ABC boss Mark Scott signals new corrections policy | The Australian
ABC managing director Mark Scott has signalled a
dramatic shift in the way the national broadcaster publishes corrections
and apologies after becoming embroiled in a series of controversies
over the standard of its reporting and its refusal to admit mistakes.
Mr Scott, who is also editor-in-chief of the ABC, last night rejected
suggestions the broadcaster did not publish corrections but conceded to a
Senate estimates hearing that it needed the equivalent of a “page two”,
where newspapers typically run corrections, apologies and
clarifications.
The ABC has been criticised this year for airing allegations that
Australian navy personnel deliberately burned the hands of
asylum-seekers intercepted at sea, and then being slow to correct the
record and apologise when the incidents could not be proved. It has
refused to apologise for portraying Chris Kenny, a columnist for The
Australian and television personality, having sex with a dog, triggering
a defamation action.
And last night, the corporation’s Media Watch program ended a week of
stonewalling by indicating it would correct false claims The Australian
was losing $40 million-$50m a year, although host Paul Barry was
resisting an on-air correction.
