A 7News Brisbane promo has been branded ‘disrespectful’ towards former anchor Sharyn Ghidella.
The Queensland-based news presenter, 57, was fired from 7News of 17 years earlier this year amid a series of media job cuts.
In the promo video, 7News presenter Max Futcher announces the arrival of Ghidella’s replacement Sarah Greenhalgh with an eyebrow-raising statement.
“You get two people who are committed to the news like you’ve never seen before in Queensland,” he says in the short clip.
The line has caused an uproar, with many news industry insiders seeing it as a jab at Ghidella.
“Many see this promo not only as a jab at Sharyn, but also as a slight to veteran anchors who have been in the game for years,” a source told the channel. Courier mail on Sunday.
“It’s just disrespectful,” they added.
Insiders also reportedly criticized Futcher’s reference to 34-year-old Greenhalgh as “still young” in the promo, as it implied Ghidella was “too old” to read the news.
A new promo from 7News Brisbane has been branded ‘disrespectful’ towards former anchor Sharyn Ghidella. Pictured
In the promo video, 7News presenter Max Futcher (pictured left) announces the arrival of Ghidella’s replacement Sarah Greenhalgh (pictured right) with an eyebrow-raising statement: ‘You’re getting two people committed to the news like you’ve never seen before in Queensland ‘ he says in the short clip
Ghidella has presented the network’s Brisbane bulletin since 2013, but was dismissed from her role earlier this year after 17 years.
Sharyn confirmed the news of her job loss a fiery Facebook post, revealing how she learned her role was being cut while she was at the hair salon.
After several anxious weeks of job losses, she targeted the failing network for prioritizing gimmicks like astrology readings over retaining experienced talent.
The line has caused an uproar, with many news industry insiders seeing it as a jab at Ghidella. “Many see this promo not only as a jab at Sharyn, but also as a slight to veteran presenters who have been in the game for years,” a source told the Courier Mail on Sunday. “It’s just disrespectful,” they added
“When you’ve been in television as long as I have, there’s not a day that goes by where you don’t expect the proverbial pat on the back… After 38 years, my pat on the back has finally arrived,” she began.
“It wasn’t quite how I expected it to end on Channel Seven. I was at the hairdresser’s for work when I got a call telling me that after seventeen years with the network, my time was up.’
She said her recent time at the network had been “miserable” and she was happy to leave.
“While we are somewhat saddened by this decision, there is also a sense of relief. As has been widely reported, the last few weeks on television have unfortunately been a miserable affair,” she wrote.
‘A long list of talented, loyal and dedicated employees have been shown the door, in what appears to have been an endless process of slowly ripping off the Band-Aid when it comes to removing what is considered excess inventory.
“These people are some of the best content creators in the industry. They are good people and it was heartbreaking to see.”
