Last week the SBS reporter Marion Ives shared an article from the Conversation that was critical of SBS on her personal Facebook page, without comment. The next day she lost her job halfway through a shift, after seven years with the network. The article she had posted was an analysis of the recent debate about the diminishing number of non-Anglo faces on the multicultural broadcaster by the former SBS presenter Helen Vatsikopoulos.
Vatsikopoulos wrote of her dismay that an SBS journalism cadet, Widyan Al-Ubudy, had not got a permanent gig: “SBS sources tell me they were shocked when they heard that management did not offer the Iraqi-born reporter a job upon the completion of her cadetship, late last year. The reason, reportedly, was budget constraints, which didn’t stop the station hiring two Anglo women in the same period – Brianna Roberts and Alyshia Gates.”
Under the article, one of Ives’s Facebook friends, Steven Wilson, who is also the chief producer of SBS World News, made several comments including: “If people think SBS is too white, that’s fine. They’re entitled to their views. But to publicly perpetuate the myth that Widyan was let go to hire anyone else (of any ethnic background) is wrong. And the people doing it are ignorant of – or blatantly ignoring – the facts … Any debate should be based on fact not untruths. Comments about not running Indigenous or Middle East stories and letting go a reporter in a headdress for a white woman are simply not true.”
In a farewell email to the newsroom, Ives wrote that she wasn’t given any “concrete reason” except “budget restraints and reviews of staff” and that she was proud of working on the great product that was SBS World News. “After years of my loyalty and dedicated reporting it’s a shame I won’t be part of that any more.” As a casual employee she was told she wouldn’t be given any more work. Ives had a few shifts already rostered but chose to leave immediately. SBS said it would not comment on “employment information about individuals”.
Not happy taking a back seat
Channel Seven had a rather curious attitude to the Logie awards this year. The Logies are produced by Channel Nine and the final decisions about seating, presenters and entertainment rest with the host broadcaster, inevitably leading to some resentment from the other networks. This year Seven appeared to have its nose out of joint early on. First it cancelled an after-party for its stars and then it chose not to send the Sunrise team of Sam Armytage, David Koch and Natalie Barr to one of the biggest TV events of the year.
Sunrise’s executive producer, Michael Pell, was quoted as saying there were “more important things going on”, but then he turned up and walked the red carpet. However, Pell tells us it didn’t suit him to do an outside broadcast from Crown the next morning. “Therefore, the hosts stayed at home base. It was less a snub and more a question of logistics. Sunrise was nominated for an award, which we were grateful for, so myself, Edwina Bartholomew and Mark Beretta attended the Logies ceremony itself. Andrew O’Keefe and James Tobin from Weekend Sunrise also attended.”
Away from home
With Home and Away being inducted into the Hall of Fame, Seven had to use four of its allocated tables to seat all the actors from the successful soapie, and the Sunrise table was squeezed out, sources told Beast.
This huge gathering of young Home and Away stars also posed a problem for Seven minders because after the ceremony they had nowhere to party – and were threatening to go to Melbourne’s city nightclubs en masse. As Seven had decided not to pay for an after party, at the 11th hour the Nobu nightclub had to be secured to accommodate all the excited stars, and to keep them close to their hotel rooms at Crown because they had a 5am call to appear on Sunrise.
Everything came up roses
The brilliant rose ceremony sketch performed by Hamish and Andy at the Logies almost didn’t happen after Seven execs declined to allow Manu Feildel from My Kitchen Rules to appear on stage as part of the ensemble piece with the Nine stars. But we hear Andy contacted Manu personally and he was happy to be part of the comedy sketch which sent up the Ten reality show.
New lease of life
The ABC announced this week that the investigative journalist Neil Mercer had been appointed editor of the broadcaster’s national news reporting team, replacing Jo Puccini, who is now in charge of 7.30. Mercer won a Walkley award for his work on Four Corners in the 1980s and has had a strong career across TV and print, including a more recent stint at the Sunday Telegraph. But we had to smile at the absence of one key part of his career from the press release put out by the ABC. Beast remembers 20 years ago when Seven axed Real Life with Stan Grant and replaced it with local versions of Today Tonight. The network ran an advertising campaign about the new mystery NSW TT host,a curious person who hadn’t stopped asking questions since he was a baby – subsequently revealed as Mercer. He was the first host of the NSW edition of Today Tonight back in 1995 but was replaced by Helen Wellings after a year. The tabloid TV show has since been axed in NSW and Victoria.
Conversation over?
All the signs are there that the higher education website The Conversation, run by a former Age editor, Andrew Jaspan, may not receive any more federal funding after next week’s budget.
The education minister, Christopher Pyne, said on Sky News this week that the website was meant to be self-sustaining. “They were given $3.5m – in that time they’ve expanded to Africa, the United States and the UK and I expect that they are in a position where they will be self-sustaining otherwise they wouldn’t be able to expand overseas in the way they have.” Pyne said he thought it was a useful service but in the current economic climate he wasn’t sure Australian taxpayers should be requested to fund it.
Mental As Week to return
One initiative which will be funded again this year is the ABC’s Mental As Week. After attracting a TV audience of 5.9m last year for its dedicated week of programming, the ABC has decided to run it again in October. The initiative helped raise $1.5m for mental health research.
