The boss of News Corp’s Australian operation, Michael Miller, has downplayed friction between his company’s commentators and staff at the ABC, who he said all do a “good job” of serving their audiences.
He was speaking on Sean Aylmer’s Fear & Greed podcast released on Monday, in response to questions about whether media companies are as political as readers think they are.
“I don’t know that our audiences see us as being as political as both media commentators and political commentators like to amplify,” Miller said, adding that News Corp and its major competitors at Nine and the ABC each reach a broad spectrum of readers through various brands.
“And so I don’t think it’s a bad thing that on any particular day, you’ve got a small handful of people at the ABC questioning News, and a small handful at News questioning the ABC. But in the majority, I think both organisations are doing a good job at serving their broader constituents.”
In late May, Miller defended how News Corp reported on the ABC’s coronation coverage, which drew broad criticism for its undue focus on Q+A host Stan Grant, who later cited a barrage of media criticism that “distorted” his words and drummed up racist social media commentary as reasons for taking extended leave from the broadcaster.
In the aftermath, ABC News boss Justin Stevens accused News Corp of targeting Grant and the ABC because it posed a threat to the publisher’s business model. “I regret not doing this sort of interview 10 days ago,” Stevens told ABC Melbourne’s Raf Epstein in a radio interview.
“The ABC needs to stop passing the buck and blaming others for its own internal problems,” Miller told The Australian the following day.
Tensions flared again late last month after the ABC announced it would cut some 120 jobs as a result of the largest restructure at the broadcaster in more than five years.
The ABC considered filing a formal complaint with the Australian Press Council over media reports in The Australian that cited anonymous quotes suggesting the broadcaster’s diversity efforts had compromised its news coverage, after political editor Andrew Probyn was made redundant.
In the Fear & Greed interview, Miller maintained most of the conflict has been overplayed by smaller publishers that don’t have “big audiences” but position themselves as “being alternatives” to the “mass broadcasters” and the “mass trusted media”.
“And I think that’s where the debate has kind of been amplified in recent years. I won’t name them, but [there are] those smaller publishers that are trying to carve a niche through positioning their bigger competitors against themselves.
“I understand the business model; I don’t particularly get enamoured by it, but it’s good that Australians have choice.”
Anyone want to buy a bridge? I have one for sale. Lovely views….
And little players like Crikey should give up all hope of ever playing an important role in the media landscape – to tell giant porkies on your front pages and get away with it, you have to be big and untouchable..!!
Both on the same side after years of the ‘Wrecking Crew’ and overpopulating the ABC with commercial media, business and LNP types?
Presently the public broadcaster seems intent on ceding, esp. regional, audience share to the commercial players, for their US mid western electoral strategy and narratives to spook the above median age.
“…and a small handful at News questioning the ABC.” Apart from the fact that the ‘small handful at News’ are using a very, very, very large megaphone to do so, does anyone else figure this for the understatement of the year?
It’ll be hard to beat, although some of the evidence at the Senate inquiry into the Egregious Four will give it a run for its money, except it probably won’t be reported by News, ABC or Nine.
Understatement?
Moderate, really, now that the Newscorpse troops are head quartered in the upper echelon of management of the ABC under the guise of a “re-structure” that has 2GB’s Ben Fordham’s brother-in-law David Speers as the “Political Editor” of the ABC.
Over the next few years we won’t be able to differentiate the warmed up Murdoch mash from the ABC, (check the Insiders lineup) because once there is a synchronization of the “Murdoch Truth” there won’t be a need for the ABC staff to have any qualifications at all.
A polarising media landscape – as different as yes or no, black or white, really.
What a load of horse manure Mr Miller- yours is a crusade against public broadcasting as has been carried on by Murdoch’s rabble in the US and the UK. The most democratic countries in the ‘Western’ world are Canada and New Zealand and they have no Murdoch!!!
What a load of horse manure Mr Miller- yours is a crusade against public broadcasting as has been carried on by Murdoch’s rabble in the US and the UK. The most democratic countries in the ‘Western’ world are Canada and New Zealand and they have no Murdoch!!!