"There are few things more delicious to a journalist than watching a senior media figure publicly shoot himself in the foot," writes Robert Clow in
The Australian. So when the Nine Network
backed from a legal action against its former news and current affairs chief Mark Llewellyn--and sought injunctions to stop details being published--"media writers smacked their lips." The new boss of
Nine, a former game show host named Eddie McGuire, suddenly found himself on the spot--"a tall poppy begging for a scythe, and as a media man himself he would have to welcome the blade." But Clow
notes that the net's troubles go deeper than McGuire. Seven Network has put the channel on the defensive by rolling out hits like "Desperate Housewives" and "Lost," "and it has even broken into Nine's
core competency, edging it out--on some days, at least--in news," says Clow. And it can scarcely afford to fall behind at a time when television advertising in general is falling Down Under. He adds:
"Nine is expected to suffer disproportionately." and could give up 0.5 percent of its ad revenue directly to its rival.
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