Nine Entertainment Company has provided the following statement on 60 Minutes cameraman Ben Williamson, who has today revealed the full story of what happened to him on assignment for the network in Beirut. Williamson is suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder as a result of his treatment at the hands of Lebanese security and is seeking damages through Nine’s insurer, GIO.
“We are aware that Ben Williamson is pursuing a claim via the insurers, but we are not in a position to make comment on that action at this time,” the statement reads.
“The matter is being dealt with between the insurer and Ben and we are aware of his comments. Ben remains a valued member of the Nine team and is an extremely talented 60 Minutes cameraman. An investigation of Lebanon, handled independently once all those impacted were back home, included our acknowledgment that Nine staff were exposed to damaging risks and we have since taken steps to address this.
“Nine takes the welfare of our employees seriously and the business, along with his friends and colleagues at Nine, remain supportive of Ben and his family. We will continue to offer support and assistance to them.
“We have also implemented a number of measures, over the years, to further support and provide assistance to reporters, editors, producers and camera people who experience traumatic events through their work. These measures include a dedicated safety and wellness team, trauma training, a dedicated employee assistance program along with a number of other measures, and this is available to all employees.”
Having spent a lifetime working a cameraperson throughout the world I find it appalling that Ben has been treated in this way. We work under the direction of others, often at great danger to ourselves. This needs to be recognised by the networks we work for. I know many camera people who suffer from PTSD, and they suffer in silence. Not good enough.
Gotta love the corporate line “we support our staff, but this is out of our hands” as if their duty of care is insofar as they can pay to make it someone else’s problem…
Absolutely disgraceful, but not surprising, from Channel Nine executives.
Following that particular (stuff-up) story on 60 Minutes, I actually stopped watching the program.
I felt at the time that they’d placed their employees in a particularly dangerous situation, in the name of yet another, ‘exclusive’ – which could have resulted in the death of any one of those employed by the network.
Only hope Ben receives the support and assistance, along with his family, that he justly deserves.
Shame on all at the Nine Network, who have abandoned this man!
Am glad I no longer support the program.
The comedian Austentashious had the most accurate description of the 60 Minutes show,
“48 minutes of bullshit and 12 minutes of commercials….”
What a pathetic, cowardly and snivelling statement by Nine Entertainment. It looks like Nine has thrown Ben to the insurance wolves and will pretend, therefore, that it cannot intervene.
Nine loves to break stories and tread on toes. How many Walkleys have Nine journalists won for making governments and organisations squirm? How many public inquiries have resulted from its stories? If Nine wants the insurer to back off, if it wants to do the right thing by Ben, someone just has to pick up the phone.
For Nine to say Ben remains a “valued member” of its team takes mockery to absurd lengths. Every Nine executive should be ashamed!
I wouldn’t be surprised if Nine’s betrayal of Ben proves to be worse for his mental health over the long term than the torture he suffered in Beirut.
Last year, when I wrote about Journalist YZ, a former Age reporter with PTSD whom the newspaper dragged through the workers comp system and then the courts, Nine said: “Nine takes the mental welfare of its employees seriously.” Bullshit.
Sadly this behavior is standard practise for many large employers. The senior execs never want injured employees compensated, or cared for because…the company’s insurance costs GO UP! The senior execs never put themselves in harms way.