Will Nine's scandal over news boss take down leadership? Agencyland's new player; News Corp restructures

Welcome to Start the Week, our Monday scene-setter for the week ahead. In today’s audio-led edition: Nine’s scandal over behaviour of its ex-news boss threatens to engulf CEO Mike Sneesby; winners start to emerge in the News Corp restructure; and is Cam Blackley’s Bureau of Everything the next stage of agency evolution?If you’ve been thinking about upgrading to an Unmade membership, this is the perfect time. Your membership includes:* Member-only pricing for our HumAIn (tomorrow) and REmade (October 1) conferences;* A complimentary invitation to Unmade’s Compass event (November);* Member-only content and our paywalled archives;* Your own copy of Media UnmadeTough questions about how much Nine management knew about news boss Darren Wick’s behaviourNine’s CEO Mike Sneesby has returned early from holiday to deal with an escalating crisis over the company’s handling of complaints about the alleged behaviour of former director of news and current affairs Darren Wick towards women who worked for him.In a key development today, The Australian reports: “It’s understood multiple non-disclosure agreements have been signed by female staff at Nine over interactions they had with Wick in recent years.” The claim about Nine using NDAs is not verified.This followed the weekend’s reporting by the Sydney Morning Herald - owned by Nine - that Wicks “has been accused of engaging in drunken, lecherous behaviour in what furious staff say was “an open secret” for more than a decade.”For legal reasons, Unmade should point out that it does not claim that the allegations being made about Wick are true; only that they are being reported.Also today, former M&C Saatchi executives Cam Blackley and Em Taylor have launched a new creative offering, Bureau of Everything.And the executive winners in the forthcoming News Corp shakeup are starting to emerge. Reportedly, Nicholas Gray will head up the prestige division; Mark Reinke will lead metro and sport; and Pippa Leary will get the free division.And what the hell were Canva thinking with their rap battle?Further reading:* Australian Financial Review: Canva, in the US, lifts the lid on its plan to win over Wall Street* Daily Telegraph: Nine’s sordid ‘cover-up’: ex news director’s alleged inappropriate behaviour kept secret* Sky News: Channel Nine star's HR complaint against Darren Wick over inappropriate behaviour was leaked directly to former news boss* Sydney Morning Herald: Former Nine News boss Darren Wick accused by staff of drunken, lecherous behaviour* Capital Brief: Nine CEO touches down as scandal over former exec intensifies* The Australian: Seven West news boss Anthony De Ceglie urges staff to ignore the TV ratings* The Australian: Advertising guns launch office offering ‘end to end’ strategy and creativity* Australian Financial Review: Winners and losrers emerge as News Corp’s major restructure takes shapeToday’s episode features Tim Burrowes and Abe UdyEditing was courtesy of Abe’s Audio, the people to talk to about voiceovers, sound design and podcast production.Time to leave you to start your week. We’ll be back with more tomorrow with a special post for our paying members explaining all the issues around today’s developments in the SCA takeover battle.Toodlepip…Tim BurrowesPublisher - [email protected] This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit unmade.substack.com