Channel Nine: More Bonings Than An Annabel Chong Get-together

Those champs over at Chez Nine just keep kicking goals, with news that they’ve “boned” yet another station employee, this time newsreader Majella Weimers.

We were initially inclined to think that it was merely the fact that, in a non-ratings period, people usually come and go, and Nine were just unlucky to have sent a few others on their way recently, hence making it look like they were in a frenzy of sackings – until we saw the reason they’d given.

In short, the Nine news boss “doesn’t like blondes.”

Weimers, who stepped in when regular weather presenter Jaynie Seal went on maternity leave, is understood to have stormed out of Nine on Wednesday afternoon immediately after hearing her contract would not be extended beyond December 31.

Producers were left to scramble together scripts for Mark Ferguson to cover the forecast but Weimers is believed to have cooled off since and bravely fronted for both the afternoon and evening bulletins yesterday.

A Nine spokeswoman told Confidential Weimers was advised to have the afternoon off by news director Ian Cook, who did the boning.

The decision has angered her colleagues, with one news staffer saying the decision was because news boss “(John) Westacott doesn’t like blondes”.

“It’s really sad she’s going and is such a nice girl,” the insider said yesterday. “She can produce, report and present and does her job well. They’re getting rid of her, so what does that say?”

Less than two weeks after reporter Christine Spiteri was sacked and allegedly told “with a surname like Spiteri you should try SBS”.

And this followed the infamous “boning” of former Today show host Jessica Rowe.

With all these bonings happening it’s a wonder Nine haven’t changed their official slogan to “Still In Priapisms” or “Cum On In, The Water’s Fine At Nine”.

Somewhere, Eddie McGuire is giggling to himself and saying “boned” in a manner befitting a 12-year-old boy.