Bad press: the Rebel Wilson debacle that rocked SMH to its core

It was around 5pm on Tuesday, on the sixth floor of a shiny new office block in North Sydney, that a meeting the like of which no media executive wants to have took place.

The editorial misstep had quickly spread globally, prompting stories in the New York Times and a rebuke from Whoopi Goldberg on The View. Even Star Trek actor George Takei and Irish pop singer Ronan Keating chimed in.

There was no video feed of the meeting on Tuesday so only those in the office could attend. Some who did have spoken to Guardian Australia about the shockwaves that went through the newsroom as the story went viral.

How did a short piece in a gossip column lead to these tumultuous events, events which saw the paper publish three apologies in as many days?

Bath said there was a process people went through to reveal their sexuality and it was an intensely personal and vulnerable time.

Shields responded to the email by telling staff his door was always open to anyone who had concerns.

While there was widespread support for Shields at the meeting, the newsrooms of the SMH and the Age in general seem to be split between those who have sympathy for Hornery and Shields, both hard-working and principled journalists, and those who say the incident reveals Shields, 36, is out of his depth and has made a series of mistakes since he was appointed editor.

Shields was a surprise appointment in December and replaced a popular editor, Lisa Davies, who resigned abruptly in October after five years.

While some colleagues say Shields has had a rough start in a tough role, another says the number of leaks indicate disquiet.

The inappropriate tone of the PS column, which got through all the usual editorial checks, was one thing, but the delay in apologising for it turned the incident into the biggest journalism scandal at the paper since Herald columnist Paul Sheehan was suspended six years ago.

Her sentiments appear to convey the way Nine management is thinking.