Jackie O has started action against ARN but here’s why they might force her to take the stand in Kyle’s trial
In this edition of Media McKnight:
- A new twist in the K&J soap opera
- 9NEWS gets thunderstruck
- BBC Scotland goes rogue
- 7NEWS Spotlight gets new batteries to shine brighter
- McKnight Tonight celebrates 100 episodes
JACKIE v KYLE?
There’s been another twist in the Kyle and Jackie O saga with Jackie now lodging formal action against their former employer ARN.
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I have a bit of exclusive information on this one, but we’ll get to that in just a moment.
On Tuesday, the company issued a market update advising Jackie and her company that the termination of her contract was a breach of the Fair Work Act.
This comes after Kyle Sandilands had his first day in court on Friday.
According to ARN, Jackie O claims that the termination of Ms Henderson’s contract constituted adverse action.
Ms Henderson sent a ‘Complaint Letter’ to CBC which noted that Ms Henderson “cannot continue to work with Mr Kyle Sandilands” and made psychosocial health and safety and bullying complaints in relation to the conduct of Mr Kyle Sandilands on and prior to 20 February 2026.
It is alleged that the Complaint Letter involved the exercise or proposal to exercise workplace rights, and that the contract was terminated because of that exercise or proposed exercise, in alleged contravention of section 340 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth).
It is also alleged the termination of her contract amounted to a repudiation of that agreement.
The applicants also claim that ARN’s ASX Market announcement of 3 March 2026 included misleading and deceptive statements under the Australian Consumer Law.
The applicants claim compensation of ‘at least $82,250,000’, and payment of a pecuniary penalty, plus interest and costs.
I spoke to employment lawyer Michael Byrnes for some insight into where things are at.
You can watch the interview in the video player above (it’s a cracking interview with Michael, making the whole thing easy to understand).
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Jackie claims she was terminated for making a complaint:
“The position is that the Fair Work Act protects the making of certain complaints or raising certain issues, including issues relating to work health and safety in the workplace, and even though Jackie wasn’t an employee, she’s still what’s described as a worker for the purposes of the Work Health and Safety Act, so has certain rights and protections under that act and a right to a safe workplace.
“So she raised a complaint in relation to Kyle’s conduct, said that it created an unsafe workplace, and then this claim asserts that ARN, because she made that complaint, terminated her services agreement. And the contention is, if that is the case, it’s a breach of the general protections provisions of the Fair Work Act.”
How ARN can argue against the claim:
“What they will likely do is latch onto the words that she used, that she cannot continue working with Mr. Kyle Sandilands.
“And they will likely say that constituted a repudiation of her employment contract because she was either unwilling or unable to continue to provide services as contemplated by that or required by that agreement, and they accepted that repudiation and terminated the agreement.”
Why Jackie believes ARN made misleading and deceptive statements in the market statement dated 3 March 2026:
He believes it is a reference to this part of the statement: ARN has also offered to Ms Henderson the possibility of an alternative show on the ARN network.
“I think that’s the bit that Jackie disputes. As I recall her statement a few days afterwards, she said, “No, I’ve not been offered the possibility of alternative work.” Uh, and I think ARN then said, no, she was. So there’s obviously some factual dispute there in relation to the statement to the, uh, to the, uh, ASX.”
We then moved on to Kyle and his court case, including some exclusive information I have obtained.
My sources say the termination letter from ARN to Kyle specifically attributed the termination to the broadcast of 20 February. As Michael and I discussed, though, ARN seems to be trying to reposition the reason for Kyle’s termination.
In court on Friday, ARN’s lawyers said they would be looking at conduct before February 20.
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It is seemingly a change of defence.
“Of course, it does beg this question, which is if there were instances of misconduct prior to 20 February, what did ARN do about it? “
A report in The Australian on Monday suggested Jackie O would be a star witness for ARN.
Based on the latest developments, I asked whether Michael thinks ARN would subpoena her if she wasn’t going to be a willing witness.
“As a general proposition, lawyers are reluctant to subpoena witnesses because ordinarily, if you’re calling a witness, you know what it is they’re going to say- Mm. … either because you’ve had an opportunity to what’s called proof the witness, speak to them as to the evidence that they, they are likely to give,
“but if they’ve got, to use the modern term, the receipts, the evidence, but they’ve got Jackie herself making various claims and assertions, then it may well be there confident in calling her because it’d be difficult for her to then resile from those and indeed supporting those might be central to her own case”.
The interview is worth a watch for more insights than I can fit here.
9NEWS GETS THUNDERSTRUCK
Spare a thought for reporter Maddison Scott who got the fright of her life while doing a live cross on 9NEWS Sydney.
The reporter was covering a very serious story and just as she finished a clap of thunder filled the silence behind her, with the reporter left visibly shaken for a moment.
Peter Overton acknowledged the moment with a slight look, but quickly moved onto the next story.
9NEWS reporter Madison Scott was scared by a clap of Thunder during a live report
You can see the moment in the video edition of Media McKnight HERE
But it wasn’t just 9 News dealing with unintended moments during its news broadcast.
BBC Scotland’s bulletin was interrupted recently when it suddenly went live to another studio, getting ready for The One Show.
The hosts were blissfully unaware as general chitchat took place in the studio.
Viewers of BBC One in Scotland were treated to some behind the scenes chatter as the news accidentally cut to the studio of The One Show
Viewers in Scotland watched for a full 57 seconds before the feed switched back to their local news (video in the player above).
But the Gremlins weren’t done yet.
The feed cut away for ANOTHER 1 minute and 41 seconds!
Problems like this happen because of automation.
Once upon a time, there would be a presentation staff member watching over every local feed.
That slowly changed over time with one staff member looking over 2-5 feeds.
Now, everything is fed into a computer and one person is left looking over all the regions.
And it looks something like this.
That’s a lot of screens to be watching and a lot of content.
What’s strange in this scenario is they realised there was a problem with the Scotland feed. They got out of the one show content back to the news, but then it took a long time to get back to the news when it went back to the one show.
The presenters of The One Show were very lucky. Some of the conversations I’ve heard in a studio would make a tradie blush, but this was G rated conversation – thankfully.
It could have been a lot worse.
7 TURNS ON THE (SPOT)LIGHT
It looks like Channel 7 has found some new batteries for its 7NEWS Spotlight program.
The network has announced journalist Rahni Sadler will be stepping into the roel of EP, replacing Gemma Williams, who was installed under Anthony De Ceglie.
Williams will be the Managing Editor of 7NEWS, which seems like a demotion with a newly created title.
You don’t willingly go from an EP of the network’s flagship current affairs show to a mid-management role in the newsroom.
I have to say, this change is fantastic news!
The future of Spotlight, no pun intended when I say this, is bright.
Rahni Sadler is a great journalist. She has the credentials to take on this role. She has broken stories, she has covered stories.
I don’t know what she’s like on the creative front, but if she can get the people around her to enhance the show, she’ll do great.
Former Executive Producer Mark Llewellyn is one of Australia’s best storytellers.
(Yes Mark I’m expecting a note for not saying you are Australia’s best storyteller).
Full disclosure, I worked on Spotlight for around 18 months and it is full of very talented people who know how to make great television.
News Director Ray Kuka has surprised me with this move – and I’m happily surprised.
At a time when budgets are shrinking, I did not expect Spotlight to survive the year, let alone the financial year.
He is putting all of his chips on the table and backing it.
For that, I applaud him.
It appears Spotlight wants to be a serious challenger to Nine’s 60 Minutes.
The only way it can really do that is by being on air for 40 weeks of the year. It can’t continue being a part time show, otherwise it will fade into obscurity.
This appointment and the noise I’m hearing about the show fills me with confidence.
Not only is this good for the industry, but viewers will be the real winner.
Good luck Rahni!
CELEBRATE GOOD TIMES…
Before I wrap up this edition of Media Mcknight, I have a bit of news.
McKnight Tonight will celebrate its 100th episode tonight.
McKnight Tonight celebrates 100 episodes on Wednesday night
The little show from my garage has seen amazing growth this year. We have no marketing budget and no big company behind us, but audiences seem to finally be finding us – and staying!
Every night I talk hot topics (including media), have a feature interview, visit a random live shot of the day, fit in a Rob’s Rant and always end the show with a backend quickie.
And if you join us on a Thursday you can always join us for a drink because it’s Tipsy Thursday.
Our community is very loyal and we like having tough conversations without being an echo chamber. We argue, but we also listen to each other.
And I think that’s what makes this show so special.
My name might be on the tin, but it’s a community show.
Thanks to everyone for supporting us!
Go to youtube.com/@mcknighttonight
Media McKnight is back next week.
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