Media boss Antony Catalanoโs deep-pocketed backer Alex Waislitz has declared that all staff at their companies will be โsupported and heardโ after the former Domain boss was charged with assault against a woman last week.
Catalano, executive chair of Australian Community Media and owner of classified group View Media, was charged by Victoria Police with dragging a woman around an apartment by her hair and ankles and swinging a clothes iron at her head, in an alleged assault that left her with a broken coccyx.
He was released on bail on Friday and, in a statement, said he would immediately check in to a rehabilitation facility.
Waislitz, who partnered with Catalano to buy the stable of newspapers including The Canberra Times and The Newcastle Herald under the Australian Community Media group in 2019, said the allegations against Catalano were โconfronting and concerningโ.
โThe immediate priority is the wellbeing of the employees and all stakeholders of Australian Community Media and View Media Group,โ he said. โBoth companies will ensure that all employees are supported and heard.โ
This masthead reported that there had been rumours of a potential sale of the Community Media business. Waislitz did not address that directly but said both it and View were strong organisations with experienced teams that would run them in Catalanoโs absence.
โBoth companies will continue to protect their long-term interests, their employees, partners and other stakeholders whilst maintaining their integrity and governance practices,โ Waislitz said.
โMy thoughts are with all those affected by this matter.โ
Kishor Napier-Raman is a senior business writer for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age. Previously he worked as a CBD columnist and reporter in the federal parliamentary press gallery.Connect via X or email.
