“Unsubstantiated claims”: News Corp denies role in Stan Grant attacks
News Corp chief exec tells ABC to stop passing the buck and blaming others for its own internal problems.
- Published by David Knox
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News Corp has staunchly denied claims levelled by ABC News Director Justin Stevens it contributed to Stan Grant’s decision to stand down from hosting Q+A.
On Monday Stevens named News (Corp) and The Australian as part of a “concerted campaign to chip away at the ABC and people’s sense of trust in it.”
He claimed excessive coverage was “amplifying and giving agency” to the racist trolls on social media.
But News Corp Australasia chief executive Michael Miller said Stevens was making “misleading” claims and called on him to “correct the record”.
“The ABC needs to stop passing the buck and blaming others for its own internal problems,” he said.
“ABC director of news Justin Stevens has made a raft of unsubstantiated claims about News Corp’s reporting of how the ABC covered the coronation, and the ensuing fallout that Stan Grant says contributed to his decision to stand down as host of Q+A.”
The Australian “vehemently” denied a further accusation that the newspaper asked questions about an Indigenous ABC journalist after they had “pored over their social media”.
“The Australian put questions to the ABC on Sunday about a post on one journalist’s social media account, and an ABC spokesperson responded that the reporter in question had been reminded to adhere to the public broadcaster’s social media guidelines,” the Australian reported.
“This masthead chose not to publish a story.”
News Corp has also challenged claims by other media outlets of 150 mentions of “Coronation coverage” and “Stan Grant” by The Australian and SKY News in the 2 weeks following ABC’s broadcast.
On Monday Stan Grant said, “I’m not walking away for a while because of racism. We get that far too often. I’m not walking away because of social media hatred. I need a break from the media. I feel like I’m part of the problem and I need to ask myself how or if we can do it better.”
Source: Guardian Australia
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6 Responses
If you consume News Corp media and don’t recognise the racism, you’re part of the problem.
You could say the same for a lot of left-leaning press. E.g. The Guardian’s cartoon about former BBC chairman Richard Sharp. Or the identity politics.
That’s weak whataboutism that only shows you have no argument.
A cartoon in a publication with little local traction vs a company that owns 70% of our print media and has a decades long, international, reputation for racism and has poisoned public debate in this country again and again and again.
There was also the ABC reporting from Alice Springs, which they had apologised for. There are several examples. It’s not befitting or appropriate to go off-topic and list them.
I do think there has been a noticeable increase in divisive racial content from left-leaning media in recent years for political purposes, as has been documented in articles and discussions.
As I mentioned before, ABC could have shown Coronation Chicken or Quiche recipes and how to make decorations in the pre-show, but chose the moment to have divisive discussions about Voice and Australian republican movements instead.
I thought your Coronation Chicken line was satire. ABC News doesn’t do cooking, but I think Back in Time for Dinner covered it once.
It was more innovative. I think news programs can have a more homely or morning / daytime show feeling or style.