Meet the network spin doctors

David Hurley (Nine), Simon Francis (Seven) and Neil Shoebridge (TEN).

They are three names you’ll rarely see quoted around here, but with a few qualifications their words are all throughout this site.

That’s because they are the network spin doctors, hired by management to steer a corporate position, separate to the work publicists do for specific programmes or talent.

This week The Australian has published a fascinating piece on three men who wield great influence in their company’s corporate position, by talking to media, often at the expense of their competition.

As the article notes, this is often done without telltale fingerprints on their quotes. As one source puts it: “The job description is to be an arsehole when required.”

But only rarely will you see their names. Charged with presenting the best possible picture of their own network, ideally at the expense of the competition, they usually prefer to remain unseen behind the cover of “a network spokesman”, “an industry insider” or “a company source”.

Unlike at most companies, however, these spinners are much more than just flacks. In an industry where image is everything, they also often serve as the chief image-makers and public guard dogs for the leaders of their respective networks.

Here are a few select quotes about each.

David Hurley (Nine)

“Nine has had a difficult period . . . and they really stepped it up,” says one source. “It has done a really good job to regain credibility and position in the market. Gyngell has a good image and that is attributable to the work done by Hurley.“

Loud, loquacious, hilarious and occasionally irascible, Hurley is an industry legend for his colourful turn of phrase and his charm, but also open about his displeasure when crossed.

“Hurley is a straight shooter,” says one network observer.

Simon Francis (Seven):

Francis can also be funny and colourful, but it will almost always be off the record. When asked to be publicly quoted he likes to decline with a saying used by his former boss David Leckie: “Sunshine fades the suit.”

People who work with him and who know him well describe him as a workaholic and note his exhaustive attention to detail.

“He is good at what he does,” says one. “He is very thorough and doesn’t miss a beat.”

Neil Shoebridge (TEN):

What one former workmate describes as his “dust-dry” sense of humour has been sorely tested at Ten, which has presented him with one PR crisis after another, including an earnings downgrade, programming flops (Everybody Dance, The Shire), the exit of a string of senior executives, staff cuts and, in February, Warburton’s axing.

“Neil has a really hard job,” says one former colleague. “All the stories about Ten are bad and there is no good news.”

Despite occasional reports of Shoebridge’s boil-overs, at colleagues and at journalists, someone who has dealt with him often insists he is “usually good-humoured and (takes) criticism where he felt it was fair and based on fact”, adding: “Someone like Neil will be very useful to Ten as and when it climbs out of the trough as he forms quite good relationships and he will have something better to sell.”

There’s plenty more industry insights in the article at The Australian.

A spokesperson reckoned it was a good read.