Guardian editor takes aim at The Australian accusing the newspaper of a ‘misuse of power’
Katharine Viner, editor-in-chief of The Guardian Australia, has taken aim at News Corp Australia and in particular, its national broadsheet, The Australian accusing the company of “skewing” the national political discussion and of a “misuse of power” in pursuing those might disagree with it.
In an interview with Mumbrella to coincide with the one year anniversary of the launch of The Guardian’s Australian digital operation, Viner chose to take aim at Australia’s largest newspaper publisher, whose election coverage during last year’s federal poll became a election issue in its own right.
“I think the way The Australian goes after people they don’t like is a misuse of power, and the extent to which News Corp has been able to skew the political discourse in this country is startling — though that influence appears to be waning,” Viner told Mumbrella, just days before she flies out to take up the role of editor-in-chief of The Guardian America. “Otherwise, they have some impressive journalists and I always enjoy the Saturday arts section in The Oz.”
Katharine Viner
Viner made the comments in a discussion around the media controversy surrounding joint Guardian / ABC story which revealed that Australia has been spying on high level Indonesian officials including President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.
The story saw both the ABC and The Guardian criticised over the story which saw a major downturn in diplomatic relations between Australia and Indonesia with Viner herself become a target of criticism with News Corp even trying to take paparazzi-style photos of the Guardian boss, during a visit to Parliament House, at the height of the scandal.
Asked about the incident and whether it would have occurred amid the fierce competition of the British newspapers in London, Viner responded: “I wouldn’t say it wouldn’t happen in the UK but it certainly hasn’t happened to me before.
“I was surprised because I clearly wasn’t the story but I guess if you don’t want people talking about the story which was Edward Snowden’s revelations then you might want to get them talking about something else.”
The Australian has published more than 20 articles, opinion pieces and editorials critical of the coverage of the Snowden Indonesian spying revelations and in particular the ABC’s role in bringing the story to light.
Viner said the ABC role in the coverage in providing an Indonesian perspective.
“The ABC were great to work with I really enjoyed collaborating with them as it meant we had two sets of eyes, experience in Indonesia — which we don’t have — and it was just a great collaboration,” she said.
Chris Mitchell
Chris Mitchell editor-in-chief of The Australian said he understood why The Guardian had brought the ABC onboard but said the taxpayer funded news organisation had made an error in doing “marketing” for a rival news organisation.
“I would not criticize the Guardian for the ABC deal on Snowden. It was smart of the Guardian but silly of the ABC to allow itself to be criticized for marketing another new organisation’s story,” said Mitchell.
ABC managing director Mark Scott rejected Mitchell’s suggestion that the public broadcaster has been “marketing” a Guardian story.
“It is simply not true to suggest the ABC’s role was simply to promote the story,” Scott told Mumbrella. “We partner with a number of major media organisations from time-to-time and the Guardian has partnered with numerous media partners around the NSA stories, who like us, bring local expertise.
“I have no regrets about partnering with the Guardian and broadcasting the story. As I said last year, around the world in this era – the kind of electronic intelligence information collected, who it is shared with and how it is secured – has become one of the most important issues of our time.”
Mitchell did not directly address Viner’s accusation that The Australian misused its power but Mitchell did note that: “I don’t know Kath Viner, but consider (The Guardian’s political journalists) Lenore Taylor and Katherine Murphy long term friends who I respect.”
News Corp Australia management declined to comment on Viner’s remarks.
Viner is not the only senior foreign media executive to critique News Corp’s editorial approach. Last year Martin Clarke, publisher of the biggest English-language news website in the world, the Mail Online, said News Corp’s election coverage would have made UK papers “blush”.
Read the full profile of The Guardian Australia here.
Nic Christensen
Not sure how Viner can lay claim to a misuse of power for The Australian as it’s not really a wide read paper is it?
Just another battle in the open warfare between Fairfax/ABC/Guardian (left) and News Limited (right) going on at the moment. The Journalists of both sides aren’t holding back on twitter at the moment if you follow them.
Surely readers know the slant of both sides and can read between the lines?
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Ripper Guardian! Having a go at The (‘presstitute’) Australian – RESPECT.
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The hypocrisy of the Guardian is breathtaking, yet unsurprising, because the hypocrisy of the bourgeois Left is frankly, sick-making.
Faux compassion, as long as somebody else pays for it. Faux empathy, so long as they don’t move into their street. Faux logic, analysis and ultimately, wanton disconnection from the truth on all matters social, economic and political.
To sum up The Guardian in 2 words: beneath contempt.
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The Guardian, having a go at The Australian, that’s a joke, The Guardian pushes one point of view, and that’s the view of the left. It will probably fail. And that would be a good thing.
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@ Michael 26 May 14 9:24 pm
Usual cons bullshit. Unsubstantiated charges amounting to no more than ‘I don’t like you so I’m going to call you names, with no evidence to back me up.’
When will you lot grow up?
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love the Guardian
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Hear we go again the untrustworthy AUSTRALIAN rearing its ugly head again
this time the people know how corrupt and untruthful they really are
JUST IGNORE
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Get the thesaurus out did we Mike?
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The constant attacks on Clive Palmer prove her point. Nearly every day there is a story in the paper attacking Palmer and always on page 1. It is a misuse of power and there were no attacks on Palmer before he fell out with the LNP. The hypocrises abound but one of the main ones is that while the paper supports ending Govt subsidies and bashes on about everyone being more efficient. the paper itself is subsidised because it runs at a loss.
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Attacks on Palmer? What about Fairfax, The ABC, The Monthly, Crikey most commerical TV news services, including cable and The Guardian’s constant attacks on Abbott and other Liberal MP’s, it’s daily, scurrilous and always front page, Palmer gets off lightly in comparison. Her (Katharine Viner) problem is; she is a lefty and doesn’t like anyone supporting the right, she should bite her laptop and get on with her socialist agenda instead of complaining about The Australian. The Guardian should watch closely the circulation of the Age and SMH, their journalists have alienated a key target audience and will probably be out of business in the next decade, just like The Guardian
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The media in Australia is now approaching the bottom.
lets ake this very clear, to both the right and the left of the media….
The Media is NOT the story!!
If we continue to report on each other instead of reporting REAL NEWS, accurately and unbiased then we deserve the declines and irrelevance we face.
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Thank god for the guardian in Australia.
Now we get honest reporting unlike the lies and filth as well as downright
news fabrication that we received from
the daily telegraph
the Australian
the courier mail
the mercury in Tasmania and the crappy Melbourne herald in cahoots with their
affiliated TV channels 7 9 AND PART OWNED 10.
thank you guardian
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