Sacked Channel Nine star Alex Cullen primed for shock new career move as he’s scouted by rival network
- READ MORE: Fresh twist in Nine’s Alex Cullen scandal
By JIMMY BRIGGS FOR DAILY MAIL AUSTRALIA
Sacked Channel Nine star Alex Cullen is set to make a shock career move, three months after the Today show presenter was axed from the network.
In January, Cullen was fired from Channel Nine after he accepted a $50,000 gift from The Block billionaire Adrian Portelli for calling him ‘McLaren Man’ live on air.
Cullen, 44, is now in line to host a new afternoon news program on Channel Seven, according to news.com.au.
The Seven Network plan to air the show before the Larry Emdur-hosted game show The Chase, in a bid to increase ratings.
Cullen’s representatives are in talks with Seven to sign him, which would be a return for the veteran sports journalist who was a presenter on their current affairs program Sunday Night from 2010 – 2019.
He has been rumoured to be making the move since March when Seven West Media’s The Nightly marked a year of its existence as the country’s favourite PDF newspaper with a star-studded soiree at the Sydney Opera House.
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Sacked Channel Nine star Alex Cullen is set to make a shock career move, three months after after the Today show presenter was axed from the network
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Cullen attended the star-studded event, hinting at a potential move to his former employer.
It follows reports that Cullen was axed from the Nine Network after he accepted $50,000 from Portelli.
The Today presenter was given the sizeable sum after he was the first media personality to use Portelli’s self-proclaimed nickname ‘McLaren Man’ live on air – sparking a firestorm.
Days later, Today host Karl Stefanovic announced that Cullen had left the network.
‘As most of you are well aware, our colleague Alex Cullen has not been on air with us this past week,’ a solemn Stefanovic told viewers at the time.
‘There has been widespread reporting on the circumstances surrounding this, what I can say is that last night, Alex and Nine agreed that he would finish with the network.
‘Alex has, of course, been part of the Today family for five years now, he’s always ready with a smile and a laugh and without hesitation speaking for all of us here, we can say that we are going to miss him terribly, for sure.
‘A terrific fella, what you see is what you get and he has been a great mate to all of us over these years and we wish Alex, his wife Bonnie and his beautiful kids all the very best for the future.’
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In January, Cullen was fired from Channel Nine after he accepted a $50,000 gift from The Block billionaire Adrian Portelli for calling him ‘McLaren Man’ live on air
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Cullen is now in-line to host a new afternoon news program on Channel Seven
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A Nine spokesperson told Daily Mail Australia: ‘Nine has agreed with Today presenter and journalist Alex Cullen that he will finish with the network following a review into a recent incident.’
The scandal kicked off when Portelli had grown tired of his long-used nickname ‘Mr Lambo’ and offered the cash reward to the first person to use his new moniker on air, with Cullen obliging on the Today show.
The Block entrepreneur then posted what appeared to be a bank transfer of $50,000 to the presenter on Instagram.
Accepting cash, gifts or benefits to undermine journalistic independence, and improperly using a journalistic position for personal gain, are both breaches of the journalism code of ethics as defined by the Media Entertainment and Arts Alliance union.
The ill-advised stunt led to Cullen being suspended by Nine and he did not appear on the show while the network investigated the payment.
Nine’s parting of ways with Cullen went ahead despite Portelli’s claim that Cullen intended the money to be paid to charity all along.
Network insiders also told Daily Mail Australia that the stunt could have been beneficial for the network and Portelli, if Cullen had advised the promoter that, as a journalist, he was unable to accept any payment for making the comment on-air.
Portelli first received the unwanted nickname ‘Mr Lambo’ after turning up to a 2022 auction of popular house makeover show The Block in a yellow Lamborghini.
Cullen joined Today for its relaunch five years ago. He was initially solely the sports presenter, but took over news when Tracy Vo quit the show and returned to 9News Perth.
