Book reviews
WHO KILLED CHANNEL 9: THE DEATH OF KERRY PACKER’S MIGHTY TV DREAM MACHINE.This tell-all account of the woes that have befallen the once dominant Channel Nine since its charismatic patriarch, Kerry Packer, passed away in late December 2005 proves that truth is not just stranger than fiction. It can be infinitely more intriguing, particularly when the players are larger than life and grace the screens of our incestuous free-to-air television industry every day.
Who Killed Channel 9’s author Gerald Stone is one of Australia’s best-known journalists: an award-winning reporter, founding producer of Nine Network’s 60 Minutes and former editor-in-chief of the Bulletin magazine. It’s therefore no surprise that he can spin up a gripping tale. But the detailed research and journalistic talent applied to this ‘warts and all’ story are what make it so thoroughly engaging – from the now infamous court transcripts describing Eddie Maguire’s intentions to ‘bone’ current affairs presenter Jessica Rowe to Nine’s flip-flop approach to the hiring and firing of its on-air talent and its behind-the-scenes management (including a series of highly publicised and not always graceful departures).
Comments about the highly plausible death of ‘free-to-air’ aside, the overriding theme of this true story is one of a creative private company, chasing ratings above all else, falling under the control of a cost-cutting private equity fund, chasing profits at all cost. Who Killed Channel 9 provides a descriptive window into the Australian business world, not just the television industry, at a time when foreign-owned private equity funds are becoming a growing form of business ownership.
