SKY News admits it was wrong to interview extremist
More bad news from SKY News, criticised by its own journalists.
- Published by David Knox
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SKY News has responded to an audience backlash after United Patriots Front leader Blair Cottrell appeared on The Adam Giles Show.
Former Chief Minister of the Northern Territory Adam Giles was given his own show in May.
SKY News also repeated his views on social media before deleting its tweets.
But last night social media lit up with reactions, with SKY News trending at #1.
SKY journos including David Speers and Laura Jayes criticised their own network for giving him airtime.
I have just arrived back in the country tonight to be met with the understandable outrage over this. 100% agree with @ljayes. As News Director Greg Byrnes says it was wrong to have this guy on Sky News. https://t.co/QQF4ESRmbJ
— David Speers (@David_Speers) August 5, 2018
SKY News Director Greg Byrnes said on social media, “It was wrong to have Blair Cottrell on SKY News Australia. His views do not reflect ours. The interview has been removed from repeat timeslots and online platforms.”
It follows SKY News suspending a producer for highlighting Senator David Leyonhjelm’s views on  Senator Sarah Hanson-Young during The Outsiders.
In January Seven News was criticised for an interview with Cottrell. In 2016 ABC management delayed a Hack Live panel discussion on which he appeared.
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6 Responses
ACMA may have to get out it’s wet lettuce leaf again to deal with complaints when SKY programs are shown on FTA.
Money is all News Corp will understand. If you’re not happy…cancel.
This is becoming a terrifying trend with Sky News Australia and News Corp in general…
In the News Corp world a conservative is now being classed as a lefty…. It’s now how far to the Right is the real right winger….The fascists are almost at our door step.
What is our Government going to do about this????
There’s only so many times “we’re sorry, we got it wrong” can be tolerated. Sky News has lost the plot and has zero credibility anymore. The line-up lacks diversity, it is dominated by Conservative viewpoints and makes a mockery of fair and balanced journalism.
I disagree. “Sorry, we got it wrong” shouldn’t just be tolerated, it should be embraced.
What shouldn’t be tolerated is treating bulldust or posturing as “news” or “information”.
The worst con in years has been the use of Fox’s “Fair and Balanced” slogan as a benchmark for evaluating news. All “balance” really means is ‘give equal weight to opposing views’ which, since ‘news’ carries an expectation of ‘as accurate as possible to be at the time’, is a terrible standard to apply.
“Fair and Accurate” should be the unwritten slogan of every news organisation…
Of course nothing should be expected to be 100% accurate all the time – particularly in the case of news, which is often reported on limited & gradually-revealed information. So admitting mistakes shouldn’t carry a stigma – unless it’s used as a cover for failure to strive for accuracy.
How many times are Sky going to apologise for material they broadcast?