Vale: John Westacott

Former Nine News boss John Westacott, who was once executive producer of 60 Minutes, A Current Affair, has died, aged in his early ’70s.

An ardent yachtsman, he fell from a boat in Sydney harbour on Sunday but was unable to be resuscitated.

Westacott had more than 25 years at Nine including as executive producer of 60 Minutes for 16 years, where he was credited with inventing the “worm” graphic used during federal election debates.

He became Director of News and Current Affairs in 2007 following Garry Linnell and retired in 2009, succeeded by Darren Wick, during which he appointed Peter Overton as Nine’s Sydney anchor.  He returned as a consultant under then CEO David Gyngell, but wrapped up during a range of redundancies in 2012.

“Westy” was famously drawn into an anti-discrimination claim against the network brought by former reporter Christine Spiteri.  The case was settled out of court.

Nine’s Director of News and Current Affairs Darren Wick and Head of Television Michael Healy said in a joint statement, “John Westacott was a trailblazer of Australian journalism. The longest-serving and most successful Executive Producer of 60 Minutes, a driving force of A Current Affair and a visionary with Nine as the National Director of News and Current Affairs.

“Westy was an enigma. There was no-one like him. He didn’t care about political correctness and would publicly declare that. But, he was among the first in our industry to promote women to senior roles with 60 Minutes and ensure their voices were heard.

“He didn’t care where you came from, nor about your gender, ethnicity or religious and political beliefs. He cared about whether you had the passion and ability to tell a great story.

“His lifelong love was 60 Minutes. He was fearless as he pushed his team to report some of of the greatest stories and interviews Australians have ever seen. And he was ferocious in defending his team against any criticism – externally and internally.

“Westy had a laser-like focus and an incredible intuition on what 60 Minutes meant to Australian viewers and what they wanted to see from the program every Sunday night.

“During his later years with Nine, as the Head of News and Current Affairs, he was the driving force behind bringing Peter Overton into the seat as the anchor of the Sydney 6pm News. He saw well into the future when others didn’t.

“He understood the integrity and authenticity that Peter would bring to Nine News and set it apart from the rest. The fact that the 6pm Sydney bulletin has dominated the News for the past 12 years is a testament to the vision that John Westacott brought to Nine.

“He was no saint and had a devilish sense of humour and was a master of mischief. But he was a journalist’s journo and always a generous source of knowledge and insight.

“Westy made Nine a better place. He was a big vision, big picture person who made us all reach for the stars and land on them.”

Photo: The Mercury