The war of words between Seven’s Sunday Night and Nine’s 60 Minutes has once again hit boiling point with new allegations Seven have been rehashing old stories from its rival.
In the latest provocation, Nine claims an upcoming story on Sunday Night about “super recognisers” – a unique group of people who never forget a face and can be used to help solve crimes – bears an uncanny resemblance to a story that aired on 60 Minutes in 2016.
Seven has declined to make any comment to B&T regarding this story.
Fairfax Media has reported that the original 2016 story on Nine was produced by Stephen Rice who was subsequently sacked by Channel Nine following its now ill-fated Beirut kidnap debacle. Rice is now employed as a producer on Sunday Night.
Seven also raided the 60 Minutes team for many of its current Sunday Night staff, which would only add to the bad blood.
Coincidentally, Sunday Night’s upcoming story reportedly features two interviews with the exact same people that were in the 60 Minutes yarn 12 months ago. However, according to Fairfax, it also includes extra interviews with an Australian focus that weren’t included in the Nine story.
It’s not the first time the two current affairs programs – currently in a heated ratings battle – have sniped at one another.
In mid-July, Nine’s news boss Darren Wick launched a stinging attack on his rivals accusing them of running a story about Tasmanian grandmother Sue Neill-Fraser who is in prison for killing her partner, a story 60 Minutes had covered three years prior.
“Explosive new evidence promised by Seven was revealed by 60 Minutes in 2014,” Wick wrote to social media. “Media Watch – they’re all yours.”
