Nine axes Uechtritz

MAX Uechtritz, who oversaw the decline of the Nine Network's evening news in its biggest market, yesterday became the latest scalp in Nine's aggressive cost-cutting program.

The network's news director, who spent 18 years at the ABC before joining Nine last May, is the highest-profile executive to leave since new chief Sam Chisholm launched the cost-cutting drive this week.

The purge, revealed by The Australian on Wednesday, is expected to see up to 50 staff removed. Seven of the network's top executives have already gone.

Uechtritz's tenure has been in doubt since Mr Chisholm, who successfully led Nine in the 1980s, took back the reins in May following the sudden resignation of David Gyngell.

Mr Gyngell quit despite being the best friend of James Packer, executive chairman of Nine's parent company Publishing & Broadcasting Ltd. He blamed management interference in Nine's operations by PBL.

But Uechtritz's departure highlights Mr Chisholm's push to stamp his independence on the network, as Uechtritz was hired by PBL chief John Alexander.

Mr Alexander, who believed a more upmarket news service would bring higher ratings, is in London entertaining advertisers at Wimbledon.

Mr Chisholm and Uechtritz have differing management styles, but in a statement released yesterday Uechtritz maintained he had resigned "to pursue other interests".

"I've enjoyed my time at Nine immensely, not only in the news department but across the whole spectrum of public affairs programming at the network," he said.

Uechtritz oversaw each of the state-based news services, but his record was marred by large declines in the news ratings in Sydney.

Nine's 6pm bulletins - then read by Jim Waley - were overtaken by Seven's after it secured former Nine newsreader Ian Ross.

Earlier this year, Uechtritz replaced Waley with the youthful Mark Ferguson. The move initially failed to arrest the ratings decline, but in fact Nine won the 6pm timeslot in Sydney on Thursday night, and it is still winning the 6pm news ratings in Melbourne and Brisbane.

Mr Chisholm pushed for the cost-cutting blitz before the end of the financial year on Thursday so redundancy payments could be declared as restructuring costs in the 2004-05 financial year results.

But Uechtritz's payout, which is expected to exceed $1million, will be included in next financial year's results.

The Chisholm purge has been prompted by escalating costs, with Macquarie Equities estimating costs in the six months to June as 18 per cent above the same time last year.

In yesterday's statement, Mr Chisholm said: "Max Uechtritz is a consummate professional. He has made a significant contribution to the Nine Network, and I, on behalf of the network and all his many friends and colleagues, wish him all the very best for the future."

Uechtritz said he had an "extraordinary 12 months" covering major events.

"To have led Nine in re-establishing its position as Australia's best news service ... is something of which I'm very proud."