By Neil Melloy
June 4, 2003
CHANNEL 9 weekend newsreader Mike London quit last night, three days after The Courier-Mail revealed he had allegedly sent e-mails criticising fellow newsreader Bruce Paige.
London maintained that the e-mails had been doctored.
Channel 9 Queensland issued a statement saying management had accepted London's resignation effective immediately and Paige read a news item about the resignation in last night's news broadcast.
In e-mails obtained by The Courier-Mail London had allegedly asked Strathpine schoolteacher Karen Rolff to pass herself off as a viewer and then ring Nine to complain that Paige needed a "personality bypass".
London had been Nine's weekday newsreader until 1995 when Paige replaced him.
London, who had been with Nine for 17 years, tendered his resignation in a "brief letter", according to Nine.
"I am deeply saddened to be leaving my position at Channel 9 but believe this course of action to be in the best interests of my family, friends and Channel 9 Queensland, given the recent allegations printed in both The Courier-Mail and the Sunday Mail newspapers," it said. "My family, colleagues and employer have suffered enough."
Heather Foord will read the weekend news by herself from this weekend.
London said he had resigned to enable him to resolve the matter "privately and away from the media spotlight".
"The campaign against me over the last four days has been nothing short of harassment which has taken its toll on all those close to me," London said.
On Friday, London told The Courier-Mail that Rolff, 33, had become obsessed with him and described her as a cyber stalker and a "disturbed woman".
He said she had been sent genuine e-mails as he had asked her to do some research for a charity, but he claimed they had been reworked.
"I still believe the e-mails in Queensland Newspapers' possession have been doctored," London said yesterday.
Ms Rolff had denied London's claims and said they had met in an Internet meeting room because of their mutual interest in running and membership of the same church.
An e-mail provided by Ms Rolff claims that London had given her an e-mail script to read so she could complain to Nine about Paige.
"Where did you get this guy (Paige)? He could do with a personality bypass ... the two you had reading last week were great!" it said.
In Nine's statement yesterday, Queensland managing director Neil Mooney thanked London for his contribution to the network and said he wished London and his family well.
London thanked news director Lee Anderson and the news team for their support and friendship.
Nine also said it had begun defamation action against Queensland Newspapers in relation to a story published yesterday.
The Courier-Mail checked electronic copies of a large number of e-mails before publishing Saturday's report to confirm their veracity.
http://www.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,4057,6541660%255E26462,00.html
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