The ABC is getting out of the business of factchecking politicians, and who can blame them?
A seven-year collaboration between RMIT and the broadcaster has ended abruptly, with the ABC telling the university it was withdrawing the $350,000 a year it contributed to the RMIT ABC Fact Check unit.
RMIT ABC Fact Check, which will end in June, has a brief to determine “the accuracy of claims by politicians, public figures, advocacy groups and institutions engaged in the public debate”.
The ABC’s decision to pull the plug comes after the broadcaster was caught up in a culture war between Sky News Australia and RMIT over factchecking claims during the voice referendum campaign.
Campaigners for a no vote including the Sky host Peta Credlin, the Liberal senator James Paterson and the rightwing thinktank the Institute for Public Affairs claimed RMIT FactLab – a separate operation from the RMIT ABC collaboration – was biased, and demanded Facebook remove it from its program which aims to tackle online misinformation.
Despite the distinction, The Australian reported that both the RMIT ABC Fact Check and RMIT FactLab departments “came under fire” when it was only the latter which was involved, and the story said Paterson had called for the ABC to stop “wasting taxpayers’ money”.
RMIT FactLab was suspended in August, but reinstated in November.
Some critics paid little heed to the distinction between RMIT FactLab and RMIT ABC Fact Check.
RMIT launched the fact check unit in partnership with the ABC in 2017 after the ABC Fact Check unit was axed in the wake of Coalition budget cuts.
In the 11 years the ABC has been involved in factchecking it has been a regular target of politicians, with ABC MDs being grilled about it in Senate estimates.
‘Not for the faint of heart’
Following the lead of the BBC’s Verify, which was set up to address the growing threat of disinformation, the ABC will now set up ABC News Verify, to verify “information in online communities”. It will be led by the ABC’s investigative journalism chief, Jo Puccini. But there is no mention of factchecking politicians’ claims as RMIT ABC Fact Check has done, labelling them variously “overblown”, “spin”, “splitting hairs” or “fanciful”.
The founding director of RMIT ABC Fact Check and RMIT FactLab, Russell Skelton, told Weekly Beast ABC Fact Check had an “unblemished” seven-year record and “fact check” had become a household term because of the work of the team.
That was a legacy “we will always be proud of”, he said.
“Factchecking is not for the faint of heart, and it’s been a privilege to have the courage and unwavering support of RMIT at our back,” he said.
“Since it was launched not a single verdict was overturned following a complaint.”
Unlimited space for Hubbl
When you have a new product to launch it helps if you have the enthusiastic cooperation of significant sections of the media. And so it was when the Foxtel Group launched Hubbl on Wednesday night and sparked an avalanche of coverage in the Murdoch press and Sky News Australia.
The headlines on dailytelegraph.com.au alone tell a story: “Foxtel launches revolutionary platform ‘Hubbl’ for TV and streaming”; “Forget Hamish and Andy: Duo takes on name change”; “Stars step out for Aussie streaming launch”; “Incredible new streaming service launches”; “Hubbl ‘revolution’ off to a flying start”; “Huge change coming to streaming”; “Hubbl to ‘reshape’ TV, with key apps under one roof”; “Foxtel reveals exciting new TV technology”; “Hubbl to simplify streaming experience”.
Not content with the guaranteed coverage in the News Corp outlets, Foxtel put on a media event at Mrs Macquarie’s Chair on Sydney harbour, which insiders say left not much change from $1m once guests were flown in from around the country and Hamish and Andy were paid for endorsing the new brand. (Even the line of rubbish bins facing the harbour were dressed for the occasion.)
Hamish and Andy, Channel Nine multimillionaire stars, have filmed seven TV commercials for Hubbl – the first time they have endorsed a commercial product together.
With a view of the Sydney Opera House, the Harbour Bridge and the city skyline, guests were shown a live demo of Hubbl on the giant outdoor cinema screen and Hamish dressed up as Hubbl in a giant foam box.
Demonstrating the importance of Hubbl to News Corp, even its global chief executive Robert Thomson was in the crowd, as well as The Australian boss Michael Miller, chair of the Herald & Weekly Times Penny Fowler, national executive editor Peter Blunden, CEO of Sky News Australia Paul Whittaker and Daily Telegraph editor Ben English.
Lachlan Murdoch, who was also in town for a News Corp board meeting, was not in attendance.
Free-to-air fights its corner
Hubbl’s chief executive, Patrick Delany, was keen to show off the collegiate spirit of the venture, with stars from free-to-air TV as well as Foxtel walking the blue carpet and network CEOs James Warburton (Seven), Beverley McGarvey (Ten) and James Taylor (SBS) among the guests.
Hubbl promises to put live TV, free-to-air and streaming on one easy-to-use device and both pay and free TV have embraced the product.
But just two days later the free-to-air mob were at odds with Delany over a different issue at a Senate committee examining draft legislation that is designed to guarantee local, free-to-air TV services are easy for audiences to find.
Delany has been campaigning against the bill, claiming it is an attempt by the government to control your TV.
On Friday morning the networks asked the government to reduce the “unjustifiable delay” in implementing the laws, which currently come into play only 18 months after the legislation passes.
Taylor told the senators SBS had been “threatened” by smart TV manufacturers that SBS On Demand would be hard to find on their devices if a fee was not paid.
All about the woke
The Institute of Public Affairs had an idiosyncratic take on the resignation of the Woolworths chief executive, Brad Banducci, days after a spectacular meltdown on the ABC’s Four Corners.
Banducci briefly walked away from the television interview after becoming frustrated during questions from reporter Angus Grigg about market power.
“The resignation of Woolworths CEO Brad Banducci is a warning to woke corporates and the elite director class to stop disrespecting mainstream values and running down Australia,” the IPA’s deputy executive director, Daniel Wild, claimed.
The IPA was furious the supermarket chain made a decision not to stock Australia Day merchandise in its stores.
Wild claimed mainstream Australians have “had a gutful of big corporates dividing our nation and denigrating our culture and history”.
“Credit must go to Peter Dutton who showed critical leadership, often lacking in Canberra, in holding Woolworths to account for their divisive intervention on a key cultural issue, and has been proven right to call for its boycott.”
Low-key farewell
Ita Buttrose held her final board meeting as chair of the ABC on Thursday, and dined with fellow board members in the evening ahead of her final day in the job on 6 March. But her long-planned farewell event, a four-hour cocktail function with invited guests, was postponed earlier in the month after invitations had gone out. The note said it had been postponed “due to unexpected circumstances”.
No date for a new event has been set but one is promised.
We are assured the event was not postponed due to ill health. The recent onslaught of bad press due to Antoinette Lattouf’s Fair Work claim is likely to have scared the horses. Buttrose’s departure after five years at the helm has been overshadowed by the controversy and an event celebrating her legacy may have been hijacked by negative press.
Meanwhile, the appointment of Kim Williams as chair has been signed off by the governor-general and he will take up the role in a fortnight.
