Sam Chisholm has been busy putting his stamp on the Nine Network.

The
stand-off with former Sydney newsreader and loyal staffer Jim Waley was
settled out of court on Friday for an estimated $2 million … Don
Burke’s job re-application on Andrew Denton’s Enough Rope last
Monday is close to paying off for Burke … and the network has flicked
long-time Lotto presenter Alex Wileman in a particularly grubby way.

On the Wileman removal, Saturday’s Daily Telegraph
quoted a Nine spokesman as saying that any speculation the mother of
three was axed because of her age was simply wrong – “She decided she
wanted a break and to finish when her contract is up,” … after 13
years she wanted a break.”

But the most fascinating flicking
from Nine was that of Mia Freedman, the golden girl of the ACP magazine
business who is an editor at large for the younger women’s lifestyle
mags Cosmo and Cleo. The Today show “released”
her late last week, with Nine staff saying she was the first of a
number of “costing cutting moves” on the underperforming program.

Don
Burke told Denton last week that Sam Chisholm is “the God of Television
as far as I am concerned,” so it’s no wonder Nine is close to
re-signing Burke to do Burke’s Backyard on a Friday night instead of the disastrous Our Place.