Seven bosses admit astonishing change is coming to its evening news

Channel Seven has confirmed a controversial change to its TV news bulletins – that they will feature an astrology report from ‘Astro Tash’ – amid division at the network over a radical shake-up as the axe falls on 150 jobs at the channel. 

Multiple insiders claim there is now a tense atmosphere percolating the station, where some staff are ‘miserable’ and taking sick days to look for jobs elsewhere, after a new regime took power intent on shaking things up. 

A ’20 second’ astrology report after the weather on the 6pm bulletin and a weekly comedy skit on Friday’s at 6.57pm by Mark Humphries are some of the major changes that viewers will notice over the next week.  

Daily Mail Australia has been told that morale was already ‘at an all time low’ after the Spotlight show’s Bruce Lehrmann fiasco and the sacking of veteran reporter Robert Ovadia.

And the raft of new changes in the wake of new boss Anthony De Ceglie’s appointment are being viewed with trepidation by some long-time network news insiders – with one critic describing the changes as ‘depressing’.

‘All the journalistic credibility we’ve worked towards for so many years is being destroyed,’ they fumed. ‘People are gutted. It feels like a funeral in here.’ 

De Ceglie, Seven’s new director of new and current affairs, has now confirmed for the first time that star signs will be part of the revamped weekday news – just as they have in some newspapers and magazines for decades. 

But the new boss hit back at critics, insisting both that morale is ‘great’ and that ‘trying new things’ is part of the network’s bold new future.

He instead presented the changes as an overdue shake-up of a staid format that hasn’t changed in decades. 

‘If people think we are being inventive so far, they haven’t seen anything yet,’ Mr De Ceglie said in statement to Daily Mail Australia. 

Seven has undergone an upheaval in recent weeks, triggered by revelations that emerged during the Bruce Lehrmann defamation trial.

Spotlight boss Mark Llewellyn left the company after ex-producer Taylor Auerbach disclosed the network’s alleged role in facilitating cocaine and prostitutes for interviews with Bruce Lehrmann.

Veteran journalist Robert Ovadia’s exit came after ABC Four Corners made inquiries about the alleged toxic culture in the Seven newsroom. Ovadia is now suing Seven for unlawful dismissal.

Those departures – plus many in digital division – have made some journalists fearful that many more are to follow.  Up to 150 jobs are set to be axed, with Seven’s chief executive Jeff Howard expected to announce cuts across the television and print divisions, sales and marketing teams. 

On Tuesday, Seven described planned redundancies as ‘unfortunate’, but added: ‘We are not discussing the detail.’

Disgruntled TV staff fear there may be no other options for them if they leave Seven now with other TV networks, including Nine enduring their own cuts.

One staffer admitted: ‘There isn’t anywhere else to go’. 

De Ceglie – nicknamed ADC – confirmed to Daily Mail Australia that the stargazing reports will start soon and feature after the nightly weather.

He added that ‘everyone is looking forward the first Mark Humphries spot this Friday.’

De Ceglie, 38, was appointed Seven West Media’s Director of News and Current Affairs and Editor-in-Chief in May.

His elevation came after five years as West Australian Newspapers’ editor-in-chief, during which News Corp, for whom he had previously worked, tried to poach him back to a senior role in Sydney.

Humphries had a comedy spot on the ABC’s 7.30 program and hosted the Australian version of the BBC comedy show Pointless, which was cancelled after four months in 2019.

The host himself revealed later that the franchise didn’t fly here because it ‘lacked the comedic banter’ of the UK version.  

The most controversial rumour of all the talk about people being axed at Seven is about longtime newsreader, Mark Ferguson.

‘Fergo’, who worked at Channel Nine for 17 years including as nightly newsreader before being replaced by Peter Overton due to dwindling ratings, has been Seven News Sydney’s weeknight presenter since 2014.

Seven claimed the 2023 ratings year nationally, including victories in Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth, but in the important Sydney market, Overton beat Ferguson. 

During next month’s Paris Olympics, Nine has the Australian rights, and Ferguson will disappear from the screen as De Ceglie tests others on the desk during this ratings wilderness.

It has been reported Ferguson is leery of the stargazing scenario, but it seems he will not be reading star signs which will be a ’20 second slot’ after the weather.

But management had a warning for seasoned reporters gloomy about what they fear is a music hall style makeover of the news: They had better get used to it.

‘Morale is actually great … and the team is embracing change and the future ahead,’ De Ceglie said.

‘We aren’t going to shy away from trying new things.’