Nine News suspends cameraman

Nine News Melbourne has stood down a cameraman who hounded a man outside Melbourne Magistrates Court and is said to have called him a ”f—ing terrorist”.

Media Watch last night aired footage of the incident in which the father of a teenager in court over the Oakleigh ‘Bob Jane’ riots repeatedly asked the two-man film crew to stop filming them.

The film crew continued to follow the pair down a city street claiming they were “just doing our jobs.”

The incident built to an explosive argument after a Nine cameraman accused the father of being a “Terrorist.”

The man’s son, who is still facing charges of incitement to riot, riot, affray, burglary, theft and criminal damage, confronted the camera crew by saying, “Calling my dad a terrorist! Who the f** are you to call him a terrorist? Why are you calling him a terrorist? ‘Cos he has a beard and ‘cos he’s Muslim? It’s what it comes down to? Is that what you guys have brung us down to? You can’t even have a beard in this country any more without being called a f***ing terrorist! Have some f***ing self-decency. The man has never been to court in his life and you’re calling him a terrorist! You’re calling him a terrorist and he’s never been to court in his life. Is that what it’s come down to?”

Nine is understood to be reeling from the damning footage. Nine News director Michael Venus has told Media Watch the cameraman had been stood down pending the completion of an investigation.

While Nine did not air the footage, filmed on April 1st, some of it was caught by other news crews and subsequently aired on Seven and TEN.

UPDATED: Nine has now terminated the cameraman’s employment.

Source: Media Watch, The Age