The reporters themselves were pretty good and impartial, the panel on the other hand seemed skewed more towards the yes camp.
while I did see Lidia Thorpe on the panel for a while and live crosses/interviews with Michael Mansell and Kerrynne Liddle that got considerable air time, ABC and the National Press Club have both commented that there have been challenges in securing No campaigners to appear during the referendum. Maybe they tried to get panellists and just couldnât.
There was also a recent article featuring Laura Tingle that explained the checks and balances and tracking of airtime that reporters have to jump through to management.
I am not saying the ABC is perfect by any means but more often than not it appears to cop criticism from both sides of a debate to say the other side is getting favourable treatment, which probably implies that it is landing somewhere in the middle, as it should.
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Thatâs fair, Iâm usually one to defend the ABC in the past but I must admit Iâve been a bit put off ever since the comments made in the coronation coverage.
(thanks for moving this into the News Coverage thread, I was 50/50 on which one it belonged to)
A bit more context behind Triple Jâs coverage earlier, turns out there was more than just âTreatyâ on a loop:
Having read the full speech, most of it is actually reasonable and his disappointment understandable.
This one line here though which I have no doubt will be publicised widely though was very unwise, it does come across as a bit of a threat and if taken the wrong way could potentially incite violence. Doesnât also help with stereotypes much either.
We ainât licking our wounds today, weâre sharpening our spears.
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From ABC
Full response provided to Michael Koziol and Nine Newspapers:
The quotes provided by Nine Newspapers at this stage are incomplete and lack context. Laura Tingle says she disputes Nineâs overall characterisation of what she was saying and says she was endeavouring to defend the ABCâs coverage of the referendum to date.
As is standard practice for the ABC, programs have been tracking interview requests, interviews and press conferences during the campaign. This is to keep track of teamsâ output and interview requests. It assists them to ensure a diversity of perspectives is presented, but does not give a precise picture of balance across the ABC. Its role is not to direct coverage and there is no requirement for âYesâ and âNoâ views to be exactly equal. There has never been a policy to not interview a âYesâ proponent due to a refusal by a âNoâ proponent.
Laura Tingle: âAn audience member at the David Marr book function asked me why the ABC was âbiased against the Yes caseâ or âgave too much time to the No caseâ. My answer to her sought to refute that suggestion but also to explain the dilemmas and frustrations of providing balanced coverage in a campaign when one side of the debate was not available, and where many wild claims have been made.
âThis is an issue that I think is an exceptionally difficult one for the media generally, not just the ABC, and not just in terms of this campaign, at a time when political messaging is splintering into social media messaging, and the old rules of political campaigning are changing.
âThe ABC has provided unprecedented levels of coverage from around the country of the referendum campaign, particularly from Indigenous voices, and Iâm very proud of the work my colleagues have done in often very stressful circumstances.â
Justin Stevens, ABC Director, News: âThe ABCâs coverage of the Voice to Parliament referendum has been outstanding â comprehensive, informative and reflecting the full range of perspectives in the community. It has been elevated by our incredible First Nations journalists playing a leading role. ABC programs, including 7.30, have comprehensively canvassed both âYesâ and âNoâ perspectives and produced excellent, impartial coverage for all audiences.
âWe have done our job as the national public broadcaster: presenting a diversity of perspectives impartially; facilitating a respectful discussion and debate; providing explanation and context; reporting the key stories accurately and fairly; investigating issues and bringing them to the publicâs attention; and delivering compelling, original storytelling to our audiences from around the country.
âOur coverage has at times been criticised by both the âYesâ and the âNoâ campaigns for overly representing or âplatformingâ the other. In reality, ABC coverage heard from, scrutinised and interrogated both. We will continue to do this on voting day, and beyond, without fear or favour.â
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Speaking in Senate Estimates yesterday, SBS Managing Director James Taylor confirmed the broadcaster had received 8 complaints under its code of practice.