ABC news director blasts ‘increasingly toxic media environment where media businesses attack each other’
ABC’s news director has struck out at the “toxic media environment” in Australia, claiming that unfair attacks on ABC journalists are tarnishing the “public perception of all news”.
Justin Stevens made these comments during a Melbourne Press Club address on Tuesday.
Noting that the Australian public increasingly accesses their news from a number of online platforms, he warned “that ecosystem is being overrun by opinion, rumour, misinformation, disinformation, conspiracy theories, propaganda, clickbait and fakery”.
With the increase of “misinformation and disinformation”, Stevens said: “We need a robust media sector at the top of its collective game.”
Credit: Emily Kulich/Melbourne Press Club
The 2023 Edelman Trust Barometer found almost half of Australians believe the nation is more divided today than in the past, with 51% naming journalists as a “major dividing force”.
Stevens puts this down to “an increasingly toxic media environment where media businesses attack each other – eroding public perception of all news and journalism,” noting “the ABC is a frequent target” of such attacks.
“We expect scrutiny on the ABC to be rigorous and thorough and I don’t shy from that when it’s warranted,” Stevens said.
“But sometimes what’s called ‘scrutiny’ is really an agenda-driven attack motivated by ideological, personal or commercial interests, often directed at specific journalists with the goal of denting their reputations.
Credit: Emily Kulich/Melbourne Press Club
“This trend across social media and from some media outlets – and let’s be honest and call it what it often is: bullying – is about more than just the ABC.
“Spurious attacks on some journalists can potentially erode the reputation of all journalists. And that feeds the public’s crisis of trust.
“This is why the scale of unfair attacks on ABC journalists, whether by social media trolls, commentators or our media competitors, should be called out.
“Disturbingly, we disproportionately see women, First Nations and culturally diverse journalists being targeted.”
Credit: Emily Kulich/Melbourne Press Club
He points to the ABC’s national political lead and Insiders host David Speers, who is “a target of this vicious pile-on because a noisy cohort don’t want an impartial journalist in a role like his. They want somebody who barracks for their side.”
Stevens continued: “These kinds of attacks – whether on social or mainstream media – should bother those of us who value the incredible contribution made by Australian journalists and good journalism wherever it happens.”
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Nathan Jolly is the Features Editor at Mumbrella. He joined the team in July, 2023.
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