Channel Seven is investing heavily in refurbishing its offices in Parliament House, with a new TV studio, including a flashy desk layout, after laying off around 150 staff due to financial problems.
Seven’s office in the Canberra press room has been transformed into a building site for the parliamentary winter break, with warning signs on the doors and tape over the handles and locks.
Staff have been asked to use the West Australian newspaper office at the end of the corridor until the renovation is complete.
Ny Breaking Australia has learned that Seven’s floor space has almost doubled after the company bought the office next door to rival Network’s a decade ago during cutbacks.
While the costly renovations are underway, dozens of loyal employees of the Seven West Media empire have been laid off due to what the network is now calling a “cost-cutting program.”
Staff from the editorial, television, marketing and sales departments have been laid off. A number of well-known and well-paid TV presenters have also been laid off.
One of the high profile victims was long term employment Brisbane newsreader Sharyn Ghidella, who was fired over the phone while she was in a hair salon preparing for a promotional campaign for the network.
Pictured: Sharyn Ghidella, a long-serving Brisbane newsreader who was fired over the phone
A Seven spokesperson told Ny Breaking Australia the press gallery renovation had been planned before the network ran into financial difficulties.
“The renovation of Seven’s Parliament Building office has been underway since early 2022, well before the current cost-savings programme,” the researchers said.
The situation is so dire that Kerry Stokes, the network’s billionaire owner, is flying to Sydney from Perth next week and taking up residence on the executive floor of Seven’s Eveleigh headquarters.
He will reportedly roll up his sleeves as the struggling network tries to stem months of damaging headlines and internal turmoil, but his impending arrival has done little to ease staff concerns.
Seven’s title as the country’s most popular free-to-air network took a nosedive after the Bruce Lehramnn Spotlight saga, when former producer Taylor Auerbach began making allegations against his former employer in federal court.
He alleged that the network had paid Lehrmann for drugs and sex workers while trying to lure him into an exclusive interview with Spotlight.
The network has repeatedly denied these allegations, but the damage had already been done – Seven countries are now being hit by a wave of leadership confusion and financial cuts.
Seven’s offices in the Canberra Press Gallery are being renovated (pictured)
Seven offices in the Press Gallery have ‘warning signs’ on the doors and tape over the handles and locks (pictured)
Among those who recently left are director of news and current affairs Craig McPherson, managing director James Warburton, commercial director Bruce McWilliam and Spotlight executive producer Mark Llewellyn.
Mr McPherson’s replacement was Anthony De Ceglie, a former newspaper editor with no experience of television, who was promoted to the top editorial position at Channel Seven in April.
Veteran journalist Robert Ovadia also left the network after ABC Four Corners raised questions about the alleged toxic culture in Seven’s newsroom.
Ovadia allegedly took photos from a female producer’s personal Instagram page and created a “caricature” of them before sharing them with her, Ny Breaking Australia previously revealed.
He has now filed a claim with the Fair Work Commission against both De Ceglie and Seven, seeking compensation and reinstatement to the role he held for 23 years.
There are also rumors that veteran newsreader Mark Ferguson, who reportedly earns a salary of up to $750,000, could be in the sights. Host Angela Cox attracted attention this week with a rare series of solo performances.
Kerry Stokes (pictured with wife Christine Simpson Stokes) flies to Sydney to sort out ratings issues
Seven’s regular Sydney newsreader Mark Ferguson (pictured) could also be in the firing line
Meanwhile, Ms Ghidella was reportedly fired from the Brisbane-based network after she was paid a much higher salary than her co-host Max Futcher.
“When you’ve been in television for as long as I have, not a day goes by without expecting a tap on the shoulder… After 38 years, it’s finally here,” she wrote on social media.
‘It wasn’t quite how I expected it to turn out at Channel Seven.
‘I was at work at the hairdresser’s when I got the call that my time with the network was over, after 17 years.
“While we are somewhat saddened by this decision, there is also a sense of relief. As has been widely reported, the last few weeks on TV have unfortunately been a miserable affair.”
Secret internal viewing figures obtained by Ny Breaking Australia show that Seven News Brisbane has lost a staggering 29,000 viewers in just two weeks.
The huge drop in ratings left Seven 88,000 viewers behind Nine’s news in Brisbane on Monday. On Monday 8 July, before Seven was fired, it was only 60,000 viewers behind.
