Nine journalists picket The Age, SMH offices, as high-profile names back strike
Paul Kelly, Tony Armstrong, Shaun Micallef, and numerous other high-profile names have thrown their names behind the striking Nine journalists, urging the network not to “torch journalism”.
The MEAA posted a video on Monday morning featuring a number of prominent Australian figures calling for Nine to reconsider the numerous pressure points that led to a mass walkout of Nine journalists on Friday morning.
“Journalism isn’t journalism without journalists,” comedian Shaun Micallef points out.
“In the corrosion of journalism lurks the decay of democracy,” warns author Richard Flanagan.
Tony Armstrong, Paul Kelly, Dave Hughes and Jane Harper are among the dozens of high-profile Australians standing with journalists from the newsrooms of The Age, Sydney Morning Herald, Australian Financial Review, Brisbane Times and WAToday, demanding quality jobs for quality… pic.twitter.com/620t1UVeIm
— MEAA (@withMEAA) July 28, 2024
Booker Prize winner Thomas Keneally said: “I’m horrified by the idea of an inadequate pay rise, and the sacking of journalistic staff. Don’t torch journalism!”
Staff from The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, The Australian Financial Review, Brisbane Times, and WAtoday walked off the job on Friday morning, “taking a stand for newsrooms that reflect the diversity of the communities they are reporting for, for ethical and transparent use of Artificial Intelligence, and for better wages,” as acting MEAA head Michael Rae explained.
On Monday morning from 8am, journalists were again picketing the offices of The Age in Melbourne, and Sydney Morning Herald in Sydney, following similar action on Friday following the walk-out.
According to The Australia, Sneesby will be walking back into a board “refresh”. Nine has reportedly set up a nomination committee to “start the formal recruitment process to find a new board member, possibly two”.
Image via Twitter
When asked if there was communication between Nine and MEAA representatives over the weekend, or if they are meeting today, Nine declined to comment, while the MEAA told Mumbrella: “The only update at this stage is that union members will have a presence outside the buildings of the SMH and The Age from 8am today.”
Nine’s CEO Mike Sneesby, whose cameo in the Paris 2024 torch relay is central to a lot of the anger – as well as the MEAA’s sloganeering – is due back in Sydney on Tuesday, with the journalist strike to end on Wednesday.
The News Corp paper quotes “sources”, who say Nine is focused on “refreshing” the board, after “Costello’s unexpected departure offered Mike a stay of execution,” as Nine’s “well-placed insider” puts it.
“Some of [Sneesby’s] decisions since Costello left — running with the Olympic torch in Paris, for example, at a time when staff are angry about job cuts and so on — have been questionable,” the insider said.
The Australian also points out that, along with Sneesby, new chair Catherine West and board member Mandy Pattinson are also currently overseeing this Nine turmoil from Paris.
Sneesby further inflamed the issue by sending a displeased email to staff on Friday morning from Paris.
“It goes without saying we’re profoundly disappointed by this decision as we have offered a new and improved agreement yesterday and were negotiating in good faith to a constructive outcome,” the email read.
“While we recognise the right of unions to take industrial action, Tory [Maguire] and I firmly believe a return to the negotiating table is the best pathway to progressing the EBA.
“We have endeavoured to avert the industrial action, we have been preparing for the prospect of prolonged industrial action.
“We are well positioned to ensure our mastheads are produced and distributed for our loyal readers. Our editorial teams will seamlessly deliver the best coverage for our audiences, so they have the news they want, when they want it and as it happens in Paris.”
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Nathan Jolly is the Features Editor at Mumbrella. He joined the team in July, 2023.
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Tory Maguire went to Fiji and Mike Sneesby went to Greece on holidays after announcing redundancies. They certainly have a unique leadership strategy.
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Why is Sneesby’s choice of hotel in the convo?
Let the man put his head down on the pillow he can afford…
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Mike Sneesby is ‘profoundly disappointed’ it goes both ways champion.
1) Emailing redundancies, not meeting staff once, and going straight on holidays to Greece.
2) Paying over a million dollars to Darren Wick, and having a Nine TV newsroom having to deal horrific issues for staff that has led to a costly external review.
3) Totally tone deaf, while strikes on cusp after cuts, running through a Paris village with Olympic village. The Sneesby show.
4) Journalists on ground in Paris miles away from venues in grotty digs, old mate Sneesby in Marais in 2000k a night hotel and dining out with his family on holiday.
5) Knew for one year Meta cash was going to run out, zero advanced planning.
6) Talks of tough advertising market and tough financial times, flies Scotty Cam out to stay in 2k accommodation. Be like BBC flying out the DIY way for Paris games, they wouldn’t do it.
Let them eat cake leadership.
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‘Journalists’? That is a semantic stretch. I think ‘activists’ is closer to the truth.
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Not sure which journalist said ‘Sneesby further enflamed the issue….’, but I think he actually ‘inflamed the issue’. I’m not a journalist so I could be wrong.
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