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I left the country soon after the election to enjoy a European summer – a very hot one, it turned out. While I was away the ABC hit the news when Antoinette Lattouf won her case against her unfair dismissal by the ABC, and again with the release of the Special Envoy's Plan to Combat Antisemitism. Comments on the plan are included in this newsletter.
ABC Friends wrote about the Lattouf case several times over the past 18 months and what we said then remains relevant. We:
- Called on ABC senior management to guarantee a safe environment within which staff can do good journalism
- Said the ABC board should state unequivocally that it does not and will not play a role in staff management or editorial decisions.
- Recommended that complaints made directly to the Chair be referred to the ABC’s standard complaints processes so the public can be satisfied that no individual or group is given special treatment.
Hugh Marks' early response to the judgment was welcome.
“Regardless of the outcome today, it’s clear the matter was not handled in line with our values and expectations. We also let down our staff and audiences, and this failure has caused understandable concern among the public and inside the organisation."
Justice Rangiah concluded that the ABC contravened the Fair Work Act in terminating Lattouf because under the ACT, political views are not a valid reason for dismissal. The challenge for the ABC is to determine how the Fair Work Act can co-exist with the ABC’s statutory obligation to ensure impartiality in its journalism.
The UTS Centre for Media Transition (CIMT) addressed this issue last month, concluding that: "Justice Rangiah may have inadvertently enlivened a conversation between those who have staunchly upheld a traditional approach to impartiality and a new wave of journalists who want journalism done differently. It’s a conversation we need to have in good faith."
I've also been struck by Christiane Amanpour's stated position, which she reached after covering the terrible siege of Sarajevo and Serbian ethnic cleansing in Bosnia.
“People don't understand that objectivity actually means pursuing the truth,” she says. “But you get there by giving all sides a hearing, which doesn’t mean treating all sides equally - then you are an accomplice in these extreme situations.”
"I’ve never subscribed to this idea that truth is subjective, because it’s empirical, evidentiary, and factual."
This debate is far from over.
In the meantime, ABC Friends will continue to lobby the government on the platform we presented during the election, with an early emphasis on ensuring that the government:
- Implements its News Bargaining Incentive to ensure large digital platforms contribute to the sustainability of news media in Australia
- Urgently commits to continue funding the ABC in the Pacific through the Pacific Security and Engagement Initiative, which is set to expire this year
- Implements the findings from the Review of Options to support the National Broadcasters' Independence, which the government initiated in its last term
We hope you'll continue to support us in this work.
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