Ongoing tensions between rival morning shows Sunrise and Today spilled onto social media on Wednesday over an innocent mistake by a Channel Seven staffer.
Nine’s Director of Morning Television Steven Burling made an extraordinary intervention on Sunrise’s Facebook page on Wednesday at 6:30am over a so-called ‘exclusive’ with Australian miner Arnold Dix.
Dix has been hailed as an international hero after he led the miraculous rescue of dozens of Indian workers trapped underground for 17 days.
A social media intern shared an interview with Dix to Sunrise’s Facebook page and accidentally labelled it as an ‘exclusive’. The story wasn’t, as Today had already aired the same interview.
Burling was quick to call out the error, writing on the post: ‘Hey Sunrise social media team. Please note that this interview was not an exclusive, nor was it even first on air this morning.
Nine’s Director of Morning Television Steven Burling (pictured) called out Sunrise on social media on Wednesday over an innocent mistake
Burling wrote on the post: ‘Hey Sunrise social media team. Please note that this interview was not an exclusive, nor was it even first on air this morning.’
‘You can watch the full 17-minute phoner here,’ he added, before providing a link to the Today show’s interview.
The error only happened on Facebook, not on the television broadcast.
Channel Nine has been contacted for comment.
Burling previously worked as an executive producer on A Current Affair before before replacing Mark Calvert as the Director of Morning Television in 2018.
A social media intern shared an interview with Arnold Dix to Sunrise’s Facebook page and labelled it as an ‘exclusive’ – despite the fact that Today had already aired the same interview
He’s more than qualified for the role, having worked as Today’s entertainment producer back in 2000 alongside veteran journalist Richard Wilkins.
In 2011, he joined 60 Minutes and eventually progressed through the ranks to become chief-of-staff.
The blow up could have been prompted by the end of year official ratings, showing Sunrise had beaten Today for the year.
Channel Seven’s Sunrise and Nine’s Today have been in a ratings war for decades.
In September, the Sunrise team celebrated its ratings dominance after topping Today for 20 consecutive years, once again winning the breakfast TV battle.
According to data from ratings agency OzTAM, Sunrise averages 367,000 daily viewers nationally, compared to Today’s 282,000.
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