The Australian Daily Telegraph claimed a TV host was getting a $1 million paycut for breaking standards. That prompted the host, Karl Stefanovic, to sue for defamation.
In a pretty quick turnaround, less than a month after the Daily Telegraph‘s articles, the newspaper has issued an apology and settled the lawsuit.
Stefanovic’s lawyer declined to comment further to iMediaEthics.
The Daily Telegraph‘s apology reads:
“On 10 November 2019, The Sunday Telegraph published two articles about Nine’s Today Show host Karl Stefanovic. The articles included the claim that Nine intended to penalise Mr Stefanovic $1 million for breaching the standards expected of him. We accept that this figure is incorrect.
“Mr Stefanovic still has a year to run on his current contract with Nine and its terms remain unaltered. We apologise to Mr Stefanovic for any hurt and embarrassment caused by the publication of these articles. Mr Stefanovic has agreed to discontinue his defamation proceedings in the Federal Court of Australia on terms confidential between the parties.”
Hat Tip: Mumbrella