Channel 7’s Weekend Sunrise has been plunged into turmoil after an on-air gaffe that mistakenly labelled a 20-year-old university student as a cold-blooded killer.
The blunder, which aired during the program’s April 14 episode, involved the misidentification of the innocent Benjamin Cohen as the Bondi Junction murderer, a title that belonged to 40-year-old Joel Cauchi.
The actual killer was Queenslander Cauchi, but Mr Cohen, 20, was wrongly named as the attacker in two Channel Seven broadcasts.
This error has not only left the network red-faced but also substantially lighter in the pocket, with insiders hinting at a six-figure settlement paid to Cohen.
According to The Australian, the aftermath has seen a purge within the show’s production ranks.
Channel 7’s Weekend Sunrise has been plunged into turmoil after an on-air gaffe that mistakenly labelled a 20-year-old university student as a cold-blooded killer, triggering a storm of controversy and a slew of staff departures. (Pictured: Matt Shirvington)
A male producer, who has since owned up to his role in the debacle, has been shunted from the weekend spotlight to the broader Seven News department, with no chance of a Weekend Sunrise comeback.
Adding to the exodus, the supervising producer at the helm that day has bid adieu to the program.
Although her switch to Channel 9 was already in the cards, the timing has raised more than a few eyebrows.
The blunder, which aired during the program’s April 14 episode, involved the misidentification of the innocent Benjamin Cohen (pictured) as the Bondi Junction murderer, a title that belonged to 40-year-old Joel Cauchi
The scandal continues to simmer, with a third producer – currently unnamed and whose tenure hangs by a thread – still part of the show while the internal probe into her involvement is ongoing.
Mr Cohen had been falsely identified on on social media within hours of the mass murders in the Westfield centre in Sydney’s east on Saturday afternoon.
The police did not name Cauchi as the killer until about 9am on Sunday.
This error has not only left the network red-faced but also substantially lighter in the pocket, with insiders hinting at a six-figure settlement paid to Cohen to smooth over the legal ruckus
The television network blamed ‘human error’ for wrongly naming the computer science student.
A Seven insider said a news producer wrote the story which was then sub-edited by a senior producer before being sent to host Matt Shirvington to record his voice.
An internal investigation is underway to identify how that mistake was made.
Seven made an on-air apology, read out by reporter Sarah Jane Bell, on Sunday evening.
‘One last thing, earlier this morning in reports of the incident, it incorrectly named the perpetrator as Benjamin Cohen,’ she said.
‘It was later confirmed that the name of the 40-year-old was Joel Cauchi from Queensland. Seven apologises for any distress caused by our earlier reports.’
A spokesperson for the network told Daily Mail Australia that they will not be commenting on staff, and that the terms of the settlement are confidential.
Under the NSW Defamation Act, Mr Cohen could get damages of up to $459,000.
He is represented by high-profile law firm Giles George, which is also acting for former Channel Seven producer Taylor Auerbach in his case against the station.
News.com.au reported that a concerns notice has been issued by Mr Auerbach over comments purportedly made by some of the network’s top brass around its interview with Bruce Lehrmann and claims made in court by Mr Auerbach.
The actual killer was Queenslander Joel Cauchi (pictured), but Mr Cohen was named as the attacker in several Channel 7 broadcasts
Mr Cohen said being wrongly named as the killer by Seven was ‘highly distressing’.
‘It’s extremely disappointing to me to see people mindlessly propagating misinformation like this without even the slightest thought put into fact checking,’ he told The Australian.
‘But what’s even more disappointing to me is a major news network doing this, using my name without waiting for a statement from police to verify this or going out to try and verify it themselves.’
Daily Mail Australia contacted Channel Seven for comment and was told by a spokesperson: ‘We don’t comment on legal matters.’
