http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-05-17/joyce-and-depp-dogs-in-huw-parkinson-mashup/6475662

Saved me a few hours trying to do a toon on this one...

See also: http://www.yourdemocracy.net.au/drupal/node/4535

Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull advised two of the ABC's most prominent journalists to adopt a "less aggressive" style of interviewing but defended them against accusations they are biased.

Mr Turnbull made a rare appearance on Network Ten's The Bolt Report, which is hosted by conservative columnist Andrew Bolt. Bolt and Mr Turnbull have previously and publicly clashed over issues including climate change [and] the Liberal leadership.

On Sunday, Mr Bolt, a prominent critic of the ABC accused the host of Lateline Emma Alberici and 730's Leigh Sales of conducting biased interviews during Tuesday night's budget coverage.

Sales and Alberici both defended their budget week interviews and said they have no intention of adopting a less adversarial style in future interviews.

"People are far quicker to attack a woman in public than they would a man," Alberici said.

"When I do a tough interview I will be called an 'aggressive bitch' but when [fellow Lateline co-host] Tony Jones does a similar interview he is just tough. No one would call him a bitch. That's something we grapple with [as female interviewers] because people don't want us to be tough."

Alberici added that, to be fair to Mr Turnbull, the Communications Minister had previously strongly criticised 2GB broadcaster Alan Jones for saying that Julia Gillard's father had "died of shame". Former 7.30 host Kerry O'Brien, who had previously worked as a Labor staffer, was also regularly criticised by the Coalition, she said. 

But she said it was "silly" for Mr Turnbull to use the term aggressive to describe a television interview.

"It suggests some kind of animosity between interviewer and interviewee that doesn't exist," she said.

"For all the nonsense about bias we are all just doing our job."

Alberici said she doesn't "understand the hoo-ha" about her post-budget interview with Finance Minister Mathias Cormann in which she accused the government of making up "nonsense" figures that "you continue to trot out".

"I was just trying to bring facts to the table - that's what we are supposed to do. I don't think doing a challenging interview is biased. I think the opposite: we should be challenging everyone who is in front of us."

Alberici added: "It is a bit rich for Andrew Bolt to complain about bias. Everyone is to the left of Andrew Bolt. And that certainly includes Malcolm Turnbull."

read more: http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/female-interviewers-attacked-for-just-being-tough-abcs-emma-alberici-20150518-gh4a3f.html

Comments on an episode of The Drum that were labelled biased towards Labor in a review of impartiality during the federal election campaign were made by Kathryn Greiner, a Liberal party member of more than 50 years.

Greiner, who was married to the former Liberal NSW premier Nick Greiner, had her contributions on a 2019 panel of The Drum labelled “green” or “positive for Labor” in a controversial impartiality review which criticised the ABC panel show for not having enough conservative voices during its federal election coverage.

The review has been used as a further weapon by the government against the ABC, following a please explain letter from the communications minister, Paul Fletcher, about a Four Corners investigation which alleged inappropriate conduct by two ministers.

On Wednesday the Coalition used its numbers in the Senate to force the ABC to publish the impartiality review despite strong objections from the ABC chair, Ita Buttrose.

In the 6 May episode Greiner was commenting on Bill Shorten’s May 2019 federal election launch, and was complimentary about his “very strong team”.

“I think the women on that are very credible, coincidentally I happened to work for both Chris Bowen and Tanya Plibersek when they were ministers, when I was the chair of a government company, you know, very competent individuals,” Greiner said. “So there’s a competency on both sides, but I think that the Labor party will win out because they have more women.”

The methodology of the review has come under attack internally at the ABC for labelling panellists’ comments as neutral, positive or negative for a political party.

Using this method the report recommended the ABC “review the composition of panellists on The Drum to achieve a better balance of voices from across the spectrum of ideas and politics”.

The methodology led to an inference that Greiner did not support the Coalition with sufficient vigour and her comment was listed under the column “negative for the Coalition”.

The reviewer, Kerry Blackburn, speculated that panelists felt pressure to be on the winning side and changed their views to fit in.

“It is human nature to want to be on the winning side, or at least be seen to have understood why their team is winning and yours is losing,” she wrote.

Guardian Australia understands Greiner was both appalled and amused by Blackburn’s claim that her critique was based on anything but her experience and expertise.

Read more:

https://www.theguardian.com/media/2020/dec/11/comments-labelled-pro-labor-by-abc-election-review-were-by-liberal-kathryn-greiner

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