EXCLUSIVE
Seven’s main rivals have been dragged into the scandal surrounding its sacked star crime reporter as fresh claims continue to emerge about his allegedly ‘inappropriate conduct’.
Daily Mail can reveal the network has been in contact with women from both Nine and the ABC regarding complaints about their past interactions with Walkley Award-winning journalist Robert Ovadia.
It is understood their concerns relate to conversations they allegedly had with Ovadia while covering news events in Sydney.
‘This is no longer just a Channel Seven problem,’ one source familiar with the case told Daily Mail . ‘This is now (allegedly) an industry-wide problem.’
It is not known whether any of the women complained about the interactions at the time or reported their concerns to senior staff at their own networks.
Ovadia has repeatedly and vehemently denied any wrongdoing or inappropriate conduct on his part during his award-winning, 23-year career at Seven.
It comes as sources revealed Seven has unearthed a number of allegedly damning historic text and email comments made by their former reporter during his time at the network.
The messages were uncovered by an exhaustive internal audit of all the veteran reporter’s previous work communications following his shock sacking in June.
According to sources close to the investigation, the married 51-year-old allegedly made in an number of ‘inappropriate remarks’ about young female colleagues in the correspondence.
It is understood the exchanges occurred a number of years ago and no concerns have ever been previously raised about the conversations.
His lawyer, John Laxon, told Daily Mail they were unaware of the latest allegations as Seven had repeatedly refused to furnish them with details of its claims against the embattled reporter.
‘I’m aghast Seven is making these allegations and they shouldn’t be,’ Mr Laxon said.
The startling developments come after Daily Mail last week revealed Seven was determined to ‘draw a line in the sand’ and slug it out in court with Ovadia after he launched an unlawful dismissal action against the network.
Seven had initially been open to a conciliatory resolution with its former staffer but had a change of heart after its months-long internal audit revealed – what it will claim is – repeated instances of inappropriate conduct.
Ovadia was sacked by Seven on June 21 following an internal investigation into his conduct, prompted by inquiries from the ABC’s flagship Four Corners program.
The show’s investigative reporter Louise Milligan had asked Seven about a series of email and text exchanges between Ovadia and a young female producer.
The messages allegedly included cartoon images depicting the junior staffer as a pole dancer and Ovadia as a chiselled Spartan warrior and the hammer-wielding Norse god Thor.
Question were also raised about an ‘inappropriate’ image Ovadia allegedly sent a male colleague of a flaccid penis he had downloaded from the internet.
The interaction had come after the male colleague asked for an image of a man named ‘Dick’ for an upcoming story.
Ovadia launched legal action against Seven on August 9, claiming the broadcaster had breached the terms of his contract and had no basis for axing him.
He also claimed the network’s newly-appointed news boss, Anthony De Ceglie, deliberately made statements ‘calculated to demean, offend and injure’ him.
Seven is defending both of those allegations.
Seven’s barrister, Vanja Bulut, last Thursday told the Federal Court that 13 more women had come forward with complaints about Ovadia since he was fired.
‘Subsequent to the applicant’s dismissal, 13 more females came forward. The applicant has been put on notice to that,’ Ms Bulut told Justice Elizabeth Raper.
‘My client has written setting out the additional allegations that have come to light. Those documents have been provided to the applicant.
‘Even if they (Seven) didn’t have a basis to primarily terminate the applicant’s employment at that time, the conduct that has come to light subsequently does provide a basis.’
Ovadia’s barrister, Andrew, Gotting, said that while his client had received some of the material, many of the particulars had been redacted.
It is understood Seven made the extensive redactions to protect the privacy of the complainants.
The courtroom drama unfolded after the Fair Work Commission failed to settle the dispute through mediation six weeks earlier in July.
Its attempt to resolve the matter during a video hook-up between the opposing parties quickly broke down, with Seven refusing to participate in any further sessions.
Ovadia – who did not attend the directions hearing – claimed the allegations against him were part of a plot to ‘bully’ him into dropping his case against his former television employer.
‘The claims are baseless and Seven has never provided evidence despite repeated requests,’ he said last Thursday.
‘Even in court today, no evidence to support any of this – just a dirty tactic to try to bully me away from defending himself.’
The television industry has long been dogged by allegations female staffers’ careers are often defined by senior male colleagues’ views about their appearance, rather than being judged on their professional merits.
Nine’s former head of news and current affairs John Westacott was accused of saying female reporters had to be ‘f***able’ during a 2008 unfair dismissal action brought against the network by reporter Christin Spiteri.
‘To make it in this industry you gotta have f***ability. To make it in this game, women have to be f***able,’ the late Nine News boss was alleged to have said.
The spreading scandal has come after the industry was rocked by a raft of serious complaints about bullying, harassment and horrendous workplace culture.
Nine network chief Mike Sneesby announced an independent review into its newsroom culture in May.
Although Nine was initially expected to report its findings by next month, it now looks certain that the investigation will continue into the new year.
It is understood the delay follows an unexpected deluge of bullying and harassment complaints from past and present Nine staffers about some of the network’s sitting senior managers.
The ABC is also reviewing its newsroom culture after an internal survey in June found widespread allegations of bullying and sexual harassment within the national broadcaster.
Meanwhile, Ten last week reached a private settlement with former political reporter Tegan George, who claimed she had suffered severe trauma after covering the deadly 2019-2020 NSW bushfires.