ABC News breached its editorial guidelines of accuracy and impartiality in a radio report about a community meeting in Alice Springs, the ABC ombudsman has found in her first report.
The ombudsman, media executive Fiona Cameron, was appointed in late September and is independent from ABC News.
The report on the community forum at the Alice Springs Convention Centre quoted an interviewee who told the ABC the meeting was a “total white supremacist fest” with a “scary” vibe.
It also stated that “hundreds of people” gathered for community meeting, but subsequent coverage reported thousands were there, the ombudsman’s report said.
The ombudsman’s report was published on Tuesday ahead of ABC managing director David Anderson appearing at Senate estimates.
Anderson told estimates he knew “we had a problem” when he heard AM.
“It should not have gone to air,” he said.
“I do think that the systems and processes we have in place did not pick up the issue with that story before it was included in the AM package.
Anderson said the reporter had too much asked of them that day, and had to file another report for TV’s 7.30. He said the ABC does not have an Indigenous reporter based in either Darwin or Alice Springs. However, the ABC later corrected that statement, saying there are two Indigenous reporters in Darwin.
The ABC’s reporting on the Alice Springs meeting has been the target of criticism from the Coalition, including opposition leader Peter Dutton, who said the ABC stories were “doing a disservice to everybody in that local community”.
Matt Paterson, the mayor of Alice Springs, said the report had misrepresented what took place at the town hall.
The ombudsman said she received 19 complaints, and most were concerned that the AM report “presented only the views of those attendees who claimed the meeting had been racist, despite a range of different perspectives being expressed at the event”.
“On review of the perspectives included in the report, it is considered that the report presented one critical perspective on the event, that it was racist, without identifying the range of other concerns and issues expressed by attendees,” the ombudsman said in relation to the impartiality finding.
“The ombudsman considers that this had the effect of unduly favouring one perspective over all others.”
The ABC originally defended the 31 January AM program report, but later added an editor’s note saying it was incomplete and left the original story online.
“ABC News apologises to audiences for providing an incomplete picture of the event in this instance,” the ABC said.
However, on 10 February, after a review by ABC News, the story was re-edited and re-posted with different perspectives from the community meeting added.
ABC News accepted the ombudsman’s findings and said the program accidentally conflated the number of expected attendees that had been announced – about 200 – with the actual attendance – roughly 2,000.
“Attendance in the thousands represents a materially different proportion of the population than attendance in the hundreds,” the ombudsman said.
Cameron was appointed by the ABC board after an independent review found the public broadcaster’s internal complaints unit was “efficient” but could benefit from the addition of someone to handle appeals and reviews.
The former authority member at the Australian Communications and Media Authority (Acma) and Coalition media adviser heads an expanded ABC editorial complaints unit and will have the power to review a complaint finding.
In its response to the report the ABC said it acknowledges the mistakes which were due to “logistical and editorial management breakdowns”.
“ABC News management takes responsibility for the AM story going to air in that form and stands by the reporter, who provided important perspectives on complicated issues,” the broadcaster said.
