ABC takes newsreader Juanita Phillips off air due to concerns over Combet ‘conflict’
The ABC decided not to put Sydney newsreader Juanita Phillips to air on Friday over concerns about a conflict of interest with her reading a story involving her partner, cabinet minister Greg Combet.
Mumbrella understands that as late as 4.30pm on Friday afternoon Phillips was slated to read the news bulletin however shortly before the broadcast, management chose to replace her with Scott Bevan.
A spokeswoman for the ABC confirmed the decision to Mumbrella: “As with any situation involving ABC editorial staff, we consider and manage conflicts on a common sense, case by case basis.”
“In this case ABC News decided that to address any perceived conflict of interest it was appropriate to reallocate staff for Friday night’s bulletin.”
The ABC did not elaborate on the exact nature of the conflict of interest.
On Friday climate change minister Greg Combet was called to appear before the Independent Commission Against Corruption and asked questions about his involvement with former CFMEU boss John Maitland.
Combet and Phillips’ relationship first made headlines back in late 2012.
Nic Christensen
Sensible decision. News Ltd’s David Penberthy refrains from writing about his wife’s activities or portfolio and I’ve never seen Chris Uhlman have anything to do with his wife’s political activities either.
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How very strange. Phillips reads a script and does not make comment on the content. Next the mad right will be stopping ABC employees from reading newspapers.
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With Lindsay on this one. In the presentation role, she’s a news reader, not a reporter.
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I think this is overkill- she’s only reading news not interviewing or shaping opinion- we’re big enough to accept women’s professional lives can be kept apart from the private – how did JP feel? Did anyone ask?
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Agree, Conflicts of interest, like justice must be SEEN to be done, must be SEEN to addressed.
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Agree, Conflicts of interest, like justice must be SEEN to be done, must be SEEN to have been addressed.
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And this is why people trust the news service on the ABC. Credibility with a dash of trustworthiness, stirred together with professionalism.
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She just reads the Autocue doesn’t she?
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@ Lindsay… is it the mad right or the mad left (in this case)? That said, I’m sure the ABC have an ethics charter and this probably does breach it. Phillips would also have a strong say in what she says on air and it could be seen as conflict of interest if the report was favourable…
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Pretty fair. Perceptions are important and this would not be a good look. Juanita Phillips may read the news, but she is a journalist.
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Many of ABC employees have ties with the Labor party so there is always conflict of interest. You only have to look at Insiders and Q&A to see where the bias is coming from.
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Brian it is obviously the work of the mad right.
Phillips is a newsreader (a good one) and not a commentator. It would be the same scrip other newsreaders in the ABC would be reading all over the country. No conflict of interest. No breach of any ethics charter what so ever.
What is next? Is the ABC going to stop Mrs. Abbott from commenting on Tony because she might have a conflict of interests? You never know she just might be biased towards him and she would not be reading an ABC script.
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@dion, @lindsay, @lucio: it’s not just the words, it’s the way the newsreader reads the story.
If she had gone on, whatever she had done, someone would have complained that she had raised an eyebrow at the end of the story, or stressed words to establish a sense of irony, or whatever.
A good decision by the ABC, and I suspect Juanita as well.
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Yes Daniel you are obviously spot on.
I have often noticed newsreaders on the ABC displaying anti AFL bias too. You just cannot trust any of them. Their bias knows no limits.
Not only is there someone somewhere in the ABC who does not vote Liberal there are also people listening and watching the ABC who have left leaning tendencies. They should all be stopped. Maybe forced to listen to Alan Jones who has no bias. If only he was on the ABC. These left leaning people must be forced to realise it is only people with right wing sympathies are unbiased.
B Would it be possible to get better weather on the ABC? I did notice a leaning towards rain on an eyebrow the other night. Not a good look.
As for Phillips, she has been reading the news for some time and nobody has ever spotted a bias. This entire story is a right wing beat up. Nothing more and nothing less. It is about time the grownups took control at the ABC.
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Incorrect, Lindsay et al. Newsreaders comment regularly via intonation and tonal attitude. Positive, or condescending; wry or dismissive. They can sink a story or endorse it without changing a word of the script. And they do so, regularly. Juanita is known for going all chirrupy and positive for an ALP policy story, and morose and foreboding with climate change stories. It’s called ‘didactic intonation’.
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You are right Mike. I was watching her reading the news tonight. She was even off set a little from centre of picture to indicate her far left bias. And did she laugh at the story on Abbott’s policy story? Mmm. Certainly not chirrupy and positive. Maybe there was a little edifying modulation.
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@ Lindsay… I think you’re letting your wild ABC conspiracies go to your head!!!! It’s not a right agenda, there’s no UFOs and Harold Holt wasn’t abducted by the Chinese. Instead, this from a media source on the story:
“An ABC spokeswoman said the move to replace Phillips with ABC News 24 presenter Scott Bevan “was an editorial decision by the relevant manager made in the usual course of work”. It is not known whether Phillips alerted management to the conflict. The ABC has a strict series of editorial policies and a code of practice, although there is no specific reference to personal relationships in its codes. Rather, there are references to impartiality.”
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This is not an ethics debate. If we were having one of those it might be about the inability of journalists to follow through on obvious questions. Like how the nsw alp power arrangements work (and why their connections have for so long plugged directly into places like Park Street).
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Thank you Brian for your assurances Phillips was not removed because of some perceived left association. However if you read all the comments here you will notice there are some who believe she was and should have been. It is hard not to believe there are many from the political right who want to remove anyone from the ABC who is not a card-carrying fascist.
However I am wondering why you assume Phillips had a conflict which needed to be reported to the ABC management. The reason the ABC has a code of practice relating to bias works both ways. Presenters should avoid displaying bias (left in this case) and management should avoid taking action which implies a bias is needed (right in this case).
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@ Lindsay… There could be a conspiracy theory as you suggest. Or, more likely, Phillips’ immediate boss believed there was an integrity issue about her presenting a story (which presumably) favoured her partner and she was asked to stand aside for the bulletin. Have you been following the Waterhouse-Singleton fiasco in the news of late? It’s probably very similar. Again, apologies if I think your idea of jackbooted Nazis storming the ABC antennas a little far-fetched….
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Justice must not only be done, it must be seen to be done. Just like company directors remove themselves from discussions/voting that could be seen as a conflict of interest [real of perceived], the ABC was right in not having Juanita Phillips ‘read’ a story about her partner, lest she be seen to have a conflict of interest – ‘reporting’ on her partner. This is not a slur on Ms.Phillips. In fact, it protects her reputation.
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………and if Ms.Phillips made the decision herself, all the more reason to admire her.
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Brian if you are right and Phillips’ immediate boss believed there was an integrity issue about her presenting a news story where her partner was named and she was asked to stand aside for the bulletin because of that story, then my fears of right wing censorship conspiracy creeping into the ABC would be confirmed.
Clearly the Mad Right in Australia have been trying to force a Right Bias onto the ABC for some years and Gerard Henderson was at it again today in the Sydney Morning Herald. He returns to that story about once a month.
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@ Lindsay. I regularly watch the ABC and have never really sensed a right-wing bias in all truth. The opposite would be true in fact. One need only look at the left, whingey drivel of Q&A to see that. If I want baseless right-wing hysteria I choose either The Australian or Sydney talkback radio.
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Pssst. Brian. I’m over here. Look over your left shoulder.
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Don’t think ABC ever leaning toward left. Howard’s mates are still on the board.
Since Mark Scott became managing director .ABC is more leaning to right .
Watch programe 24, drum, and insider Henderson ,Mira Savi, Bolt, Chiko, many more.
Q and A with audiences arranged by Public Institute , no surprise
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