Australian Community Media will hold a staff meeting on Monday afternoon to share the regional media group’s response to the arrest of its part-owner Antony Catalano who is facing charges of assault of a woman.
On Sunday the board and executive leadership team of ACM distanced itself from the 59-year-old newspaper mogul, saying they were “shocked and deeply concerned” about the charges.
According to an ABC report, the summary of police allegations read to the court said Catalano dragged the woman through her apartment by the hair and ankles on Friday evening, resulting in hospitalisation for a fractured coccyx.
“The accused dragged the victim to the laundry area where he grabbed a clothes iron and held it towards the victim’s head, causing the victim to grab on to the iron herself,” police told the court, according to the ABC.
Staff at ACM have been invited to town hall at 3pm via Zoom billed as an “updater on ACM’s position regarding Antony Catalano”.
The company, which publishes 16 daily newspapers including the Canberra Times, the Illawarra Mercury and the Bendigo Advertiser, as well as 55 non-dailies and agriculture brands such as the Land, was bought in 2019 by Catalano and investor Alex Waislitz.
“Mr Catalano is facing charges involving alleged violence towards a woman,” ACM said on Sunday. “While these are allegations that will be determined by the court, violence against women is entirely against the values of our company and our mastheads.”
The executive chairman was put on a leave of absence after he was charged on Friday night and granted bail.
“As executive chair his role is not operational,” the statement said. “ACM has a capable and experienced management team that is committed to the continuity and stability of the business and to its standards of safety, respect, integrity and inclusion.
“ACM’s mastheads have a long and proud history of upholding the values of the audiences they represent. They are a trusted voice in keeping our communities strong, informed and connected. That will not change.”
Catalano issued a statement acknowledging the charges and his appearance before the Melbourne magistrates court. “I am deeply ashamed and humiliated,” he said.
“I know that my actions have caused hurt and concern for others, including the woman involved, my family, friends, colleagues and the many people connected to the businesses I have been privileged to lead.
“I have been struggling with significant mental health and substance abuse issues. Those close to me have been urging me to seek professional help for some time and there have been interventions by close family and friends.”
The company said it acknowledged Catalano’s statement about his health but said the company’s “first priority is the wellbeing of its people”.
“We understand that the allegations will be distressing and confronting for ACM staff. We will be working to ensure that all employees are supported and heard, and that our business continues to serve our audiences and customers around Australia.”
Catalano has taken a six-month leave of absence and checked himself into a rehab centre.
Catalano, a former property journalist, turned Fairfax’s Domain property pages into a thriving profit centre before he left the company to build his own successful property magazine and then returning to Fairfax to steer Domain through a $2.3bn float.
He bought ACM, the former Fairfax regional papers, in 2019 for $115m.
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