledged that it had been a tough period.

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<v Speaker 1>He came into this role after the previous CEO, Chu Marx,

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<v Speaker 1>put his role early after he was accused of impropriety

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<v Speaker 1>over his relationship with another executive. There was no complaint

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<v Speaker 1>of misconduct or anything there, But what does that tell

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<v Speaker 1>us about stability and the culture at nine that this

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<v Speaker 1>is the second CEO in three years who's had to

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<v Speaker 1>leave early. Look.

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<v Speaker 2>I think what it tells this Claire is that whilst

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<v Speaker 2>the reetric around Hu Marxist departure might have been certainly

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<v Speaker 2>it's time to clean things up and to improve the

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<v Speaker 2>culture at Nine, it never really happened. I think it's

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<v Speaker 2>fair to say that Nine has taken their eye for ball,

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<v Speaker 2>particularly with regards to the relationship between senior figures and

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<v Speaker 2>younger staff. And we saw that play out with the

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<v Speaker 2>Darren Wick saga and the Darren Wick resignation earlier this year,

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<v Speaker 2>which in many ways precipitated Sneezbe's departure.

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<v Speaker 1>Now Nine is today a very complex business that involves

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<v Speaker 1>streaming platforms and newspapers, but the core of nine Entertainment

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<v Speaker 1>is the Nine Television network, which for generations was one

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<v Speaker 1>of the most stable companies in Australia under the Iron

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<v Speaker 1>Group of the Packer family. It's quite a remarkable change,

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<v Speaker 1>isn't it, from this almost institution to something that's now

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<v Speaker 1>more of a soap opera.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, it is, and in many ways. The front page

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<v Speaker 2>picture this week taken by Liam Mendez of ex newsboss

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<v Speaker 2>Darren Wick, who's obviously at the center of many serious

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<v Speaker 2>allegations doing a walk of shame, if you want to

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<v Speaker 2>call it, out of a supermarket car park. The imagery

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<v Speaker 2>of that was quite striking, given that for so long

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<v Speaker 2>nine has been so successful in catching people out, calling

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<v Speaker 2>people to account, and now the spotlight's back on them.

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah, famous for elbows out journalism. The current affair really

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<v Speaker 1>the instigator of the kind of foot in the door

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<v Speaker 1>journalism that both of these people were victim to. For you,

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<v Speaker 1>what was the moment that it all really went wrong

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<v Speaker 1>for nine and became inevitable that these people would lose

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<v Speaker 1>their jobs? Was it Peter Castello pushing Liam Mendez to

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<v Speaker 1>the ground. Was it the allegations against Darren Wick, which

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<v Speaker 1>of course again are unproven.

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<v Speaker 2>I think the allegations against Darren Wick emboldened many staffers

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<v Speaker 2>to come forward to our newspaper anonymously and to other

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<v Speaker 2>media outlets as well. There's a real sense of enough

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<v Speaker 2>is enough. This is the moment where we're not going

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<v Speaker 2>to take it anymore. Because Wick and others had been

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<v Speaker 2>so all powerful in that organization for so long, and

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<v Speaker 2>many women had left in desperately sad circumstances.

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<v Speaker 3>Is the truth that felt that they.

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<v Speaker 2>Because they didn't comply with the directions and the wishes

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<v Speaker 2>of certain male bosses, they felt that their careers.

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<v Speaker 3>Weren't able to progress.

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<v Speaker 2>So I think in a sense the dam burst even

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<v Speaker 2>when women were talking about their experiences anonymously. The pressure

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<v Speaker 2>that was brought to bear inside Nine on the culture,

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<v Speaker 2>particularly the TV and Current Affairs division, was so great

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<v Speaker 2>that subsequently Peter Corcello couldn't even answer fairly mild questions

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<v Speaker 2>from Lem Mendez that day at Canberra Airport that once

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<v Speaker 2>he lashed out, it was almost emblematic of the old

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<v Speaker 2>guard of the company, metaphorically lashing out at what they

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<v Speaker 2>perceived to be unfair scrutiny on their cherish culture.

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<v Speaker 1>Mike Sneezby then went to Paris and ran with the

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<v Speaker 1>Olympic torch while the print division's journalists were on strike

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<v Speaker 1>here in Australia. What didn't that moment tell us about

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<v Speaker 1>Sneezbe's judgment and about his level of focus on print.

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<v Speaker 3>I'm sure if he had his time over again, he

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<v Speaker 3>wouldn't do it.

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<v Speaker 2>He did seek to defend the carrying of the torch

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<v Speaker 2>by saying well, Nine was the host broadcast of the

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<v Speaker 2>Olympics for Australia. He committed to this a long time ago,

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<v Speaker 2>and he was representing nine as a whole. That may

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<v Speaker 2>be true, but optics are everything. And the image of

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<v Speaker 2>Mike Sneeze be running through the streets suburban streets of

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<v Speaker 2>Paris in the days leading up to Paris Games while

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<v Speaker 2>the company was in turmoil at home, particularly at that

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<v Speaker 2>point the publishing division, who were in the midst of

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<v Speaker 2>some delicate pay negotiations.

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<v Speaker 3>It just sent the wrong message.

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<v Speaker 2>The message was really that my priority is not staff,

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<v Speaker 2>it's over here in Paris having a good time.

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<v Speaker 1>Coming up? Should we be sad that this Titanic TV

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<v Speaker 1>network has fallen so far? Culture is one thing, but

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<v Speaker 1>nine share price has fallen over the past three years

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<v Speaker 1>from three dollars to roughly a dollar twenty today. That's

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<v Speaker 1>very hard to come back from, isn't it, James? And

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<v Speaker 1>what are the decisions that have been made that have

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<v Speaker 1>caused that problem?

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<v Speaker 2>I think, and this isn't specific to nine necessarily, but

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<v Speaker 2>a lot of media companies, particularly broadcast companies, were hoping

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<v Speaker 2>and expecting that the soft advertising market would bounce back

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<v Speaker 2>sooner than it has now. As we sit here today

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<v Speaker 2>in September twenty twenty four. It hasn't bounced back, and

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<v Speaker 2>it's been flat since the end of twenty two, So

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<v Speaker 2>we're coming up to almost two years of a really

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<v Speaker 2>flat advertise rising period and there's no turnaround in sight.

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<v Speaker 2>I suspect that a lot of companies, including Nine, may

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<v Speaker 2>be better against the fact that the ad slump was

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<v Speaker 2>going to continue. So you've seen a significant outlay, particularly

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<v Speaker 2>on sports rights from Nine in the last two years,

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<v Speaker 2>namely tennis in the Olympics of the Big two, and

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<v Speaker 2>with the Olympics, that was an enormous summer money. They

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<v Speaker 2>paid three hundred and five million for five Olympic games.

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<v Speaker 2>We won't really know whether or not that was a

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<v Speaker 2>wise investment until Brisbane twenty thirty two. But in many

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<v Speaker 2>ways it's a back ended gamble because you'd expect they

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<v Speaker 2>are going to lose money on the four games leading

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<v Speaker 2>up to Brisbane and are hoping to crawl back an

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<v Speaker 2>enormous sum in twenty thirty two. And of course it's

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<v Speaker 2>difficult to sit here in twenty four and know what

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<v Speaker 2>the media landscape's going to look like in twenty thirty two.

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<v Speaker 2>That's certainly something that's going to be hanging over the

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<v Speaker 2>company's head for another eight years.

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<v Speaker 1>Nine has put in an interim CEO, Matt Standar, and

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<v Speaker 1>he's the CFO at Network seven. Their great rival, the

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<v Speaker 1>bean Counters, are also in charge after several of their

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<v Speaker 1>executives left for exciting new opportunities as well. What does

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<v Speaker 1>that tell us about the fate of media companies in

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<v Speaker 1>twenty twenty four.

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<v Speaker 2>Possibly that they wanted to take a more sober approach

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<v Speaker 2>to future investments. I suspect seven is also in dire

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<v Speaker 2>straits in terms of its financials. Both seven and nine

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<v Speaker 2>reported very disappointing results in the past few months, and

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<v Speaker 2>seven share price has been woefully low for many many

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<v Speaker 2>months now. It's interesting that Matt Stanton's obviously as CFO,

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<v Speaker 2>been appointed acting CEO. That's not necessarily any indication that

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<v Speaker 2>he will ultimately be appointed, but I think in coming

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<v Speaker 2>years the expectation will be that costs will be tight,

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<v Speaker 2>spending will be tight, and certainly any frills are likely

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<v Speaker 2>to be paired back.

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<v Speaker 1>Is this something sad about that? As a journo, James

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<v Speaker 1>nine was famous for its largest were high wages for

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<v Speaker 1>some of its stars, a culture of long lunches and

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<v Speaker 1>boardroom drinks nights. What's it feeling about the sort of

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<v Speaker 1>the big shift that we're seeing.

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<v Speaker 2>It's sad for those that benefited from such largest certainly.

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<v Speaker 2>I don't think it's a surprise in many ways. I

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<v Speaker 2>think maybe that culture of certain media outlets is simply

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<v Speaker 2>brought into the modern era where any kind of excess

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<v Speaker 2>is viewed poorly by shareholders, and I don't think the

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<v Speaker 2>younger generation who work in the media are.

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<v Speaker 3>Expecting that anyway. It feels like it's a period of change.

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<v Speaker 1>It's sandwiches at the desk from now.

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<v Speaker 3>On, that's right, and water from the tap.

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<v Speaker 1>James Madden is The Australian's Media editor. Thanks for joining

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<v Speaker 1>us on the front. Our team is Kristin Amiet, Jasper

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<v Speaker 1>leek leat Semaglue, Joshua Burton, Tiffany Dimack and me Claire Harvey.

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<v Speaker 1>Get all the best journalism is in The Australian twenty

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<v Speaker 1>four to seven.