Comments on: Speaking of media independence, how does Aunty fare?

By: Edward James

Edward James — Fri, 06 Jul 2012 10:25:45 +0000

The over view of all this is our politicians will use our money to give jobs to problem journalist, and the underline is most of those journalist can be bought! Edward James

By: Cuppa

Cuppa — Fri, 06 Jul 2012 07:19:33 +0000

http://www.abc.net.au/unleashed/chris-kenny-28134.html

Chris Kenny is a journalist, author and former political staffer.

He recently served as Chief of Staff to then Leader of the Opposition, Malcolm Turnbull. He was also Chief of Staff to Alexander Downer, the Minister for Foreign Affairs in the former Howard Government. In State Governments he was Director of Strategic Communications for Premier John Olsen and Chief of Staff to Premier Rob Kerin.

Previously, Chris was a leading political journalist in his home State of South Australia. After working for a country newspaper, the now defunct Adelaide News and the ABC’s 7.30 Report he covered state politics for Channel 10 and then Channel 9 in Adelaide.

By: klewso

klewso — Mon, 02 Jul 2012 22:47:34 +0000

Cat - why would Limited News journo’s “go to the Coalition”?
Most are already there, being paid for their politics and don’t have to
face elections - like “ordinary politicians”!

By: C@tmomma

C@tmomma — Fri, 29 Jun 2012 06:52:25 +0000

I think you’d have a very interesting list of News Ltd journos going to the Coalition.

By: Youthy

Youthy — Thu, 28 Jun 2012 02:30:43 +0000

Chris Uhlman is married to an ALP MP, although he did run for a socially conservative independent group for the ACT elections in 1998.

By: Penny MacDonald

Penny MacDonald — Wed, 27 Jun 2012 04:37:35 +0000

Don’t forget Kevin Naughton from ABC Darwin, who moved to South Australia and worked for the
Liberal party and leaked some incorrect information about Kevin Foley was it?

When he was still at the ABC in Darwin he complained loudly about Clare Martin using the photocopier after she went back to the ABC after she was defeated the first time. Apparently she might have picked up important ABC secrets

By: fisher greg

fisher greg — Tue, 26 Jun 2012 07:20:07 +0000

GarryB

Earlier this year the coalition were running the line that they had not been on the Insiders all year. It turned out to be a tactic. While coalition frontbenchers had consistently been asked, they consistently had made themselves unavailable. Since they were outed, its been basically alternate weeks. Which of course means they are over-represented, given they did not win either a majority of the popular vote or a majority of seats in the last election

By: mikeb

mikeb — Tue, 26 Jun 2012 04:14:59 +0000

@Gocomsys. RN is not a news network. If yuu are so concerned about “news” then listen the NewsRadio - also on the am band.

By: Alex

Alex — Tue, 26 Jun 2012 03:26:01 +0000

Well career choices of ex-ABC staff aside, my imperfect recollection of
the numerous politically inspired reviews, investigations &
assessments that the ABC’s undergone in the not so
distant past, many of them instigated by the Howard government
attempting to reveal “Reds under the beds”, is that the ABC’s always
passed the litmus test. One particular review, from
the earlier days of the Gulf War, stands out when the Libs accused
the ABC of bias. Turns out, their critism of the war & our decision to
participate, was if anything, understated!

I also recall, that during the first year or more of the Labour
government, monitoring of the ABC revealed that opposition pollies
were consistently getting more air-time than Labour. Might still be
happening.

Try reading the “Republican Brain”; very enligtening.

Cheers, Alex.

By: Gocomsys

Gocomsys — Tue, 26 Jun 2012 03:17:56 +0000

As far as the ABC is concerned all I am asking for is for them to provide an hourly NEWS service on RADIO NATIONAL. Where NEWS must contain only relevant FACTS presented by an ABC newsreader and ABC reporters. No opinion, no gossip, no spin - plain facts. Is that too much to ask for? How about implementing a public and national interest test and dumping their flawed so called “balanced” charter. I believe the ABC would do much better without the likes of Mark Scott!
I can certainly do without Barnstable Joyce for example telling me about the outcome of his chuck raffle or the latest spin machinations of Limited News! Interesting times indeed. I just had to switch off the RN so called news in disgust. What amateurs! We deserve better!

By: klewso

klewso — Mon, 25 Jun 2012 15:05:25 +0000

We saw what happened to Stephen Long, just over 10 days ago.
But it was nice to see Leigh Sales getting stuck into “Reith-Morrison” tonight digging
for a Conservative answer, for a change. But for a laugh dig out one
of her interviews with Labor’s Chris Evans (in the portfolio), a couple of
years ago - for real paint-stripping demeanour (was that “personal”?).
Or Gillard - on “Latteline” - when Sales “changed her hair colour for the night”?
That “grab-bag of Labor embarrassments” she threatened Plibersek with?
Then there was Emma Alberici’s job on Clare (more “cannon-fodder” Labor member), Friday night - going in with her prejudices blazing away, shooting herself in the foot while she was at it -
among other things the time zone from which she staged her ambush?

Then Mark Scott wants to lecture on the intrusion of personal opinion?
What about when it affects their approach to an interviewee - and their
differing approaches to members of different parties - according to party,
either sweet or sour?

“Kerry O’Brien……..”? He could dish it up to either side with the same intensity.

By: Tom McLoughlin

Tom McLoughlin — Mon, 25 Jun 2012 08:38:47 +0000

derr - Mark Scott!

By: Roberto Tedesco

Roberto Tedesco — Mon, 25 Jun 2012 08:13:52 +0000

@Student T

I’m surprised you get to listen to RN in between your shifts at Coles.

Clearly, you need to listen to the thrilling insights of 2GB and the other commercial red-faced-men-shouting stations if you want real balanced reporting.

By: Student T

Student T — Mon, 25 Jun 2012 06:27:02 +0000

ABC TV is not too bad. But the radio is a long advert for the Greens. Have you ever heard ABC TV give balanced coverage on (a) gay marriage, (b) refugees or (c) aboriginal relations?

I sometimes tune into RN and have a bet with myself to see if they can get through 30 minutes without prosletysing on one of these issues. I have never lost yet!

By: mikeb

mikeb — Mon, 25 Jun 2012 05:07:51 +0000

I guess the Labor side has more high profile ABC ex staffers in it’s fold.
Mind you - I’d be interested in whether arts & journo types are more labor inclined overall - not just at the ABC.

By: Mark Duffett

Mark Duffett — Mon, 25 Jun 2012 04:59:41 +0000

Didn’t Crikey itself produce a list of journalist (albeit not just ABC)-politician interchanges a few years back? Yes, here it is, crikey dot com dot au/2007/02/27/journalists-in-parliament/, from which apparently at least several others can be added:

Ian Baker: the former ABC news chief of staff in Victoria was Agriculture Minister in the Kirner Government

John Bowler : formerly of the ABC and now proprietor of The Golden Mail and ALP Member for Eyre in the WA Parliament.

Bob Debus: Energy Minister and Attorney General in the Carr Government who was an ABC broadcaster, Executive Producer of the ABC’s Department of Radio Talks and Documentaries in the 1970s.

Clare Martin: The ALP’s former chief minister in the Northern Territory was the morning presenter on ABC 666 Canberra in the1980s before becoming media adviser to chief minister Rosemary Follett in the first ACT government in 1989. She later moved to Darwin where she returned to the ABC and was at one stage presenter of The 7.30 Report.

Barbara McCarthy (now Malarndirri McCarthy): Northern Territory Labor MLA for Arnhem and one of the first Indigenous women in an Australian Parliament. Barbara was strongly promoted by Emily’s List and was an ABC news presenter in Sydney and Darwin (and 7:30 presenter in Darwin?) and a contributing reporter to the ABC series Blackout.

Neville Oliver: the former head of sport at the ABC failed when he ran as Labor’s candidate in the Tasmanian lower house seat of Franklin in 1998 but in 2002 he achieved his goal by replacing Fran Bladel.

Diana Warnock: long time ABC radio personality and subsequent MLA for Perth in the WA Parliament from 1993 until retiring in 2001.

The above would have to go close to tipping the balance in the Labor direction.

Oh and Holden Back, did you mean Josephine Cafagna?

By: barfiller

barfiller — Mon, 25 Jun 2012 04:42:24 +0000

And here are some of the ABC staff who went on to be Labor staffers … Mark Tobin, the veteran ABC 702 state political reporter who left the public broadcaster to work as a media adviser to NSW premier Barry O’Farrell.

Um?

By: GarryB

GarryB — Mon, 25 Jun 2012 04:11:18 +0000

Just note the number of clips ABC News show of Abbott compared with Gillard and it may be revealing. Regardless of what’s his latest stunt is. And who didn’t get sick and tired of the nightly shot of Howard strolling somewhere in Canberra?
The “left wing” drivel is a complete lie. The shift has been far more to the right in the latter years.

By: Holden Back

Holden Back — Mon, 25 Jun 2012 03:44:21 +0000

Josephine Keffania, former State 7.30 Report presenter now Baillieu spinner