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ABC to investigate Q & A “bias”

Do Tony Jones and the Q&A panel lean too far to the Left? ABC faces questions at a Senate committee.

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The ABC will investigate whether Q & A has a Left-leaning bias, following questions yesterday at a Senate estimates committee hearing.

“If you spoke to any Coalition MP – even those appear on it – they’d admit the program does lean to the Left,” Liberal National Party senator James McGrath told ABC managing director Mark Scott.

Scott told the committee he was willing to conduct a survey sample of the issues that are discussed on the program.

“It is not the first time I’ve heard that depiction,” he advised.

Amongst the other key points from yesterday’s hearing:

  • ABC is largely finished with its cuts to programming and editorial staff numbers with about 200 employees already out the door. There are still about 100 positions to go, mainly from back office operations.
  • ABC’s independent audience and consumer division is investigating complaints about aggressive post-budget interviews by ABC hosts Emma Alberici and Leigh Sales.
  • ABC will also close its online Arts Portal in 2016, shifting arts content to iview service and a “dedicated arts and culture vertical” in ABC News Online. Staff will continue to produce the same volume of arts content.
  • Mark Scott denied media reports he has sought to extend his tenure at the ABC and is due to finish his second five-year term in July 2016.

 

Source: Fairfax, News Corp, AFR

44 Responses

  1. l know the die hard LNP supporters have been brainwashed into believing this BS but these attacks on the ABC are designed to justify the massive funding cuts this government have made on the ABC and SBS. And lets not forget this government wants to control our media and is desperate to give Rupert Murdoch 100% control of it all.

    Soon we will be like Egypt where any journalist who reports anything negative about the government risks a lengthy jail term.

    The ABC will be under fire for their reporting on Barnaby Joyce’s involvement in the Gina RInehardt trust lawsuit but will get no kudos for the fluff piece today where Christine Forster laughingly told ABC radio that her brother was a fair, decent and generous man.

    Still laughing over that piece of rightwing bias BS.

  2. I have to agree that this is needed and in fact long overdue, Q&A used to be balanced, but somewhere around, let’s see Sept 9 2013 it began becoming an ad for the Labor and green parties.

    Regular guests from overseas to rubbish Australia, it’s government and its policies, allowing the crowd to “hijack” the broadcast, twice now, one even out the program off air mid show (since Abbotts election)
    Researchers who clearly either don’t research who is asking the questions and allowing student unions to hurl insults at govt ministers
    Van Badham as a regular guest…. Ugh

    The show has lost its way – for those who say “what about Bolt, Murdoch etc” well my friends, you and I only pay taxes to the ABC and put it to air, not Bolt, Murodch etc

    1. There have been numerous enquiries over ABC’s alleged bias.

      Where were you LNP supporters when the ABC screened that rightwing biased At home with Julia?

      You were probably laughing your heads off.

      One rule for LNP supporters and another rule for the rest of Australia.

      1. And where were the LNP people when Alan Jones said dreadful things regarding Julia Gillard and her father. Also the Juliar comments and the rest. No matter what people say about ABC bias, nothing will be as bad as the disgusting and growing right wing media in this country. If the LNP get their way and turn the ABC into a right wing organization then we are all stuffed.

    2. However the amount you pay to Murdoch owned media through other sources (Foxtel, newspapers, magazines, books, films etc) far far far outweighs the level of tax money that goes to the ABC

      1. The only thing Murdoch owns in Australia that is allowed to run its own race without interference from Murdoch himself, is Festival Records, because he has no interest in the music/recording industry, he’s too busy running his gutter trash sleaze-rags which are(laughing out loud) called Newspapers! By him maybe, not many others would call them that. Some may even go harder than I did. “Sleaze-rag” is mild compared to what others would call them.

    1. jonno – you’ll notice the LNP supporters had no problem whatsoever with the treatment Gillard and even Rudd got.

      Not one word of criticism about that wretched ‘At home with Julia’ and I bet they will be sitting back enjoying their $3000 bottles of Grange while watching Sarah Ferguson’s ‘Killing Season’ and the telemovie ‘The stalking of Julia Gillard’.

      Mark Scott will once again read the riot act to ABC staff in a desperate attempt to save his job.

      Sadly we all know that the LNP stacked ABC board will not renew his contract and replace him with another LNP puppet.

    2. The Media were just reporting what her own party fed them, including K Rudd.

      Honestly they have no one to blame but themselves, plus is Abbott getting better treatment? Basically interviewers clamoring over themselves to shout him down and interrupt when he is interviewed

  3. This Liberal mob claims to be the champion of freedom of speech. Bullshit! The ABC is the only media organisation in Oz not owned by avowed supporters of the LNP. Kill off the ABC and you kill diversity and alternate opinion forever. Be afraid, be very afraid.

  4. Oh goodness. Why do conservative governments have so much trouble with criticism.
    Another pointless review. Even funnier is the news today that Barnaby Joyce is siccing ACMA onto Kyle Sandilands for calling him names during an interview last week. We all better be careful, they’re watching us.

    1. Rarely take Kyle’s side in an interview, but if you listen to the full interview Sandilands had the better points. He sort of lost it out of frustration with Barnaby’s rubbish answers.

  5. I really can’t comment on current bias as I stopped watching current affairs on the ABC years ago.
    Guess why?
    You don’t need an inquiry guys, you just have to wonder how many like me have just voted with their feet (or remotes). There are lots of places to get unbiased news these days, we don’t have to be content with whatever line the ABC wants to push.

    1. Where do you suggest we go for unbiased News, the ABC is not biased you want bias watch 10,9,7 news or if you have SKY News now there is bias as Sky continues on its journey to be Australia,s version of Faux news

      1. What is a “sownder” – pardon my ignorance…. but dictionary.com didn’t help with it.
        We don’t actually have an aerial any more, we have a satellite dish.
        Do people still have TV aerials?

    2. So how many more UK independent review panels do we need to determine, again, that there’s no bias at the ABC? “There are lots of places to get unbiased news these days”. Alan Jones’ station 2GB (who also produce the news for 2UE, 2KY, 2CH and others), New Corp papers, Sky News, TEN, 9, 7?
      “There are lots of places to get unbiased news these days”. Such as? Um…still thinking…um….

      1. Oh yeah… here we go again! If it ain’t enough that people gripe about the ABC’s “perceived” left-wing bias on the ABC’s own Media Watch message board, they’re now doing it here as well. The ABC seems to be caught between a rock and a hard place! Right-wingers accuse them of being biased to the left and vice-versa! Poor ol’ ABC can’t take a trick.

    3. If you gave watching up before Howard installed his cronies on the ABC Board, you would have missed a definite move to the right in ABC’s news and caff for a while before it was allowed to return to the centre after Labor got into power.

      You would also have missed the many times that Rudd, Gillard, Rudd (again), plus Swan and a bunch of other Labor pollies were asked the hard questions, challenged on their responses, and cut-off from waffling or repeatedly spouting party mantra. You only have to watch someone like Leigh Sales now to see that she does her job without fear or favour, harrying politicians from both sides equally when required.

  6. Such a waste of valuable time with Mark Scott, at the height of his powers with nothing to lose, when there are actual real conversations to be had about the quality and diversity of ABC content as well as commissioning processes and priorities that are not directly related to the news cycle and politicians’ self-interest. For example what has happened to live action children’s drama on the ABC? And I don’t mean “G” drama which appeals to 14+, or young people running around in bathers and ballet workout gear. I mean qualifying children’s “C” drama that actually reflects and explores what an Australian childhood looks like – not what overseas buyers want it to look like – surf and sun.

  7. When you have a party that is so conservative as the LNP, moderate views are seen as left and disagreement with ridiculous and damaging policies and practices is seen as biased. It’s a joke.

    1. This is the entire crux of the matter, though you won’t get any of our conservative friends to admit as much.

      Anyone who doesn’t espouse their particular brand of propaganda is automatically deemed left/leftist/lefty, even if the opinions expressed are completely straight down the line centrist.

  8. Can they investigate its “lameness” as well?

    I’d love to see an open public/panel show that aims to explain & discuss the bigger pictures behind current national issues, rather than just providing a talking point / point scoring opportunity for everybody in the room. Insight gets close occasionally, but by design it leans more to social issues. Where’s the equivalent for e.g. telecoms/broadcast, media, trade, immigration, industrial, & national development/direction issues?

    Ostensibly Q&A is it, and while Tony Jones is one of the best interviewers in Aus (when not dealing with his favourite fawnings e.g. Hitch, Dawkins, etc.) he’s terrible at panel hosting. As a result, more often than not Q&A is a hot mess of point/counterpoint rather than the considerate & informative show it should be…

  9. Good grief. Can LNP politicians get over themselves? How many times does the ABC need to be investigated / reviewed for bias that doesn’t exist?

    Perhaps Senator McGrath look up the following names in the past / current LNP membership list.

    Sarah Henderson, Dai Le, Gary Hardgrave, Peter Collins, Pru Goward, Rob Messenger, Grant Woodhams, Eoin Cameron, Cameron Thompson, Scott Emerson, Ian Cover, Peter McArthur,
    Bruce Webster, and Peter Kennedy.

    And then he could check the past / current employee list. Michael Duffy, Chris Wordsworth, Cathy Job, Vicki Thompson, Chris Nicholls, Jim Bonner, Ken Crooke, Mark Tobin, Josephine Cafagna, Allen Callaghan.

    In fact, McGrath should search the employee archive for some bloke called Mark Scott (who once upon a time worked for then NSW Liberal education minister Terry Metherell).

    With that said, the population should be very…

    1. I’m going to pick up on this thread. As you so accurately point out Dr._Rudi, Mark Scott has been a liberal party staffer and is a natural conservative. Under his stewardship the News/Caff division has gone from strength to strength – it is his natural habitat! IMHO, the television division has not been as well-served. I’d also suggest life after the ABC could include a safe liberal seal. Wouldn’t he make a great communications minister? These accusations of bias are absurd.

      1. Well Andrew Bolt used to work for Bob Hawke, so saying someone used to work for a particular side of politics isn’t always a good guide to follow.

        1. That’s not correct. Bolt worked for the National Media Liaison Service. He did not work for Hawke.

          As for the second part of your statement – think on that carefully, you might get somewhere.

  10. Cue the right-wing ratbags who don’t watch the ABC but claim to know that it has an extreme-left bias despite numerous independent surveys and reports that say otherwise.

  11. JimboJones”It’s funny that no-one ever called the ABC left-wing when Labor was in power ….”

    Yes they did….As has been pointed out regularly, who are the on-staff,full-time “conservative” presenters on any of the ABC’s flagship TV or Radio news and current affairs programmes?

    1. Tony – see Dr Rudi’s post above. Huge numbers of journos from the ABC have entered the world of conservative politics. Why would they do that if they are all organic-alfalfa-munching, pink-shirt-wearing, chardonnary-sipping commies?

      If by conservative you mean Andrew Bolt level of conservative, then I don’t think there’s anyone of that ilk at the ABC. But then I don’t think there’s anyone that right-wing at any of the private broadcasters or newspapers either.

  12. What about the Bolt’s Shit report on Ch 10. If they investigate the ABC Q&A, then they should do the same for the Bolt’s shit report. What a double standard LNP government !!!

  13. If people want a national broadcaster that automatically takes the side of the government, then they should move to North Korea. They’d love it there.

    It’s funny that no-one ever called the ABC left-wing when Labor was in power and Kevin Rudd got a regular roasting on the 7:30 Report.

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