A Dry argument
Succession at 9News: Joel Dry confirmed as replacement for Andrew Lofthouse amid reports of a “newsroom revolt”. Also: ARN to bosses face their shareholders.
Questions are being raised on Mt Coot-tha and beyond over leaks about the identity of the replacement for Channel 9 newsreader Andrew Lofthouse, who left the station at the start of the year due to ill health.
First up: why not allow Melissa Downes to continue reading the news solo? She’s been doing her usual excellent job for the past five months.”
However, the conclave at Nine has decided there must be a second, male, presence on the desk. The white smoke has risen — and the anointed one is somebody from outside the newsroom and, indeed, the network.
Step forward, Joel Dry, who was most recently seen in Brisbane on Seven and is currently freelancing in London, where his wife Jessica Millward is the Nine European correspondent.
Nine announced his appointment on social media today:
Joel Dry has been named as the new co-presenter of 9News Queensland’s 6pm bulletin, alongside Melissa Downes.
Joel will step into the role in August, which was previously held by the esteemed Andrew “Lofty” Lofthouse, who retired earlier this year.
The highly respected journalist says he “can’t wait to be a part of bringing Queenslanders the news they deserve”.
Dry’s appointment has reportedly come as a shock to 9News Brisbane employees, who expected an internal appointment, either of Paul Taylor or Josh Bavas. Taylor is a regular fill-in and weekend reader who often helms the Gold Coast bulletin*, while Bavas, a very experienced reporter and occasional anchor, was seen by many as the face of generational change at the desk.
An unnamed source has told The Courier-Mail that several staff are ready to jump ship to Channel Seven over the snub. Time will tell whether that happens.
The Nine newsroom has been through turmoil in recent months, including Lofthouse’s shock departure and the controversial axing of longtime boss Amanda Paterson.
And the parent company is still dealing with the fallout of a “cultural survey” that revealed the shocking extent of harassment and bullying across the organisation, most notably at Nine Radio.
Misogyny seems to be a particularly big problem at the network, and one that it is has not yet fully addressed.
Having said all that, congratulations to Joel. I’m sure he will do a professional job.
Mister Brisbane is free to read, but if you appreciate what I’m doing here, and/or
at The Wrinkle and Radio Bert, you can buy me a coffee.
Simply the worst?
Friend of this blog, James Cridland, who knows a thing or three about radio, calls ARN “Australia’s worst radio company”.
After listing the station’s woes, including the Kyle Sandilands debacle, in his latest radio newsletter**, Cridland notes: “The company made 70 more job cuts this week; here’s hoping that at some point it considers cutting the people who got it into this mess.”
I concur, but it’s not just at ARN that the bosses seem to be coated in Teflon while the staff take the brunt of their bad decisions.
ARN’s annual general meeting next week promises to be interesting.
On the local front, the recent ratings boost for KIIS’s Robin Bailey, Kip Wightman and Corey Oates should provide some food for thought for those at ARN who still think Kyle Sandilands would be a good fit for their Brisbane outpost.
There’ll be more radio news and opinion in my next post.
Disclaimer: In the increasingly distant past, Brett Debritz worked for News Corp and, later, for Nine Radio, and had guest spots on air across the radio spectrum. Recently, he has been heard on ABC Radio.
*An earlier version of this post incorrectly referred to the Gold Coast bulletin as defunct.
**The original version had a link to the wrong newsletter. The new link will allow you to subscribe to his radio letter.