‘Shocked and repulsed’: ACM leaders back vote of no confidence in Catalano
Antony Catalano (Instagram)
Australian Community Media executives have backed a vote of no confidence in the company’s co-owner Anthony Catalano from its journalists, following his alleged assault on a woman last week.
ACM-employed members of the Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance met on Tuesday, and issued a statement that afternoon saying Catalano’s actions “undermine the trust of the communities we live and work in”.
Catalano faces charges of assault, false imprisonment and making threats to kill, following an incident in Melbourne last Thursday that allegedly saw a woman hospitalised with a fractured tailbone. He has taken a six-month leave of absence from all his business interests, and has self-admitted to rehabilitation for substance abuse.
That pic of him laughing in the pink shorts is an absolute stitch up.
it’s ironic that none of the major media editors, CEOs, real estate figures or boards have publicly supported him since the most recent incident. The concept of a bandwagon jumps out. These are the same circles that previously dismissed women who spoke out as ‘trouble,’ while enabling widely known behaviour and reinforcing the myth of the “Cat” through decades of deals and favourable media exposure. I have little doubt that a managed redemption with a glossy photo shoot, a narrative reset, and “the comeback Cat” is entirely predictable.
He is a complex individual. In the limited time I knew him at ACM, I saw that he was a devoted father. I hope he gets the support he needs and takes the time and space to focus on his children, away from the limelight. As someone wrote this week, house of cards.