PUBLIC BROADCASTING – AUSTRALIA

Senior ABC executive plans departure

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Original article by Stephen Brook
The Australian – Page: 24 : 1-Oct-18

Sources within the ABC have indicated that the public broadcaster’s editorial director Alan Sunderland intends to retire in the next six months or so. He stresses that his impending retirement is not related to the recent management upheaval at the ABC. Sunderland was appointed to the position in April 2013, and he says that he had always intended to be in the role for no more than five years. Sunderland has effectively been editor-in-chief at the ABC, and former MD Jonathan Shier says the two roles should be separate.

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AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

Entire ABC board under pressure to go

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Original article by Aaron Patrick, Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 4 : 28-Sep-18

Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young has called for the ABC’s whole board to be replaced following the resignation of chairman Justin Milne and the sacking of MD Michelle Guthrie. Meanwhile, Labor has called for appointments to the board to be made independently of government. The remaining board members have come under scrutiny for continuing to support Milne for several days after they had heard allegations by Guthrie that Milne had asked her to sack journalists who had been the subject of complaints by former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull.

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AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION, AUSTRALIAN GREENS, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS, OZEMAIL LIMITED, MYOB GROUP LIMITED – ASX MYO, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF COMMUNICATIONS AND THE ARTS

‘Standards have deteriorated’: Malcolm Turnbull weighs in on ABC accusation

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Original article by Matthew Knott
The Sydney Morning Herald – Page: Online : 27-Sep-18

Former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull says there has been a decline in the ABC’s editorial standards in recent years. Turnbull has confirmed that he had raised concerns about the quality of the public broadcaster’s coverage with chairman Justin Milne and other members of the ABC’s board. However, he stresses that he has never complained about any perceived bias in the ABC’s coverage or requested that any ABC staffer be dismissed. Turnbull add that it is the ABC board’s responsibility to address unfair or inaccurate reporting.

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AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET

Coalition launches inquiry into ABC email revelations as chairman Justin Milne survives board talks

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Original article by Jennifer Duke
The Sydney Morning Herald – Page: Online : 27-Sep-18

There is growing pressure for ABC chairman Justin Milne to resign in the wake of further revelations about the sacking of MD Michelle Guthrie. The federal government will investigate claims that Milne had asked Guthrie to sack the ABC’s chief economics correspondent Emma Alberici following a complaint from former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull about her political coverage. The media has reported that Milne had sent Guthrie an email stating that the government "hated" Alberici and that she must go. Labor has proposed a Senate inquiry into the revelations surrounding Guthrie’s dismissal, and it has accused the Coalition of political interference at the public broadcaster.

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AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF COMMUNICATIONS AND THE ARTS, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF COMMUNICATIONS AND THE ARTS, FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, GOOGLE INCORPORATED

Crisis engulfs ABC chairman

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Original article by Darren Davidson, Brad Norington
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 27-Sep-18

ABC employees have held a meeting at the public broadcaster’s headquarters in Sydney, with more than 350 backing a resolution calling for chairman Justin Milne to resign. In addition to seeking the dismissal of Emma Alberici, it has been revealed that Milne had asked MD Michelle Guthrie to sack the ABC’s political editor Andrew Probyn following a meeting with Malcolm Turnbull. Milne has been defended by two fellow NBN board members, Ziggy Switkowski and Kerry Schott, who say there are no grounds for him to be removed from the ABC’s board.

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AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION, NBN CO LIMITED, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF COMMUNICATIONS AND THE ARTS, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIAN GREENS

Guthrie’s fear of looking like idiot

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Original article by Deborah Cornwall, Stephen Brook
The Australian – Page: 1 & 8 : 26-Sep-18

The ABC’s former MD Michelle Guthrie defended her performance in the role at a meeting on 13 September at which she was asked to resign. She told ABC chairman Justin Milne and board member Donny Walford that she had made much progress in a transformation program, including a restructuring that significantly cut the public broadcaster’s management ranks. Guthrie asked to be allowed to remain in the role for at least another year so she could complete the transformation program. She may pursue legal action over her sacking only halfway through her five-year term.

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AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION, NEW CHAMBERS, JOHNSON WINTER AND SLATTERY, SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM

Michelle Guthrie sacked from ABC managing director role halfway through term

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Original article by
abc.net.au – Page: Online : 25-Sep-18

ABC chairman Justin Milne says the leadership style of MD Michelle Guthrie contributed to the ABC board’s decision to sack her after less than three years in the role. Milne has stressed that the public broadcaster was not subject to any pressure from federal politicians to remove Guthrie, while Liberal Senator Eric Abetz says the ABC’s board should explain the reasons for her dismissal. The ABC will consider both internal and external candidates to replace Guthrie; the director of entertainment and specialist content, David Anderson, will become acting MD until a successor is appointed. Guthrie has indicated that she is considering her legal options.

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AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF COMMUNICATIONS AND THE ARTS, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, GOOGLE INCORPORATED, FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, SKY PLC, STAR TV

Cash hit halts ABC’s ideas plan

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Original article by Stephen Brook
The Australian – Page: 24 & 26 : 17-Sep-18

The ABC has put the second round of its Grand Ideas Grant scheme on hold until 2019, in order to focus on delivering the first round of projects to be funded via the initiative. The public broadcaster announced the Great Ideas Grant scheme in March 2017, as part of its ABC Content Fund. To date the ABC has launched only four of the nine GIG projects that it announced in mid-2017, although another three are at the pilot stage. Several of the GIG projects have attracted criticism over claims that they provide similar content to that of the ABC’s commercial rivals.

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AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION, MAMAMIA.COM.AU PTY LTD, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, JUNKEE MEDIA PTY LTD, KINDERLING, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FINANCE

Manhunt for intruder after major security break at ABC HQ

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Original article by Stephen Brook
The Australian – Page: Online : 10-Sep-18

Sydney police are investigating a security breach at the ABC’s Ultimo headquarters on 5 September. The intruder was able to enter the building by following an ABC employee through security gates at the rear. He assaulted a female staff member and then gained access to one of the ABC’s radio studios, causing it to have to cancel a live broadcasting and switch to pre-recorded programming. The ABC closed the foyer at its Ultimo building to public access in June 2017, following a risk assessment by the Australian Federal Police and advice from a private security firm.

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AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION, AUSTRALIAN FEDERAL POLICE

‘China’s a sovereign country’: PM unfazed by ABC censoring

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Original article by
The New Daily – Page: Online : 3-Sep-18

China has cut off access to the ABC’s website and its apps, claiming that they have breached its internet rules and regulations. Access to the website and apps was cut off on 22 August, the day after the federal government announced it would prevent two Chinese firms from taking part in the roll-out of Australia’s 5G mobile network. However, sources within the Chinese government suggest it is unlikely the two events are linked. Prime Minister Scott Morrison said he was not bothered by China’s censorship of the ABC.

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AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, HUAWEI TECHNOLOGIES COMPANY LIMITED