President's Report
June 2010
Fiends of the ABC warmly congratulates pioneering science broadcaster Peter Pockley on the high honour bestowed on him recently by the Australian Academy of Science – the award of its medal.
Robyn Williams, current writer and presenter of The Science Show has written a wonderful tribute to Peter and the vital work that he did in placing the ABC Science Unit at the forefront of science broadcasting throughout the world, and we are reminded of his memorable live broadcast in 1969 of the first landing on the moon.
The Governor General, Quentin Bryce, presented Peter with his medal and spoke of the pivotal role that he played in educating us all about science [more]
THE CHALLENGE OF BALANCED REPORTING of the ISRAELI/ PALESTINIAN CONFLICT
Joan Michie, a former editor of “News and Views”, the predecessor of Update, has expressed her concern at the inadequacies of the process whereby complaints against the ABC’s coverage of a particular issue are investigated by the Independent Complaints Review Panel (see her letter in the March Update.)
Joan’s original complaint concerned lack of balance in the ABC’s coverage of the Gaza conflict in December 2008/ January 2009, mainly the failure to adequately cover the Palestinian viewpoint. The full text of the I.C.R.P. report may be found on the FABC website, along with Joan Michie’s reply.
A perusal of this correspondence does suggest that the process is unsatisfactory in its current form, and rather substantiates Joan’s concern.
Andrew Pike, Managing Director of Ronin Films, an Australian company based in Canberra, writes in this edition of Update of the withdrawal by the ABC of a formal offer to acquire and (presumably) broadcast a documentary about the Palestinian situation, “Hope in a Slingshot”.
Andrew puts a very strong case that the documentary is pro-peace rather than pro-Palestinian, taking testimony from Israelis and Palestinians expressing their hopes and aspirations for peace in the region.
My inquiry to Mark Scott for further information produced the following reply from Michael Millett, ABC Communications Director:
“I am able to confirm that ABC TV was uneasy with the partisan nature of the documentary, and its inability at that time to find something to counterbalance (see Editorial Policy – The ABC is committed to impartiality and must demonstrate this through the presentation of a diversity of perspectives. This requires a diversity of perspectives to be demonstrated across a network or platform by providing content of a similar type and weight in an appropriate time-frame.) ABC TV is now reviewing the initial rejection to see whether it can find something to air as a counter balance.”
There is no doubt that the Israeli government has an array of well rained spokespersons, and unlimited resources, instantly available to put the Israeli government point of view on any matter.
I write this late on the night we learned of the Israeli army attack, in international waters, on the relief convoy taking food medical supplies to Gaza. Predictably, there was the well-prepared Israeli Government representative putting their version of events to Kerry O’Brien on the 7.30 Report, but where was the interview with a spokesperson for the other side?
It was surely a situation which demanded that we hear both sides, and absurd to imagine that such a representative could not have been found.
It was Joan Michie’s complaint regarding coverage of the Gaza conflict that too often we only heard the Israeli point of view. Roger Raven, reporting elsewhere in the June 2010 Update, refers to the 2006 study of the BBC’s Middle-Eastern coverage – “it had a pro-Israeli bias, partly because it was naturally easier to get interviews and moving pictures from the dominant side; indeed the BBC later did a secret deal with Israel for access in return for BBC compliance with Israeli censorship.
” We would like to think that our national broadcaster took a more balanced approach than the BBC, but I think that the jury is still out on that! [more]
MARK SCOTT REPLIES
The ABC Managing Director has written a wide-ranging reply to many of the questions and criticisms on recent ABC decisions and directions which have been expressed in Update and the opinion pages of the daily press.
Mark makes the strong point that the ABC is not a niche broadcaster – quite clearly its charter is to serve the whole population of Australia, in all its social and geographic diversity [more]
Whilst agreeing to differ with the Managing Director on a number of issues (including the axing of The Religion Report!), NSW Friends of the ABC acknowledges that the ABC has a passionate and powerful advocate in Mark Scott, whether talking to government, the broader community, media rivals or the international community, and we appreciate that he has taken the time to contribute to the debate in Update.
As the Federal Government lurches towards another election, it is clear that the National Broadcasting Legislation Amendment Bill is going nowhere, although this is more the fault of the Opposition and Senator Fielding than Mr. Rudd’s Labor Government. Should the government retain power and control the Senate (even with the help of the Greens), we will have the long-awaited change to the method of appointing the ABC Board, and the restoration of the staff-elected director. Should Mr. Rudd lose, there is little hope of this reform ever taking place. Consider that as you consider which party will receive your vote.
Mal Hewitt
President FABC (NSW)
