Workplace Bullying: The Beat Up -- Ultimate Betrayal in the Fourth Estate

Having stared down the barrel of AK-47 rifles in the Fiji military coups, journalist Agnes Whippy emigrates to New Zealand to keep her career alive. Three decades on, the advocate of uncompromising journalism reveals how fickle the Fourth Estate foundations can be. It takes a historic newsroom coup to make editor-from-hell Bradman Brown walk the plank. The monster is no mistake. He is part of the corporate skullduggery to stay viable. Bullying is rife, homophobia rampant, sexual harassment is rendered a joke, nepotism reigns and sick staff are stalked. Scribes contemplate suicide. Alcohol and even crystal meth become their poison to escape harassment. Heart attack, stroke and cancer take their toll. Age is no barrier as staff choke back tears when editorial heavies reach for verbal knuckle dusters to address hiccups. Jeopardizing careers in an incestuous fishpond is no option so some flee. Corporate media’s pitch from the moral high ground drips with hypocrisy and deception as it goes to any length to stay in the news game. Education is no protection for scribes. Free from the shackles of Cyber slavery due to Covid-19, Agnes finds the media industry is part of why NZ was voted the No 2 bullying nation in 2016. Agnes retraces her career path from Fiji, reliving the highs and lows while helping raise a young family with her husband, Vijay. She hopes the media landscape will be salvaged in time for the young generation of scribes to experience the passion and enjoyment she did.