October 28th, 2024Jut sayin’…
By Donna Kelly
“Every day I would wake up with this knot in my stomach thinking am I going to be screamed at, white-anted or publicly humiliated today, or is it someone else’s turn? Watching the humiliation happening to others was almost as bad as being the target, but at the same time you were grateful it wasn’t you that day.”
No, not another day at TL HQ, but many days at the Nine Entertainment Corporation according to an independent review of the company’s workplace culture.
The report is really damning. As we were all being entertained, although we mostly avoid free-to-air television, except for the ABC and SBS, the staff were being terrorised.
It’s hard to believe that it is still happening in 2024. Even after the Me Too movement, RUOK? and much research into mental health and the importance of being made to feel a productive part of life.
Surely someone would be standing up for these people being bullied and harassed but as the intro says, it was hard to watch but you felt grateful it was not you being targeted.
I worked at a newspaper a few years back, maybe 15 or so years ago, not in Victoria I would like to add. I applied for the role of deputy editor at a daily, and was successful. Or so I thought.
Every day we would have an editorial meeting and the editor would go around the room and sweetly ask: “Who wrote this piece?” It all seemed quite nice that first morning of my employment, for about a minute.
Someone slowly put their hand up and was then subject to the line: “Well, it’s really f..king stupid and I don’t know why we pay you.” I kid you not.
Next up was a sub-editor who got the same for their headline. “You are f…king useless and I don’t know why you turn up for work.”
This went on around the room and I just watched, in horror. For some reason I was exempt but I also know I did not jump to anyone’s defence, for which I remain truly sorry.
The meeting concluded every day with the editor saying: “Well, let’s move on and make tomorrow’s paper sing.”
I think people were more likely to be looking for a razor blade. However, the editor was heading off within a week for a four-week trip to Europe so I made an appointment with the bosses of the newspaper company and drove an hour to meet with them and tell them my concerns – basically that their employees were in harm’s way.
It was a very short meeting which ended when one of them asked me: “Why did you apply for the job if you don’t want to work with us?”
Hmmm. Top-down management and culture at its worst. So I quit.
I think I was there two months all up and then headed back to Victoria where things seemed a little saner. Started The Local not long after and had some T-shirts made up with our logo and the slogan: “Arsehole free zone” or something like that.
It’s a strange world, when some people make themselves feel better by bullying or intimidating. Must be something pretty wrong at home or in their heads.
I don’t know what will happen at Nine but I hope some heads roll. Probably not, but at least it is out in the open. I wish them all the best. And, more importantly, RUOK? Just askin’… (If you need help call Lifeline Australia on 13 11 14, Beyond Blue on 1300 22 4636 or visit beyondblue.org.au, and Kids Helpline on 1800 55 1800)
