Last night, Monday September 29, Linton Besser (pictured) host of ABC Media Watch took aim at Nine Radio over their non disclosure of national client La Trobe Financial‘s interim stop orders imposed by ASIC where La Trobe then for a matter of days locked clients out of their online accounts.

You can watch via this link: https://www.abc.net.au/mediawatch/episodes/latrobe/105832186?utm_campaign=abc_mediawatch&utm_content=link&utm_medium=content_shared&utm_source=abc_mediawatch

Where other media publications had provided coverage, Media Watch said Nine Radio did not until the stop orders were revoked and clients were back able to access accounts six days later, when Brooke Corte, the stand in host for Money News, mentioned it.

By contrast Business Now presenter Ross Greenwood  on Sky News Australia did acknowledge the sponsorship and issue, but it too was after the stop order was revoked and a day after Corte.

A Nine spokesperson said in a statement:

“Nine’s editorial decision-making is completely separate from any commercial relationships. The ABC’s claims that Nine ignored the issue are without foundation. Nine covered the issue across its national radio network in an interview with one of our financial experts focused on the regulatory crackdown on private credit.”

Besser said:

“It’s no secret that talkback radio is not the cash cow it once was.

Nine Entertainment has also confirmed in just the past week that its contemplating the sale of these very radio stations.

All of which means the pressure to sustain earnings, such as La Trobe’s generous advertising spend, must surely be through the roof.

But which also means the only asset of any real value at Nine Radio, the trust and loyalty of its listeners, should be deemed sacrosanct and elevated far above the increasingly desperate scramble for dollars.”

Jen Seyderhelm is a writer, editor and podcaster for Radioinfo.