ABC journalists call on news chief to explain why Adani story was pulled
ABC journalists have condemned alleged editorial interference by Adani and called on the news director, Gaven Morris, to explain why a story on the mining giant was never run.
Staff representatives from the Media Entertainment and Arts Alliance (MEAA) and union officials meton Tuesday morning after Guardian Australia and Media Watch reported the Adani spokeswoman Kate Campbell made a direct call to Morris to complain about a story before it aired.
The radio story, which had been commissioned for Saturday AM, was pulled from the run-down hours later. The ABC said later this was done to give Adani more time to respond.
“We invite ABC News director Gaven Morris to front news floor staff today to address these allegations and any other questions from staff on the floor,” union delegates said in a statement.
“ABC MEAA members stand with ABC journalist Isobel Roe, whose story on Adani appears to have been pulled, and we reaffirm the commitment of all ABC journalists to the editorial independence of the ABC and to upholding our ability to do our job without fear or favour.”
The media union said ABC management “must defend the public broadcaster from editorial interference, be it political or corporate, and uphold the obligations of the ABC charter”.
The ABC maintains it did not broadcast the story about Adani for legitimate editorial reasons and has not responded directly to the union statement. Guardian Australia understands Morris is in Canberra on Tuesday and is unable to meet with union delegates.
“There was no complaint,” an ABC spokeswoman told Guardian Australia. “The only communication we received from Adani was a request for more time to respond to our questions.
“In light of the need to provide parties with a fair opportunity to respond and the strength of the other stories in the mix for Saturday AM, the decision was taken at an editorial level to not proceed with the story.”
Concern was also raised by the union about revelations in Guardian Australia last week that Adani had lodged several Freedom of Information requests about ABC journalists who had covered the controversial Indian mining company.
The ABC’s Queensland-based investigative reporter Josh Robertson referred to the Adani FOI application in an earlier ABC report about the company’s aggressive legal approach to opponents, through its lawyers AJ & Co.
“Since it was engaged by Adani, AJ & Co has pushed to bankrupt a cashstrapped Indigenous opponent of the mine, threatened legal action against a community legal service and an environmental group, and applied to access an ABC journalist’s expenses and documents,” Robertson reported.
Reporters Mark Willacy and Michael Slezak were asked for documents relating to news reports on allegations Adani was illegally drilling bore holes. These requests were made by AJ & Co, a legal firm acting for Adani which refers to itself as a “trained attack dog”.
Willacy and Slezak’s travel and accommodation costs and some heavily redacted phone logs were released but the majority of the application was rejected.
The MEAA media director, Katelin McInerney, said she was alarmed by attempts to access journalists’ records.
“This is a blatant attempt to intimidate and harass journalists going about their duties to report legitimate news stories in the public interest,” McInerney said.
“Attacks on press freedom must not be tolerated in a healthy functioning democracy – regardless of whether those assaults come from political interests or powerful corporations seeking to deter legitimate scrutiny of their activities.
“ABC journalists must be given the backing and support of ABC management to continue doing their job and fulfilling their responsibilities to keep their audience informed.”