Media industry must take heed of Nine’s workplace culture review

Today’s release of the Out in the Open report into the workplace culture at Nine Entertainment is a further wake-up call to Australia’s media industry that change is needed to make workplaces safer for women and people from diverse backgrounds, says the union for Australia’s journalists.

Coming so closely after the ABC’s racism report a fortnight ago, Nine’s review adds to the urgency for all media and entertainment industry employers to end the toxic bullying, harassment and discrimination that has derailed so many careers, says the Media, Entertainment & Arts Alliance.

MEAA commends the Nine Board for commissioning the review and notes the public apology and commitment to adopt all 22 recommendations by Nine’s Chair Catherine West.

But this needs to be followed by meaningful action that is both transparent and accountable, and should be broadened to also examine racial and cultural discrimination.

The report has found that Nine has a systemic issue with abuse of power and authority; bullying, discrimination and harassment; and sexual harassment. These problems arise not only from poor leadership and power imbalances, but from gender inequality and a lack of diversity.

While the impetus for the review was allegations of bullying and sexual harassment in the company’s broadcast division, it has found poor wokplace culture extends across the organisation including into publishing.

The acting Director of MEAA Media, Michelle Rae, said the poor behaviours identified by the review conducted by Natasha de Silva were not isolated to Nine, but were prevalent across the commercial media industry.

“It is an indictment upon management at Nine that these practices were allowed to continue for decades; the victims had their careers ruined, while the perpetrators were often rewarded and their misdemeanours were covered up,” she said.

“That has to stop, not only at Nine but elsewhere in the media industry. Other major employers must adopt a similar approach to Nine and the ABC by conducting a warts and all review of their own cultures.

“As today’s report points out, the prevalence of workplace sexual harassment in the information, media and telecommunications sector is almost twice the national average.

“The industry is well behind the rest of the Australian economy in adopting basic contemporary standards of workplace behaviour and media organisations no longer have any excuses to stonewall on demands from their staff to ensure their workplaces are culturally safe.

“In the last 18 months MEAA members across the industry including at the ABC and Nine Publishing, have taken protected action to force better behaviours and ensure sustainable career paths for workers from diverse backgrounds through annual equity audits.

“This is the very same approach that today’s report has recommended for Nine so why has it been necessary for media workers to take industrial action to demand from their employers the same basic measures that are commonplace in other industries?

“The lack of equity at Nine Broadcasting highlighted in today’s report shows why union-negotiated agreements are such important mechanisms to hold management to account and to ensure everyone is entitled to career progression.

“MEAA members nationally will continue to demand companies ensure workplaces are culturally safe and provide meaningful careers for workers of all backgrounds and genders.”