Koch did not agree with the network’s decision to pay Corby $2 million for a tell-all interview following her release from prison in Bali and let viewers know it this morning.
“I reckon we should have nothing to do with her as a network,” Koch said on Sunrise.
“I totally disagree with paying a convicted drug smuggler $2 million. I know Indonesia is corrupt and all that sort of stuff, but she is convicted.”
His comments have revealed discontent among Channel Seven staff about the company’s actions in securing one of the biggest chequebook journalism deals in Australian television history.
Koch’s former Sunrise co-host Mel Doyle has also said she is uncomfortable with the situation.
“Look, it’s one of those really strange ones. Yeah, she is a convicted criminal, so that doesn’t sit comfortably with me,” she told Triple M from Bali.
“But there is such a fascination with her and her story. Even if people don’t like her, they still listen, they still read it, they are still intrigued by it.”
The issue has pitted Channel Seven’s stars against one another as journalist Mike Willesee has hit back amidst the furore and denied the figure of $2 million.
“I don’t know what the figure is but that’s crazy,” Willesee says.
“Way silly. It’s not up there at all. I don’t know what the deal is but I would very much like to interview her – and I hope to but I haven’t seen her.”
Koch returned to the subject later in the show, asking viewers “How would you like to win some Mega Cool cash without spending time in an overseas jail?” in the show’s cash giveaway competition.
He has since taken to Twitter on the subject, where the Treasurer Joe Hockey has praised his stance. “Well done @kochie_online ! It sends all the wrong messages on drugs for a convicted trafficker to be paid for her story.”
