‘Journalistic cluelessness’: Ex-Media Watch host roasts regulator

“ABC Alumni consider that the ACMA could have taken greater care in striking that balance in this investigation, to avoid perceptions of partiality towards a powerful complainant, or (perhaps) of journalistic cluelessness.”

It said claims the ABC breached guidelines when it approached Pirro, for example, were “ridiculous”.

“The ‘doorstepping’ of subjects who have previously refused to be interviewed in a program – that is to say, approaching them in the street or on their front doorstep to put questions to them, in the expectation that they will refuse to answer – is one of the oldest devices of television journalism,” he said.

Holmes’ letter, written on behalf of more than two hundred former employees, will further fuel tensions between the media regulator and the ABC, which have escalated since the year-long review of the two episodes was made public in December.

ABC 7:30 presenter Sarah Ferguson, who was behind the investigation, said ACMA made “nonsensical” criticisms about her reporting in an interview with this masthead in December. However, the ruling was accepted by the complainant Fox News, which argued the program and its attack on Fox News was “indefensible” and a “gross distortion of truth”.

The way the ABC handles concerns about its coverage has changed since Fox News first raised its concerns, which were initially dismissed by the national broadcaster’s internal team. An independent review of the complaints system led to the creation of an independent ombudsman, and also found examples of “a dismissed ABC attitude towards complainants, external reviews and rulings by the industry regulator.”

The ABC Alumni is separate from the national broadcaster and did not have oversight of the letter sent to O’Loughlin.

The ACMA was approached for comment.

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