The weekly podcast hosted by Craig Hutchison and Damian Barrett, The Sounding Board, had a special live episode last Friday.
The episode was from a live stage at the AFL Grand Final precinct outside the MCG on the eve of the big event.
Not surprisingly, the episode started with a discussion about the media merry-go-round. Barrett was trying his best to get Hutchy to talk about the media evacuation of talent he had masterminded at Nine.
Damo: You’ve been out basically manoeuvring, puppeteering the entire media industry Hutchy.
Hutchy: Don’t be facetious.
Damo: What have you been up to? You’ve taken all of the people I’ve got to know over 20 years at Channel 9 away from Channel 9. Even you are leaving Channel 9. Kane Cornes is leaving Channel 9, Caro is leaving Channel 9, who’s going to be left when you’re finished? We can have a serious conversation about this or we can have a jovial one, which do you prefer?
Damo: “You haven’t made it in Melbourne unless you are depicted in a Mark Knight cartoon and today Hutchy was depicted, maybe not favourably.” Source: Mark Knight, Herald Sun
Hutchy: It’s an emotive industry, media, and it’s been one of those weeks.
All that has happened to date is that after the show on Tuesday night at Footy Classified, I let my colleagues know that I was choosing to call it a day and to hang the boots up from an extraordinary run at Footy Classified over 18 years. And then in advance, I had contacted Eddie McGuire and set up a time to go and see him on Wednesday. Not because I needed to, but because originally Eddie was the one that gave me the opportunity to go to Nine and to host that show in the first place.
Then I let the Nine execs know on Wednesday that I didn’t intend to continue. It’s been a great run, 18 years. I’ve absolutely loved every minute of the show. I’ve enjoyed working with this ensemble in particular, Caro, Lordo and Kane.
It was a bit more combative in the early days, there was no room for the faint‑hearted and it was a hot seat and lots of angst and anger. It found a bit more of a modern contemporary tone as it went on. It’s been a wild ride and a lot of fun. For the last four years since my Footy Show stint ended, it’s been something that I’ve probably done more out of loyalty than out of any need because my focus has been on our business and building it.
We haven’t produced anything for Nine in the last four years, but my loyalty to the show and the people around it was probably the reason I kept going. To be fair to Channel 9, they’ve been unbelievably supportive with flexibility around that.
Damo: On the Monday after Round 1 next year, 2025 season in the AFL. It will be you, Caro and Kane and Nick Riewoldt up against Channel 9.
There are a lot of people out there who know you and know this show. Don’t lie to these people. You can lie to me, but don’t lie to our friends.
Hutchy: It’s too early. All I’d say is we are a production business ourselves, Rainmaker, our TV arm. We make a lot of shows for a lot of networks.
Clearly, our hat is in the ring to do more at Seven, as it always is, and that will unfold as it does in the coming weeks and months.
What I’m pretty clear on is I’m really appreciative of the opportunity. I love the time hosting that [Nine] show in particular and I’m only going to do things personally that are aligned to our business.
We look at projects that can work in the interests of our business. And that’s all I’m going to do. If I’m ever on television again, it will be aligned to our business and it won’t be any other way. If I’m not on television ever again, I’m very comfortable with that.
Channel 9 is not going to miss me for a second. They’ve got so many options. They’ve already got a second version of the show.
Damo: Monday night will be a new Channel 7 show, which you will be on. Are you going to be on the Tuesday night show as well? Or is that just Kane?
Look me in the eye. Will you be on Channel 7 post-round one 2025?
Hutchy: There’s clean air post-grand final to have a look at all that over the next few weeks.
Damo: I’m taking that as a yes.
I’ll just ask you one more question specifically about you and then we’ll move it on because there’s a lot of other media events this week that we need to tackle.
What happened last Tuesday on Footy Classified? I felt for Lordo, our great mate Matthew Lloyd who, as far as I know, will be staying at Nine. But the other three – you, Caro and Kane – were all moving on. That’s one aspect of what I want to ask you about.
The three of you are the most fearless media people I’ve ever come across. You all run into the fire when it’s raging because that’s where the story is.
You wimped it that night, Hutchy. You wimped it, Caro wimped it and Kane wimped it.
There was not one reference to what you’re all about to do and that is leaving Channel 9 and going to Channel 7. Collectively as a trio you were the biggest media story in that moment.
Hutchy: I think Nine was entitled to “say no mention of this on air tonight”.
They were. I would have done the same. Was that the directive? Yeah, that was the discussion. It wasn’t an unreasonable request. They probably had two options in the circumstances. One was to not do the show. Highly unlikely. Two was to bring the other team in. That would have been a move they considered. And the third thing was to say, you guys can finish respectfully, but please don’t draw any further attention to this. Absolutely entitled to do that.
Nine moved on without me once before very, very quickly and they’ll do it again.
Hutchy and Damo’s advice to Dale Thomas
The Dale Thomas-Kane Cornes slanging match reached new heights last week. It came up on the podcast this week too.
Damo: I was at one event, where it was broadcast as well, with Dale Thomas.
Let’s discuss the Dale Thomas – Cane Kornes skirmish.
I’m not going to use the word he did, it started with F, on two separate occasions, into a microphone at a public function this week. It was reported in the Herald Sun last night, that he had that view of Kane.
Hutchy: I’ll ask you, as a colleague of Dale’s, what did you think as a Triple M colleague?
Damo: I was on one panel where he said it. Look, it got a laugh. I’d be lying if I said it didn’t get a laugh in the room he was in. Personally, I wouldn’t have used that word.
Hutchy: Did you give him that advice afterwards? I haven’t, but I was going to ring him today.
Damo: I don’t think he cares for my advice. I am a media mate of Dale’s and I think he’s had an outstanding media year. I really do. But maybe don’t use that word into a microphone on any occasion.
Hutchy: He’s got strong opinions. His broadcast work is really good. His opinion work is good. He’s got a great personality. He’s got a sense of humour.
So he doesn’t need to do that. That’s just cut and dried. He’s got to put that club in the golf bag and take it away from what he does.
I know he was trying to be funny and he’s still learning. Everyone makes those mistakes along the way. We’ve all said things in rooms that we regret along the way, but he shouldn’t do that.
Listen to The Sounding Board podcast here.
Hutchy’s Seven connection: “The best journalist I have seen”
Craig Hutchison is not just another former Seven employee about to return to the broadcaster. He used to share a house with Seven’s new director of network sport, Chris Jones.
Jone explained the house-sharing arrangement recently to Mediaweek.
Chris Jones wanted to get into sports media early in his career. He told Mediaweek story of how he ended up sharing a house with former 10 and Seven reporter turned media mogul Craig Hutchison.
“When I was 16 I realised I wasn’t going to be good enough to be an elite footballer or golfer or tennis player. I thought the next best thing was to try and watch it. I sent a lot of letters off and didn’t have any luck. Then I made a video of the Channel 10 news team when Quarters was there and Tim Cleary was the producer and Hutchie was breaking all the stories at the time.
“I got a phone call to go in and do work experience and then really just clung on for dear life ever since then.
“At 17 when I finished school, I moved into town as a cadet journalist. Hutchie called me the rookie and lived with him.
“It was in Cutter Street, Richmond. We must have been there for four or five years together.
“It was incredible in terms of educating me about the flow of information, how to network with people, how to meet people, what made a story. Hutchy remains the best journalist I certainly have ever seen.”
See also: Seven’s new sports boss: Chris Jones details AFL, cricket plans and a whole lot more