Sky staff were told on Wednesday that James Birtles, the broadcaster’s deputy head of programs, was rejoining his former employer to replace Amy McCarthy, who returned to the newsroom in August following a series of inappropriate social media posts at the Logie Awards.
Birtles was in discussions to rejoin Nine before the final Freya Fires Up broadcast, company sources not authorised to speak publicly said.
Nine News staffers were also informed of the decision to appoint Birtles on Wednesday morning in a note from Fiona Dear, the network’s top executive.