The head of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) David Anderson has defended the taxpayer-funded broadcaster’s coverage of the Israel-Hamas war after it was criticised for promoting anti-Semitism.
At the most recent Senate Estimates, Mr. Anderson faced questions from centre-right Liberal senators about the conduct of Middle-East correspondent Tom Joyner, who allegedly derided reports about Hamas decapitating babies.
He was also questioned over the decision by 7.30 host Sarah Ferguson to interview Hamas’ head of international relations, Basem Naim—the program was broadcast 10 days after the Oct. 7 attacks that resulted in 1,200 Israeli deaths and hundreds of hostages.
“By interviewing one of its leaders, we were able to test some of the propaganda (and outright lies) that Hamas spread following the attack.
“For example, Hamas was claiming it was Israeli propaganda that civilians had been targeted. Claiming that Hamas fighters did not attack civilians, did not kill children or elderly people. That 7.30 interview saw Basem Naim concede that Hamas did kill civilians, and he stopped making that false claim.”
The managing director said ABC was free from commercial pressures and it could focus on impartiality and equip audiences with the “essential information to make up their own minds.”
“Contrast this with commercial media internationally and increasingly in Australia, where entire business models are built on reinforcing the ideological preferences of their audiences. Some in the media seek to exploit and strengthen division. They fuel outrage and rancour to serve their own interests,” he said, echoing common criticisms of the Rupert Murdoch-owned News Corporation.
“We saw this in the case of Fox News in relation to the 2020 U.S. election. There was a perceived commercial need to tell supporters of former President Trump what they wanted to hear. This got in the way of their ability to tell audiences the truth: that Trump had lost a fair election.”
Mr. Anderson also spoke about the trust Australians had in the public broadcaster.
The broadcaster enjoys a TV audience of 6.8 million across Australia’s five largest cities, 5 million across its radio networks, and 4.1 million weekly streams from its app. ABC iview was also the number one broadcaster video-on-demand (BVOD) service in the country with a 32 percent share of the market.
ABC Boss Defends Actions of Middle-East Correspondent
During an Environment and Communications Legislation Committee hearing on Oct. 24, the ABC managing director revealed Middle East correspondent Mr. Joyner had expressed remorse over his language disparaging claims about the decapitation of babies.“Mr. Joyner was participating in a closed WhatsApp group with other journalists, looking at stories and trying to make sense of what was happening and unfolding at the time.
“I know Mr. Joyner is quite remorseful and apologetic for the words that he used. He was at the time doing what journalists were doing—that was, trying to verify what sources could back up what claims were being made at the time,” Mr. Anderson said, adding that the incident was being investigated.
During a WhatsApp online chat between hundreds of journalists, Mr. Joyner initially dropped an expletive about claims of decapitated babies, and then said there was no “clear evidence” such an incident had occurred, according to screenshots obtained by the News Corp-owned The Australian newspaper.
“Why hasn’t there been anything unequivocal from the IDF (Israel Defence Forces) or from Netanyahu,” he asked.
Another journalist said the Israeli prime minister’s office had confirmed it, and that there were “numerous eyewitness testimonies from the field, and [U.S. President Joe] Biden just confirmed seeing evidence to support it.”
Senators Take Broadcaster to Task
Liberal Senators Hollie Hughes and Sarah Henderson lambasted the broadcaster’s decision to give a Hamas spokesperson a national platform.“I have zero comprehension how the national broadcaster, funded by the Australian taxpayer, on one of its signature news programs, 7.30 report, gives a platform, an interview, to someone who is a prescribed terrorist under Australian law,” said Senator Hughes.
“I mean, that’s insanity! Who thought: ‘This is a great idea? Let’s get confirmed terrorists on the 7.30 report?’”
Senator Henderson labelled it a “sackable offence.”
Mr. Anderson responded saying that interviewing a terrorist would test their “propaganda and outright lies.”
“We’re able to then challenge them on the lies that they are spreading, which is what happened in that interview,” he said.
“It was platform that legitimised their existence,” responded Senator Hughes.
She further pointed to a program on Oct. 22, Rear Vision, that broadcast an episode called “The Gaza Strip: How a tiny slither of land became the epicentre of a conflict in the Middle East.”
The senator said the program featured interviews with four “well-known radical left-wing critics” of Israel and its existence.
“Part of the issue with regard to this was that the comments that were made, at no point, were they corrected.
“At no point, when they were factually wrong, were the correct facts produced. It was incredibly lacking in any basic context and detail, and anyone who listened to it would have been significantly misled on what they were being told.”
