New details have emerged about a “split” within the Channel 9 crew at the Paris Olympics, with some staff unhappy about being housed in budget accommodation in the outer suburbs.
Nine has sent about 200 staff to the French capital as the exclusive broadcast partner for the Olympics, but coverage of the Games has been jeopardized by a union strike.
Staff at major Metro Nine newspapers, including The Age, Sydney Morning Herald, Australian Financial Review, WAtoday and Brisbane Times, went on strike on Friday over a pay dispute.
The move includes 20 correspondents in Paris to cover the Olympic Games, A move that affected print and digital coverage of the opening ceremony on Friday but did not affect Channel Nine’s television coverage..
In an escalation of the industrial dispute, Nine CEO Mike Sneesby last month announced 200 job cuts as part of a $30 million cost-cutting plan due to falling advertising revenue and shrinking audiences.
On Tuesday, an unnamed Nine employee told the Daily Mail that staff were “furious” that they were living in budget accommodation while Sneesby held court at the five-star Le Pavilion de la Reine hotel and spa in the upscale Le Marais area.
“It’s not that we here think this is supposed to be a holiday,” the angry source told Daily Mail Australia.
“It’s quite the opposite.
“We are the ones on the ground working 16 hours a day doing our best to make sure this is the best Olympics coverage ever.
“But at the same time that we are being told that we need to work harder than ever because money is tight and jobs are being cut, we see the management go and spend all this money and put themselves in one of the best hotels in Paris.”
While Sneesby is staying at Le Pavilion de la Reine, some staff have been moved to a budget hotel above a McDonald’s restaurant in the city’s remote 13th arrondissement.
Sneesby also angered fired and striking employees after he was photographed taking part in the Olympic torch relay and dining at top Paris restaurants at the company’s expense.
Black Box founder and media insider Rob McKnight thinks the visual impact of Sneesby’s trip is poor, but claims the CEO is in Paris to promote vital advertising deals for the company.
“Sneezebee is there to attract advertisers, they are using the Olympics to give advertisers a good feeling about Nine and sign on the dotted line,” Mr McKnight told Sky News.com on Tuesday.
“Sneezebee’s role is to get work done and people don’t realise that you have to spend money to make money – it’s there to do work and sell advertising packages.”
McKnight said he was “divided” over the strike, and suggested it was pointless to jeopardise Channel Nine’s coverage of the Olympics if union journalists wanted to keep jobs.
“I’m divided on my feelings towards print journalists,” he said. “They do what they have to do because they’re going to be called scabies if they do the job. They’re between a rock and a hard place.”
“(But) for print journalists to do this during the Olympics is bad news and hurts the company at its weakest point.
“If Nine doesn’t capitalize on the Olympics and attract advertisers, the simple fact is that it is putting its future at risk and there will be more job losses.”
Nine is the exclusive broadcaster of the next five Summer and Winter Olympic Games up to the 2032 Brisbane Games, as part of a $305 million deal led by Mr Sneesby.
The media source said there was a clear division between the striking print journalists and the non-union television employees responsible for covering the event.
“There seems to be a print side and a TV side,” he said.
“The Olympics are a television event, which is why nine ratings went gold.
“TV workers don’t go on strike, they step in and do their job.
“Most people in television aren’t part of a union, but people in print live on a different planet.”
On social media, Australians were divided over the hotel complaints, with some commentators suggesting it was a “dream job” to cover the Paris Olympics.
“Imagine getting a free trip to Paris and being able to work the Olympics,” one user wrote.
“A lot of people will be very happy with this – and they won’t care where they live.”
“On a paid flight and still complaining,” another user wrote.
Members of the Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance union have demanded a 20 per cent pay rise over three years from Nine’s publishing division.
Nine reportedly offered a 10.5 percent increase, roughly half of what the disgruntled journalists demanded.
