Senior figures at the ABC have come out in staunch opposition to a “subjective” ruling from the media regulator, which found it had misled its audience in a two-part Four Corners program probing Fox News’ coverage of former US president Donald Trump.
ABC news analysis and investigations director Justin Stevens took to the broadcaster’s PM radio show on Wednesday to defend what he called an “outstanding piece of journalism”, and query the “subjective” nature of the Australian Communications and Media Authority’s (ACMA) findings.
“We think it sets a precedent which could place undue pressure on content makers when selecting an editorial focus for fear of potential breach,” he said.
“The ACMA effectively criticise the ABC with a subjective view of what they believe we ought to have published editorially, and the things they imply ought to have been included would not have been good journalism in our view, and nor is it their role to express a subjective view of what we publish editorially.”
After a year-long investigation prompted by a Fox News complaint, ACMA found the series, which was titled “Fox and the Big Lie” and aired in 2021, had omitted key information “in a way that materially misled the audience”.
The regulator also concluded in a 65-page report released on Wednesday that one interview subject wasn’t properly informed about the way she’d later be framed.
The report found that the series had left out key information in two instances: first, in relation to the role social media played in the January 6 2021 riots, and second, by omitting Fox’s censure of two presenters who appeared at a Trump rally in 2018.
The third breach of the broadcaster’s code of conduct came when Fox host Jeanine Pirro was approached for an interview outside Fox News headquarters in New York, without giving her the appropriate context.
“By omitting key information, the ABC did not give its audience the opportunity to make up their own minds about Fox News,” ACMA chair Nerida O’Loughlin said.
The investigation also found the program’s host, Sarah Ferguson, had used “emotive and strident language” to describe rioters at the US Capitol, who she called a “mob”. On other occasions, the watchdog found it inappropriate to describe Fox News hosts as “outrage generators” or the network as a “propaganda vehicle”.
Stevens stood by the language, which has been adopted by major news outlets such as The New York Times, The Washington Post, CNN, and even the BBC throughout their coverage of the riots last year.
“I’ve searched this before and the definition of mob is a large group of people, especially one that is disorderly or intent on causing trouble or violence,” he said. “So it’s completely unclear to me how the ACMA could assert that the crowd on January 6 at the Capitol building was not a mob.
“This was an extremely serious event in the democratic process in the US and calling what occurred there that day a ‘mob’ is factually accurate.”
Staff at the public broadcaster have remained broadly tight-lipped over the watchdog’s findings, save for Four Corners reporter Louise Milligan, who on Wednesday tweeted out against ACMA’s issue with the word “mob”, and Ferguson, who tweeted out links to the two-part series again, without comment.
Time for a clean out of ACMA. Or perhaps a complete replacement, like the AAT.
In a bizarre twist, the ACMA (undoubtedly the single most ineffective regulator) were given the task of setting up and regulating the National Self-Exclusion Register (of problem gamblers) by the previous government. One cannot avoid the conclusion that Morrison yet again wished to be seen to be doing something without having any actual effect. (Incidentally, the Legislation itself is so poorly drafted that it is not even internally consistent)
The ACMA have precisely ZERO experience in the field of gambling (except acting as Murdoch’s go-to lapdog).
Consequently it comes as no surprise that they have done a deal to utilize software from a company whose shareholders simply cannot be identified (they could be the Mafia for all the ACMA know or care), which has as its basic model an arrangement which if rolled out would cause absolute chaos and crash betting markets Australia wide.
Despite a face-to-face meeting with them, where both the problems and a simple solution were canvassed, their response was that the “Deal had been done and there would be no changes contemplated”.
The level not only of ineptitude, but gross stupidity by the ACMA is beyond belief.
I presume Morrison drew his appointments to them from the apparently bottomless pit of gormless twits that comprise the LNP gene pool.
So time for a clear-out indeed…..
Time for a replacement body and a description of the members of the ACMA, so that each can be called to explain themselves to the person hearing the Murdoch SLLAP.
This could be fun.
You referring to the LNPCMA Stephen ?
https://www.directory.gov.au/portfolios/infrastructure-transport-regional-development-communications-and-arts/australian-communications-and-media-authority/australian-communications-and-media-authority-board
The Fox-friendly framing of the report does beg the question of who is on the board and why.
Only Nerida O’Loughlin, the Chair, has been appointed to the board during the term of the new Labor government. Several members of the ACMA board are also members of the ACCC.
I hope they’re not getting two payments for their dual roles. Expressly forbidden under APS rules (but breached more than once under the Liberals).
Outsourcing is also expressly forbidden under the APS Legislation………….
……..didn’t even slow down the LNP.
How true. If ACMA, to top all its other dodgy decisions, brazenly claims that the January 6th insurrectionists were not a mob, then ACMA is no longer fit for purpose. Not fit for some time, truth be known.
Absolutely laughable that the term mob was criticised. Did ACMA suggest a substitute? Perhaps ‘a gathering of 2,000 deeply concerned Trump voters intent on storming the Capitol, smashing windows, injuring over 130 police, vandalising offices & defecating in the Congress chamber.’ But, apparently, not a mob…
It begs the question of what other bizarre rulings ACMA has made which have gone under the public’s radar.
After the mob left the capitol they roamed the streets harrassing and beating up anyone they didn’t like the look of – eg african american or LGBTQ. They were exactly a mob – a horde of lawless bullies. What a stupid ruling. The ABC should offer to pay to have the dictionary definition of a mob tattooed on the back of the hand of anyone at ACMA who is still struggling with this concept.
Looked like a mob too me
When I watched it the first time, I thought it was high quality work. This ruling has reminded me it’s worth watching again. Thanks ACMA!!