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Lisa Wilkinson book scandal: Columnist slams Today Show over claims Karl Stefanovic was paid more

Lisa Wilkinson book scandal: Columnist slams Today Show over claims Karl Stefanovic was paid more 2

Columnist SLAMS Lisa Wilkinson for ‘revolting’ claims she was paid less than Karl Stefanovic and says she’s turned the pay gap debate into a farce

  • Columnist Janet Albrechtsen blasts Lisa Wilkinson for ‘revolting’ pay-gap claims
  • An article this week revealed Wilkinson was originally paid more than cohost
  • The Today Show host reportedly earned double than Karl Stefanovic in 2006 
  • Ms Albrechtsen said Lisa’s pay dispute turns gender pay-gap debate into a farce


High-profile newspaper columnist Janet Albrechtsen has accused Lisa Wilkinson of turning the gender pay gap debate into a ‘farce’ with her tell-all memoir.  

In an extract from The Project host’s forthcoming biography, It Wasn’t Meant To Be This Way, the former Today show host claimed colleague Karl Stefanovic managed to negotiate a $2million deal with the Nine Network. 

Wilkinson claimed Stefanovic’s deal was double her salary.  

Wilkinson has gone on to claim that the pay gap between the breakfast TV duo was ‘so off the charts that no-one would have believed it – and much bigger than that figure that had been conveniently leaked’. 

But a News Corp report published this week revealed that Wilkinson herself had actually earned double the salary of Stefanovic for ‘years’ after she first signed with the network in 2006.

Those revelations prompted Ms Albrechtsen to blast Wilkinson in the pages of the national broadsheet. 

She described Wilkinson’s salary claims as ‘revolting’.  

Columnist Jane Albrechtsen (pictured) has slammed former Today Show host Lisa Wilkinson for turning the gender pay-gap debate 'into a farce'

Columnist Jane Albrechtsen (pictured) has slammed former Today Show host Lisa Wilkinson for turning the gender pay-gap debate ‘into a farce’

Damning revelations reveal Lisa Wilkinson (pictured) was originally paid more than double of cohost Karl Stefanovic in 2006

Damning revelations reveal Lisa Wilkinson (pictured) was originally paid more than double of cohost Karl Stefanovic in 2006

‘The gender pay gap is a serious issue, Wilkinson seems to have turned it into a farce…’ Ms Albrechtsen wrote on Friday. 

‘For the sake of the argument let’s accept what is now hotly contested, namely that Nine did systematically pay Wilkinson less than Stefanovic for the same job.

‘The real question, and harder one, is whether Nine paid her less for the same job because of her sex, as she alleges?’

Ms Albrechtsen went on to note that Wilkinson was more than capable of fending for herself and taking on Nine in the media or the courts, and asked whether she had raised the point.  

‘Wilkinson is no shrinking violet,’ Albrechtsen wrote.

For their side of it, the Nine Network has previously argued the work of Stefanovic and Wilkinson wasn’t the same. 

Stefanovic was paid as for providing content exclusively to Nine, while Lisa filed online stories for the now-defunct news website, The Huffington Post. 

Wilkinson famously left the network after a pay-gap dispute revealing Stefanovic (pictured) was on a $2million contract

Wilkinson famously left the network after a pay-gap dispute revealing Stefanovic (pictured) was on a $2million contract 

Lisa Wilksinon and her husband, the Nine Newspapers columnist Peter Fitzsimons

Lisa Wilksinon and her husband, the Nine Newspapers columnist Peter Fitzsimons 

news.com.au’s respected political editor Samantha Maiden published a story this week disputing Wilkinson’s claims. 

The article noted Wilkinson was allegedly paid more than Stefanovic for ‘many years’ before the pair teamed up.

Daily Mail Australia revealed this week that Wilkinson’s publisher,  Harper Collins Australia, then sensationally demanded a preview copy of the memoir be returned by news.com.au.  

The contrary claims about Wilkinson’s original Nine contract reportedly did not go down well with her book publishers.

One insider claimed news.com.au were ordered to return the company’s only preview copy of the tell-all book saying, ‘They blew up and asked for their copy back’.

News.com.au editor Lisa Muxworthy declined to comment when contacted by Daily Mail Australia.

A spokesperson for Harper Collins also declined to confirm the allegation.

Major bookseller slashes price of Lisa Wilkinson’s tell-all memoir by $10 two weeks before its release – and even a signed copy is a bargain

Lisa Wilkinson’s new memoir is being sold for $10 below its recommended retail price (RRP) at a popular book store, two weeks before its release on November 3.

The autobiography, titled It Wasn’t Meant to Be Like This, documents Wilkinson’s life and media career and includes a chapter dedicated to her sacking from Channel Nine and falling out with Karl Stefanovic over a pay dispute.

It has an RRP of $45, which is fairly standard for a new hardback release, but the Dymocks website is selling it for $35 as part of a ‘Price Drop’ promotion.

'Price Drop': Lisa Wilkinson's new memoir is being sold for $10 below its recommended retail price (RRP) at a popular book store, two weeks before its release on November 3

Pictured: Lisa Wilkinson

‘Price Drop’: Lisa Wilkinson’s new memoir is being sold for $10 below its recommended retail price (RRP) at a popular book store, two weeks before its release on November 3

The RRP is a price guide for sellers, but Dymocks has chosen to sell it for $10 less. 

What’s more, a limited copy of the book signed by Wilkinson herself is available to pre-order from Big W for the very reasonable price of just $24.

While this hasn’t been labelled as ‘reduced’, it’s still 46 per cent off the RRP.

Daily Mail Australia understands the price drop is not related to recent media reports challenging claims made in the book.

Discounts like this are a common marketing strategy by booksellers to boost sales. 

Down down: It Wasn't Meant to Be Like This has an RRP of $45, which is fairly standard for a new hardback release, but Dymocks is selling it for $35 as part of a 'Price Drop' promotion

Down down: It Wasn’t Meant to Be Like This has an RRP of $45, which is fairly standard for a new hardback release, but Dymocks is selling it for $35 as part of a ‘Price Drop’ promotion

A representative for HarperCollins told Daily Mail Australia on Friday: ‘There is no “price drop” for Lisa’s book by Dymocks. 

‘The Dymocks price for Lisa’s book is $35 and this has always been the case. Different booksellers sell all books they stock for different prices and this is totally dependent on their individual business model.’

The representative also noted that Sonny Bill Williams’ memoir is also selling for $35 rather than its $50 RRP.

‘This is nothing out of the ordinary and applies across the board with Dymocks, regardless of the book,’ they added.

Daily Mail Australia has contacted Dymocks for further comment.

 

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