It takes a certain kind of chutzpah to use an adverse finding against you as a springboard for an “exclusive” story, but that is what Sky News Australia did when the media watchdog caught presenter Rowan Dean pushing climate denial.
An Australian Communications and Media Authority investigation found four segments on Dean’s Outsiders tried found four segments on Dean’s Outsiders tried to undermine climate science and play down the threat of global heating on the Great Barrier Reef.
Viewers of Outsiders’ Weather and Ice Age Watch were told the reef was “looking fantastic” and that the “Australian Maritime Institute [sic]” had said “there’s never been so much coral”, a claim which Acma said breached its news code covering accuracy and fairness.
Sky News responded to the release of the investigation not by addressing the substance of the breach but with an “exclusive” story targeting the source of the complaints: “media activist” Kevin Rudd, who was the chair of Australians for a Murdoch Royal Commission (AMRC) before he handed the gig over to Malcolm Turnbull. Sky’s report blamed it all on Rudd’s “politically motivated” campaign against News Corp.
“The former prime minister used a taxpayer-funded adviser to submit 80 complaints about 10 episodes of Sky News Australia’s Outsiders program, which were broadcast between October and December 2021,” the report said.
“Following a lengthy investigation by the broadcast media regulator, 90 per cent (72) of Mr Rudd’s complaints were unsubstantiated.”
A spokesperson for Acma told Weekly Beast: “Acma did not dismiss 90% of the allegations.
“As much of the content across the programs was repeated, there were recurring concerns raised in the 80 allegations … [and we] looked at all 80 allegations and selected a sample to formally investigate against the relevant codes of practice. We did not come to a view on whether or not those matters which were not investigated complied with the codes of practice.”
The investigation of licensee Foxtel, which is responsible for the channel’s content, found a breach of the industry codes for fairness and for failing to distinguish opinion from fact, which govern both subscription and free TV, because Outsiders is also seen on some regional broadcasters.
The Australian Communications and Media Authority foolishly allowed itself to be used as a vehicle for Ambassador to the US Kevin Rudd’s “vindictive crusade,” according to Sky News host Andrew Bolt.https://t.co/45jHgWMHpw
— Sky News Australia (@SkyNewsAust) April 26, 2023
That night Andrew Bolt was there to back up the company line, claiming on After Dark that the authority “foolishly allowed itself to be used as a vehicle” for Rudd’s “vindictive crusade”.
“Global warming is grossly exaggerated … and one of the worst panic merchants, of course, has been Kevin Rudd and shame now on Acma for letting Kevin Rudd use that authority for his vendetta against us for pointing this out,” he said.
Humphries’ final performance
With exquisite timing SBS will screen a new season of Who Do You Think You Are? featuring an episode on the late Barry Humphries on Tuesday at 7.30pm.
The Australian comedian and actor best known for his creations Dame Edna Everage and Sir Les Patterson died on Saturday aged 89.
The SBS programming coup was unintentional as the 14th season was already scheduled for 2 May.
In the episode Humphries visit Wiltshire, Kent, Westminster and Hackney to discover his 18th century ancestors were involved in a royal scandal. It was Humphries’ final TV appearance.
ABC’s ‘cement ceiling’
The ABC’s pay dispute, which led to industrial action earlier this year, has been settled with staff voting this week for a new deal: 94.4% of staff voted yes to an enterprise bargaining offer of an increase of 11% over three years, backdated to October 1 last year, plus a $1,500 bonus.
But simmering anger over some staffers being stuck on the middle grades because of a glut of senior employees boiled over in the form of an emotional email sent by a departing journalist to everyone at Radio National.
The email addressed the “deeply unfair” system which means staff cannot move from band 6 to band 7 without “very high approval” because there are too many senior producers. “At RN there was a F*ing cement ceiling for anyone born after 1972,” she wrote. “Yes I know that’s snarky. I know It’s hardly the fault of older colleagues that they won the demographic lottery.”
The departing journo said the “toxic” atmosphere of unfair pay grades was creating psychological damage and humiliation and she urged colleagues to “set a timeline and leave” because they would never be able to afford to buy a house in an eastern state on ABC wages. The ABC declined to comment.
More cuts at News Corp
The axe continues to fall at News Corp Australia with at least four editorial staff being made redundant this week at the Australian, including the editor of the Australian’s monthly WISH magazine and the weekly Luxury & Lifestyle newsletter David Meagher. The redundancies were not voluntary.
The Australian’s cull is on top of the 23 editorial staff the Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance has identified across the group that are facing redundancy. Weekly Beast understands the figure is now as high as 35. The company was directed to cut one in 20 staff at its local operations in February after Rupert Murdoch’s global company posted a 47% decline in earnings in its news media division and lower quarterly revenue overall.
Far right reporting risks
The Centre for Resilient and inclusive Societies (Cris) is an independent thinktank that researches, among other things, racism, societal division and extremism. The centre has released a short paper about media reporting on far-right extremism which identifies how the far right uses the mainstream media to amplify its message and urges media to handle the subject with care.
While no outlet is immune from being co-opted for far right ideological messaging an in-depth study of social media posts found some outlets were more popular that others.
Some domains are shared more often and opinion pieces and editorials are often shared by the far right groups on Facebook and on the fringe social media site Gab, a qualitative analysis found.
Reporting on far-right #extremism without amplifying far-right narratives is a tricky journalistic challenge. pic.twitter.com/M4qQxrd7fL
— Centre for Resilient and Inclusive Societies (@CRISconsortium) April 27, 2023
“In these cases, the opinions expressed in the mainstream media output appear sufficiently aligned with far-right narratives that they were simply shared to convey an ideological message – without reframing or adding any further ideological spin in the post,” the researchers said.
However, online users would post neutral or balanced articles too, with “additional commentary to emphasise their ideological message”.
Even critical news reporting from more left-leaning outlets, for example about government wrongdoing, was “co-opted to legitimise a more fundamental ideological anti-government message”.
When it comes to reporting on far-right activities media are urged to exercise caution. Researchers say the outcry after the appearance of far-right figure Blair Cottrell on Sky News in 2018 and on Triple J TV in 2016, led to a change in attitude.
Prominent white supremacists are “no longer treated by Australia mainstream media as legitimate voices that deserve to be heard in broader public debates”, they say.
“At the core are considerations on how to balance the newsworthiness and the risk of normalising or amplifying harmful messaging and inadvertently helping with far-right recruitment efforts,” the researchers said.
SBS looks west
The ABC is not the only public broadcaster bound to make the big trek to the western suburbs of Sydney in the near future.
The government has launched a feasibility study into moving SBS’s Sydney headquarters and studios from the northern suburb of Artarmon, where it has been since 1993, to western Sydney.
The minister for communications, Michelle Rowland, announced this week that a committee had been formed to look at the business case, benefits and costs of moving.
While the ABC will move 300 staff to Parramatta in 2024, SBS will consider the feasibility study next year before any plans are made.
The SBS managing director, James Taylor, addressed staff with the news. “I appreciate that for some of you who have made significant choices based on our Artarmon location, this process may feel unsettling,” he said. “Conversely, there may be others who feel the project could lead to an opportunity to work closer to home, family or childcare.”
“We will be approaching this project constructively, maintain an open mind and will of course keep you updated. SBS is nothing without our people, and there will be consultation with you as this project progresses.”
The ABC faced a mini revolt when some Radio National veterans refused to move, resulting in a change to the original plan to allow the unit to remain in Ultimo.
