October 9, 2025 • 8 mins
In a very emotional and vulnerable moment, Bec Morse tries to hold back tears as she opens up about the day she found out she was let go from reporting the news at Channel 10.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:10):
My Heart podcasts here more mixed one or two point
three podcasts playlists and listen live on the free iHeart app.
Speaker 2 (00:17):
Beck Morse is filling in for Haley Pearson and you
might know Beck Morse from Channel ten's News at five.
Speaker 1 (00:26):
Beck hosted the Channel ten News for fourteen years. I
remember watching Beck with George Denikian.
Speaker 3 (00:32):
When you were in your mother's womb.
Speaker 1 (00:34):
Honestly, when I was in high school watching Beck on
the news with George Denikian, and she was, of course
like the face of that and one of the most
iconic faces in South Australia for those fourteen years. And
then I started working at ten and one day in
what year was it, Rebecca.
Speaker 3 (00:51):
It was twenty twenty, twenty twenty.
Speaker 1 (00:54):
It all came crumbling down on just a very nondescript
day in the middle of the week.
Speaker 2 (01:00):
Yeah, it was.
Speaker 3 (01:02):
I think we've got you about the audio from the
from that last bulletion, we're going to read it. So firstly,
I just like to acknowledge and thank my colleagues who
are also finishing up today, including the crew that works
behind the scenes, all you guys hair and makeup every
night to put this bullet into air. I consider myself
incredibly lucky to have had a job that I love,
(01:24):
in a team that I love for more than fourteen years,
and I leave just grateful for that. Thank you to
my family for their support. Apologies in advance. I'm now
in charge of the.
Speaker 1 (01:34):
Cooking and look.
Speaker 3 (01:35):
Finally, and most importantly, to all of the South Australians
who have tuned in to get their news from us
over that time, thank you and good night.
Speaker 2 (01:52):
Bay.
Speaker 1 (01:56):
Oh God of crying again.
Speaker 3 (01:58):
I haven't listened to that since I watched it back.
So that little scream at the end was they brought
my kids in to give me a hug and I
didn't know they were going to be there. And yeah,
there are a lot of people we lost their job
that night, and a lot of people who lose their job,
you know, in a job that they love every day.
So you know, if you have lost a job and
being made redundant, I know how you feel, and it's
it's not a fun time.
Speaker 1 (02:16):
Yours is in the public eye, though, So let's talk
about that day that you found out, because I remember
that was like an earth shattering day in the newsroom.
You and I were sending some texts in the morning,
I was like, what is going on? Something's going on
in your life without revealing it to me, And then
Kate Freeburn called me and gave me the news and
why what so what happened to your So.
Speaker 3 (02:35):
I think anyone who works in the media knows that
when things are about to change, you usually get a
bit of a whisper, like you might know that a
meeting's gone in your calendar, or that there are some
job cuts or reviews, or this was completely out of
the blue. I was completely blind started. I was working
at SAFM at the time, and I would have like
an hour in between going to the two jobs. So
I was just across the road in a coffee shop
(02:56):
and an O two number came up on my phone
and I usually don't answer O two numbers because it's usually,
you know, someone trying to sell you something. But I
just went, I'm going to pick this up. And it
was our big boss, Ross, who did the contracts. You'd
only hear from me once every two years, or sometimes
he'd come into the newsroom and shout you a coffee
h So he said, Rebecca, it's Ross here, and I
(03:19):
just remember my whole body just going numb. And cold,
because I'm like, he's not calling me to see how
I'm doing on this random day. And then and I
guess they have legal requirements when they're about to sack
someone that they and has happened to me recently, so
they have a script that they read from. And so
he just said Channel ten is undergoing a restructure and
(03:40):
under that restructure, you will no longer have a role.
And then I just went silent. And then he said
that there's going to be a staff meeting at I
think it was ten or something if you could not
tell anyone before that time, because a lot of other
people are going to lose their jobs today, so just
come in to the staff room. So I just hung up,
(04:02):
and I was in the coffee shop. As I ran
out of the coffee shop and it was in this
alleyway and I just like pressed my back against the
wall and just started And then I was worried about
I didn't know who else was going to lose their job.
So basically, they'd made a decision to centralize the news
in Melbourne, so a lot of reporters were going, all
our production staff were going. And yes, so then I
went into work and everyone knew the meeting was happening,
(04:25):
and it was a it was a zoom. So Max,
do you remember.
Speaker 1 (04:27):
That it's stunk like there was people who because obviously
a lot of people are out trying to do their
job still on the road and at press conferences and
cameramen and women are out filming house fires and whatnot.
So there's people on their phones but checking in what
is this what is this news?
Speaker 2 (04:44):
Is it good news?
Speaker 1 (04:45):
Bad news?
Speaker 3 (04:45):
Yeah? And so it was a woman called Bev and
again she read from a statement. She said, you know,
the news is coming in and this was happening in
other newsrooms as well, so the Brisbane newsroom was affected
as well. They went to Sydney, you know your jobs
will be will be done out of Melbourne and then
they said you've got six weeks and you don't have
(05:06):
to go on air tonight. But all of us, and
I think it just goes to the strength of the
team and why I love that job so much. All
of us went, nah, we're gonna show them what they're
going to miss out on. And for the next six weeks,
we're going to turn up and we're going to read
the news and we're just gonna we're just going to
get through the next that night and the next six weeks.
Speaker 1 (05:24):
So you were running on the strength of sticking it
up the bosses.
Speaker 3 (05:30):
Yeah, I just thought I could have walked. And I
know that there was some there was a presenter in
Sydney who just packed her stuff that night and left
and didn't ever come back. But I was like, no,
I love this job and I love this team, and
I'm going to do it every single night that I
have the opportunity to do it.
Speaker 2 (05:45):
The audio that we just played, I got Goose's at
the end when you said good night, Because saying good
night for that very final time for something that you
had done for many years, what sort of why?
Speaker 3 (05:55):
Yeah, So every night I would just my slide off.
I mean, it's not it's not revolutionary, it's not like
you know, it's not like stay classy Sandy again. But
I just say enjoy your evening, good night, and that's
and then I and I realized that that was going
to be the last time that that I said it.
And as I said, I never watched that video back.
I never listened to that audio back because and hearing
it then, just even though was five years ago, it
(06:16):
just stirred it all up again.
Speaker 2 (06:17):
Why is that? What does it make you feel?
Speaker 3 (06:19):
I just I loved that job so much and it
was all I wanted to be as a journalist. I just,
you know, reading the news is the ultimate. And I
think I also, I mean, what put it in perspective
for me though, is at the end of the day,
it's just a job. Because it broke in the news
during the day and I hadn't had a chance. Obviously,
I told my husband, but I didn't want to tell
my kids, who are at school. I wanted to be
able to sit them down at the end of the day.
And because it had broken on the news, somebody went
(06:42):
up to Grace, my eldest at high school, and said,
I just heard about your mum. I'm so sorry. I
hope you're okay. But for a second Grace thought I
was dead. She actually thought that something had happened to me,
that there had been an accident. So as soon as
the friend said she's lost her job, where I was like, oh,
that's okay, So I was like, okay, well, it could
be worse. But I think for me it was just
(07:03):
that And you're the same, Max, and I think everybody
in the media is we give our heart and soul
to that job. And I had three young kids. I
probably prioritized my job a lot of time over my kids.
And then, you know, when Paramount in New York looked
at a list of names, I just put a name
the line through my name. I didn't care that I
went back. You know, well, I gave up breastfeeding when
(07:24):
Frankie was five months to go back to the news
desk because someone was trying to take my job. I
just felt like everything I'd worked for counting for nothing,
and they could just offshore the job to Melbourne without
even thinking about what it meant for Adelaide.
Speaker 1 (07:35):
And the worst bit about it was it ended up
being an absolutely atrocious decision because they saved a bit
of money on a few salaries. But literally the monday
after we stopped having a local bulletin in Adelaide, the
ratings plummeted.
Speaker 3 (07:48):
And I took and thank you Adelaide absolutely piloted.
Speaker 1 (07:53):
Honestly, we would go like fifty sixty seventy thousand a night,
and we it was sub ten on the Monday because
it was local news but presented out of Melbourne. And
they're like, well, we don't want it.
Speaker 3 (08:04):
And then I felt sorry for you guys because there
was an existing team there, still doing your bad every
day and no one was watching.
Speaker 1 (08:10):
It has taken us five years like now to get
back to a point where we do have local news
and people have only just realized that it is completely
local again for everyone to be like, oh okay, I
can watch them again, like the damage that they did,
and I.
Speaker 3 (08:22):
Think they underestimated Adelaide and how parochial we are and
now we don't want someone from interstate mispronouncing our goddamn suburbs.
Speaker 2 (08:30):
You are still a TV queen, You are an icon
in Adelaide.
Speaker 1 (08:33):
We love you.
Speaker 2 (08:33):
You're part of the mixed family.
Speaker 1 (08:34):
Now, oh can over and I'm sorry.
My Heart podcasts here more mixed one or two point
three podcasts playlists and listen live on the free iHeart app.
Speaker 2 (00:17):
Beck Morse is filling in for Haley Pearson and you
might know Beck Morse from Channel ten's News at five.
Speaker 1 (00:26):
Beck hosted the Channel ten News for fourteen years. I
remember watching Beck with George Denikian.
Speaker 3 (00:32):
When you were in your mother's womb.
Speaker 1 (00:34):
Honestly, when I was in high school watching Beck on
the news with George Denikian, and she was, of course
like the face of that and one of the most
iconic faces in South Australia for those fourteen years. And
then I started working at ten and one day in
what year was it, Rebecca.
Speaker 3 (00:51):
It was twenty twenty, twenty twenty.
Speaker 1 (00:54):
It all came crumbling down on just a very nondescript
day in the middle of the week.
Speaker 2 (01:00):
Yeah, it was.
Speaker 3 (01:02):
I think we've got you about the audio from the
from that last bulletion, we're going to read it. So firstly,
I just like to acknowledge and thank my colleagues who
are also finishing up today, including the crew that works
behind the scenes, all you guys hair and makeup every
night to put this bullet into air. I consider myself
incredibly lucky to have had a job that I love,
(01:24):
in a team that I love for more than fourteen years,
and I leave just grateful for that. Thank you to
my family for their support. Apologies in advance. I'm now
in charge of the.
Speaker 1 (01:34):
Cooking and look.
Speaker 3 (01:35):
Finally, and most importantly, to all of the South Australians
who have tuned in to get their news from us
over that time, thank you and good night.
Speaker 2 (01:52):
Bay.
Speaker 1 (01:56):
Oh God of crying again.
Speaker 3 (01:58):
I haven't listened to that since I watched it back.
So that little scream at the end was they brought
my kids in to give me a hug and I
didn't know they were going to be there. And yeah,
there are a lot of people we lost their job
that night, and a lot of people who lose their job,
you know, in a job that they love every day.
So you know, if you have lost a job and
being made redundant, I know how you feel, and it's
it's not a fun time.
Speaker 1 (02:16):
Yours is in the public eye, though, So let's talk
about that day that you found out, because I remember
that was like an earth shattering day in the newsroom.
You and I were sending some texts in the morning,
I was like, what is going on? Something's going on
in your life without revealing it to me, And then
Kate Freeburn called me and gave me the news and
why what so what happened to your So.
Speaker 3 (02:35):
I think anyone who works in the media knows that
when things are about to change, you usually get a
bit of a whisper, like you might know that a
meeting's gone in your calendar, or that there are some
job cuts or reviews, or this was completely out of
the blue. I was completely blind started. I was working
at SAFM at the time, and I would have like
an hour in between going to the two jobs. So
I was just across the road in a coffee shop
(02:56):
and an O two number came up on my phone
and I usually don't answer O two numbers because it's usually,
you know, someone trying to sell you something. But I
just went, I'm going to pick this up. And it
was our big boss, Ross, who did the contracts. You'd
only hear from me once every two years, or sometimes
he'd come into the newsroom and shout you a coffee
h So he said, Rebecca, it's Ross here, and I
(03:19):
just remember my whole body just going numb. And cold,
because I'm like, he's not calling me to see how
I'm doing on this random day. And then and I
guess they have legal requirements when they're about to sack
someone that they and has happened to me recently, so
they have a script that they read from. And so
he just said Channel ten is undergoing a restructure and
(03:40):
under that restructure, you will no longer have a role.
And then I just went silent. And then he said
that there's going to be a staff meeting at I
think it was ten or something if you could not
tell anyone before that time, because a lot of other
people are going to lose their jobs today, so just
come in to the staff room. So I just hung up,
(04:02):
and I was in the coffee shop. As I ran
out of the coffee shop and it was in this
alleyway and I just like pressed my back against the
wall and just started And then I was worried about
I didn't know who else was going to lose their job.
So basically, they'd made a decision to centralize the news
in Melbourne, so a lot of reporters were going, all
our production staff were going. And yes, so then I
went into work and everyone knew the meeting was happening,
(04:25):
and it was a it was a zoom. So Max,
do you remember.
Speaker 1 (04:27):
That it's stunk like there was people who because obviously
a lot of people are out trying to do their
job still on the road and at press conferences and
cameramen and women are out filming house fires and whatnot.
So there's people on their phones but checking in what
is this what is this news?
Speaker 2 (04:44):
Is it good news?
Speaker 1 (04:45):
Bad news?
Speaker 3 (04:45):
Yeah? And so it was a woman called Bev and
again she read from a statement. She said, you know,
the news is coming in and this was happening in
other newsrooms as well, so the Brisbane newsroom was affected
as well. They went to Sydney, you know your jobs
will be will be done out of Melbourne and then
they said you've got six weeks and you don't have
(05:06):
to go on air tonight. But all of us, and
I think it just goes to the strength of the
team and why I love that job so much. All
of us went, nah, we're gonna show them what they're
going to miss out on. And for the next six weeks,
we're going to turn up and we're going to read
the news and we're just gonna we're just going to
get through the next that night and the next six weeks.
Speaker 1 (05:24):
So you were running on the strength of sticking it
up the bosses.
Speaker 3 (05:30):
Yeah, I just thought I could have walked. And I
know that there was some there was a presenter in
Sydney who just packed her stuff that night and left
and didn't ever come back. But I was like, no,
I love this job and I love this team, and
I'm going to do it every single night that I
have the opportunity to do it.
Speaker 2 (05:45):
The audio that we just played, I got Goose's at
the end when you said good night, Because saying good
night for that very final time for something that you
had done for many years, what sort of why?
Speaker 3 (05:55):
Yeah, So every night I would just my slide off.
I mean, it's not it's not revolutionary, it's not like
you know, it's not like stay classy Sandy again. But
I just say enjoy your evening, good night, and that's
and then I and I realized that that was going
to be the last time that that I said it.
And as I said, I never watched that video back.
I never listened to that audio back because and hearing
it then, just even though was five years ago, it
(06:16):
just stirred it all up again.
Speaker 2 (06:17):
Why is that? What does it make you feel?
Speaker 3 (06:19):
I just I loved that job so much and it
was all I wanted to be as a journalist. I just,
you know, reading the news is the ultimate. And I
think I also, I mean, what put it in perspective
for me though, is at the end of the day,
it's just a job. Because it broke in the news
during the day and I hadn't had a chance. Obviously,
I told my husband, but I didn't want to tell
my kids, who are at school. I wanted to be
able to sit them down at the end of the day.
And because it had broken on the news, somebody went
(06:42):
up to Grace, my eldest at high school, and said,
I just heard about your mum. I'm so sorry. I
hope you're okay. But for a second Grace thought I
was dead. She actually thought that something had happened to me,
that there had been an accident. So as soon as
the friend said she's lost her job, where I was like, oh,
that's okay, So I was like, okay, well, it could
be worse. But I think for me it was just
(07:03):
that And you're the same, Max, and I think everybody
in the media is we give our heart and soul
to that job. And I had three young kids. I
probably prioritized my job a lot of time over my kids.
And then, you know, when Paramount in New York looked
at a list of names, I just put a name
the line through my name. I didn't care that I
went back. You know, well, I gave up breastfeeding when
(07:24):
Frankie was five months to go back to the news
desk because someone was trying to take my job. I
just felt like everything I'd worked for counting for nothing,
and they could just offshore the job to Melbourne without
even thinking about what it meant for Adelaide.
Speaker 1 (07:35):
And the worst bit about it was it ended up
being an absolutely atrocious decision because they saved a bit
of money on a few salaries. But literally the monday
after we stopped having a local bulletin in Adelaide, the
ratings plummeted.
Speaker 3 (07:48):
And I took and thank you Adelaide absolutely piloted.
Speaker 1 (07:53):
Honestly, we would go like fifty sixty seventy thousand a night,
and we it was sub ten on the Monday because
it was local news but presented out of Melbourne. And
they're like, well, we don't want it.
Speaker 3 (08:04):
And then I felt sorry for you guys because there
was an existing team there, still doing your bad every
day and no one was watching.
Speaker 1 (08:10):
It has taken us five years like now to get
back to a point where we do have local news
and people have only just realized that it is completely
local again for everyone to be like, oh okay, I
can watch them again, like the damage that they did,
and I.
Speaker 3 (08:22):
Think they underestimated Adelaide and how parochial we are and
now we don't want someone from interstate mispronouncing our goddamn suburbs.
Speaker 2 (08:30):
You are still a TV queen, You are an icon
in Adelaide.
Speaker 1 (08:33):
We love you.
Speaker 2 (08:33):
You're part of the mixed family.
Speaker 1 (08:34):
Now, oh can over and I'm sorry.
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