In one post she joked she could “get drunk” at the award show. She also suggested she would sleep with Jimmy Barnes, who performed on the night by posting the hashtag #wouldstilldohim.
Some publications sought to link the posts to Nine’s ongoing cultural transformation, following a cultural review and overhaul stemming from former director of news and current affairs, Darren Wick. McCarthy was appointed to the position only a year early after the Wicks scandal. Nine is owner of this masthead.
Birtles was in discussions to rejoin Nine before the final Freya Fires Up broadcast, company sources not authorised to speak publicly said.
Birtles was the top executive on duty the day of the final episode of Freya Fires up.
Birtles is an experienced television executive. He joined Sky three years ago from Nine, where he was managing editor and executive producer of the Today show. He previously held senior roles at Sky News UK and ITV News, the largest commercial free-to-air broadcaster in the UK.
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Nine News staffers were also informed of the decision to appoint Birtles on Wednesday morning in a note from Fiona Dear, the network’s top executive.
At Sky, he oversaw the daily management of 14 programs as well as running its investigations team, Dear said.
Following the final broadcast of the new Sky show, its sole producer was sacked, two days before the show itself was brought to a premature end.
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