Responding to reports in Fairfax newspapers yesterday that the Nova network was up for sale, owner Lachlan Murdoch today sent an internal email to all Nova staff criticising the report and calling it “very unfair.”
The internal memo, confirmed by radioinfo, says:
As with much in that paper, nothing could be further from the truth.
I have no intention to sell Nova Entertainment. It irks me somewhat when Fairfax’s agenda affects all of you, my Nova colleagues.
It is very unfair to you, and you should be aware that sources in such stories that are unnamed and go just by “a media executive” or some similar pseudonym are almost always by definition a competitor of ours somewhere, with their own axes to grind and agendas to push…
I suspect, considering our very considerable successes over the past few years, that some jealousy is at play as well. As such, this kind of unwanted attention you should wear as a badge of honour…
Incidentally, I did see a Financial Review journalist yesterday morning before I left for overseas, and the only question he asked me was about my shoes! Had he bothered to ask about Nova Entertainment I would have set him straight. Later, I am told, the author of the story Jake Mitchell did contact a spokesperson for me while I was still in the air.
Mr Mitchell was provided with this on the record response, in writing, well before the papers deadline: “Jake, There is absolutely no truth to this story. John” Mr Mitchell chose to ignore this information.
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