ABC checking on presenter's wellbeing after expletives shouted during Adelaide news bulletin
An ABC radio presenter shouted an expletive twice during a late-night news broadcast in Adelaide before being abruptly taken off the air.
The national broadcaster has said it is investigating the incident and making sure the staff member is OK.
The presenter of Saturday’s 10pm bulletin appeared not to be following a script and struggled through an introduction to the first story about a Covid-19 outbreak in Queensland.
“There’s been more problems with Brisbane, after a more Covid restrictions in the city. Here’s the report,” he said.
The audio for the story was then played but after about 10 seconds the presenter could be heard shouting “fuck off”.
After the story finished, there was a period of silence, before the presenter again appeared to ad-lib while introducing the second report.
“There’s been problems with the wine situation with China maintaining restrictions of the Australian. Here’s the report.”
The presenter again loudly shouted “fuck off” as the story, which was not about Chinese tariffs on Australian wine but rather international Covid-19 infection rates, was broadcast.
The bulletin was cut shortly after and replaced with another which is believed to have been broadcast from Sydney.
An ABC spokesperson said: “We’re looking into what happened and also making sure that our staff member is OK.”
In his profile on the ABC website, the presenter is described as an experienced broadcaster who has worked for multiple media outlets over the past 35 years.