The news editors at three Brisbane television stations have been summarily dismissed after missing what is arguably the story of the year if not the decade.

I can reveal from my impeccable sources at each of these newsrooms that work colleagues jeered and slow hand-clapped the three men – one with over 20 years seniority – as they collected their belongings and were escorted by security from their respective work places.

And their glaring oversight that showed their complete lack of news sense? That they had completely missed the major news broken over at Nine News Queensland last night that Wally Lewis had turned 65 and moves were afoot to have his birthday declared a public holiday in Queensland.

I’ve spoken exclusively to all the sacked news editors but the one at the Australian Broadcasting Corporation’s South Bank studios in Brisbane was the most contrite.

The former newsman told me on the condition of anonymity: “My staff alerted me just after 6pm of the Nine scoop and being a 7pm bulletin, we could have hastily cobbled something together using file footage of Wally. It’s my bad.”

The news editor at Seven News was also full of self-blame.

“Nine News Queensland had a second amazing scoop that it was also the birthday of Robert Irwin from Australia Zoo and ran hard with his announcement that he was available to be the new James Bond in that monster film franchise if the producers were interested.

“I might have survived missing one of those two great scoops but not both.”

The senior newsman let go at the Ten Network made no excuses for his lack of news sense, even though his bulletin ran an hour earlier at 5pm.

“I had all bloody day to get my reporters to hunt down those two great stories and I fucked up. Plain and simple.”

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