Seven West Media had 'diabolical' culture, secret review hears

A bombshell review of Seven West Media in 2024 has been told of a "diabolical" corporate culture, with allegations that sexism, bullying and harassment were rife and "sacred cow" executives favoured by then-chairman Kerry Stokes were protected amid a ratings obsession.

The ABC has seen a copy of the 65-page review, conducted by independent consultancy Interchange. 

It was concluded in July 2024 and has never been made public.

The review was commissioned by the former Seven West board in May that year in the wake of Federal Court claims by former Spotlight producer Taylor Auerbach, that the network had reimbursed ex-Liberal staffer Bruce Lehrmann for drugs and sex workers in order to secure an interview with him.

Mr Auerbach acknowledged he had never seen an invoice for this and Seven vehemently denied the claims, saying it was "appalled" by them.

Former Seven chief executive James Warburton resigned in April 2024 following those claims as well as the network's on-air misidentification of the Bondi stabber, and was replaced by Jeff Howard. 

Mr Warburton had previously announced his intention to step down in June.

Mr Lehrmann was ultimately found by the Federal Court, on the balance of probabilities, to have raped colleague Brittany Higgins in a federal Parliament House office in 2019.

That finding was made as part of a defamation trial and remains untested in a criminal court. Mr Lehrmann has denied the rape allegation.

The Interchange review into the network's corporate culture interviewed Kerry Stokes and the rest of the board, as well as half a dozen advertising clients and agencies, and did 127 interviews or small focus groups with Seven employees across Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth. 

Interchange also drew on more than 800 responses to a company survey.

The report does not suggest that Mr Stokes, Mr Warburton or other senior management were aware of or involved in the alleged incidents discussed by staff.

Mr Stokes declined to comment for this story.

"Immoral, unethical and illegal behaviour has been prevalent for a very long time," one anonymised NSW Seven West leader told the review.

Another interviewee said: "There are people in this office every day crying and there is nothing I can do about it." 

"The culture here is abhorrent … I know the stuff they have been exposed to. Some of them have been touched up; the less pretty ones get verbally abused. Pick your poison. It's not just the girls either, but they cop it the worst."

 "We've had some diabolical situations culturally, but they've been allowed to keep going," another said. 

"Certain people in power who have continually abused their position time and time again; nothing happens because they are a protected species."

Interviewees told Interchange that they immediately believed the Lehrmann allegations "because of other misconduct they witnessed."

Other testimonies in the final report include:

• "The news guys are ruthless and get away with really bad behaviour because of their legacy and results. People are scared to cross them because they're sacred cows."
• A senior leader in NSW said: "I think decisions made in the past indicate that people are protected by the Stokes'."
• One executive said: "The way to leave Seven with very heavy pockets is to behave appallingly".
• A Queensland leader said: "The ambulance was called due to someone who 'mentally snapped' after an incident of bullying at the office — it included seven senior males piling onto a female".
• A Victorian leader said: "We are a man's world in media. It is a big swinging dick culture, unfortunately. It's got better than it used to be, but everyone's having affairs, and people are getting ahead because of those things."
• A Victorian team member said a manager once threw a chair at a colleague. "It didn't hit him, but it didn't miss by much either. I noticed him crying a bit later at his desk, but he was embarrassed when I went over, so I left him to it."
• A WA team member said their manager was "a chronic gaslighter … I saw a psychologist for a while because I started having panic attacks at work".
• A WA leader said: "It's relationship and loyalty to Kerry over all else — and the people that play that game play it very well".

The company-wide survey found 63 per cent of respondents did not know what Seven West Media's organisational purpose was, 59 per cent were not clear on its future strategy, and 48 per cent said "yes" there were psychosocial hazards in the workplace.

Ratings dips had to be justified to Stokes, review told

The review also painted a picture of an organisation with "low commercial acumen", fixated on Channel Nine and divided into "territorial tribes" with the executive committee "Kings and Queens of the drama cyclone".

The consultants noted the influence of proprietor Kerry Stokes on Seven West Media in contrast to Channel Nine, which is controlled by a board representing institutional investors.

"Numerous interviewees mentioned phone calls or emails from the chairman that required them or their direct reports to justify a dip in ratings," the review wrote.

"If you lose the ratings, you've got Kerry on your doorstep," said one team member in NSW. "That's what we're worried about."

The review found Seven West Media was operating "more like a not-for-profit, in service of society, yet is unwilling to part with the glamorous side of what traditional media offered when the money flowed."

Even board members joined in the criticism, telling Interchange the company "generates a billion dollars of revenue but also a billion of costs," and there were "so many people on old media salaries that just don't add up anymore".

Southern Cross buys up Seven

The review also found Seven "didn't pivot fast enough" after the arrival in Australia of streaming services like Netflix, Disney+ and Amazon, and digital advertising platforms like Google and Meta, resulting in "anxiety, denial and outlets of bad behaviour" in the company.

The Interchange review was conducted as the ABC's Four Corners program was investigating the culture at Channel Seven — an episode which subsequently went to air in August 2024.

Since the review, Seven West Media was bought for $385 million by Southern Cross Media in a deal completed in January.

The Stokes family emerged with a 20 per cent stake in the combined company, and through the course of the year crept up to 23 per cent — enough for Kerry Stokes' son Ryan to be appointed as chairman.

Earlier this year a longtime Stokes lieutenant, Bruce McWilliam, acquired an additional 9 per cent of Southern Cross Media — funded by rival mining billionaire Gina Rinehart — however he did not secure a seat on the board.

A Southern Cross Media spokesperson told the ABC everyone in its business "should feel safe, respected and supported".

"Seven West Media commissioned Interchange more than two years ago to give employees an anonymous, independent platform to speak up and identify where workplace culture needed to improve.

"As you would expect, the organisation has fundamentally changed over the past two years. There has been a merger and a cultural reset, with a new board, a new CEO and a new executive team.

In its most recent annual report for 2025–26, Southern Cross' accounts showed its audio business, which includes the Triple-M and Hit networks, was the division with the highest profit margin and the only division to report growth in revenues and earnings before interest, tax and depreciation (EBITDA).

The television division, including the Seven network, recorded a 32 per cent drop in EBITDA, while the publishing division, including the West Australian newspaper, recorded a 2 per cent drop.

Former NRMA, Seven West and Foxtel executive Rohan Lund took over as chief executive in May.

Southern Cross will hold its annual meeting in Sydney on November 5, at which all seven non-executive directors will face election, including recently appointed former WA Premier Mark McGowan and former Twitter Australia boss Karen Stocks.