Identifying the wrong person in a news report is not new in journalism, but AI has added a whole new level of danger.
Southern Cross Austereo (SCA) has been investigating this week whether its introduction of AI-assisted news bulletins led to a News Corp reporter being mistakenly named as the man who allegedly struck police with a hammer before escaping custody. The journalist’s name was aired in multiple bulletins on its Triple M and SAFM stations.
The Adelaide Advertiser journalist, Dylan Hogarth, reported that the alleged offender had been named in court.
Six radio bulletins followed up his story, but reported: “Thirty-six-year-old Dylan Hogarth fled on foot last night. Police say if you see him, call triple-zero immediately.”
Hogarth took it in good humour, saying in a video he was alerted to it by friends asking him if he was on the run.
An SCA spokesperson told Weekly Beast: “On Friday, several news bulletins on Triple M 104.7 and SAFM incorrectly named an Adelaide Advertiser journalist in relation to an unfolding police matter.
“As soon as SCA became aware of the error, a correction and apology were broadcast on air. SCA has also apologised to both the journalist and the Adelaide Advertiser.
“SCA understands the importance of quality localised news coverage and is taking this matter very seriously. SCA is currently conducting an internal investigation into the error.”
The radio network, which is set to merge with Seven West Media, told ABC’s Media Watch last month it had developed a proprietary software platform to help journalists gather information and draft bulletins.
Hogarth’s editor at the Advertiser, Gemma Jones, described the mistake as “egregious”.
“In future I expect Advertiser work to be credited – either by their human employees, or their AI bots,” she said.
AI on the march
Higher up the chain, News Corp’s executive chairman, Michael Miller, has had a lot to say about artificial intelligence – but less so when it comes to explaining how his newspapers are using the tools.
In The Australian on Friday, Miller said News Corp supported the “smart use of AI to increase productivity” but he did not “believe it replaces the strength of human connection”.
What went unsaid was how AI is increasingly being used to create content across News Corp newsrooms – particularly for illustrations at the Daily Telegraph, where it often replaces newspaper photography or commissioned art. Opinion pieces, including those by Tim Blair and Andrew Bolt, have been accompanied by illustrations created by ChatGPT.
In recent weeks, several stories on News Corp websites have carried one of two disclaimers: “AI assisted in creating this article” or “This article was created with help from AI”.
There were stories under the Courier Mail’s masthead about a new millionaire suburb, Dundowran Beach; a super volcano in Queensland; the Fraser Coast’s 25 most influential people; and a cutest puppy competition.
We asked the Courier-Mail’s editor, Chris Jones, and a spokesperson for Miller to explain how AI was being used in the newsroom, but we didn’t hear back.
In 2023, the company acknowledged it was producing 3,000 localised articles a week using generative artificial intelligence.
True crime twist
The ABC faced a dilemma on Thursday when Victoria’s highest court handed down its decision to overturn the murder conviction of Greg Lynn.
Just over a week ago the award-winning investigative reporter Rachael Brown, from Mushroom Case Daily, had unveiled a new podcast about Lynn, who last year was convicted of the murder of 73-year-old Carol Clay in the Victorian high country.
The podcast was heavily promoted across ABC platforms and the six-part series is No 1 on the Apple charts. Would the ABC have to take the project down in the wake of the appeal verdict, we wondered.
No, Aunty is holding firm. “The program Unravel: Huntsman was published on 3 December 2025 and remains available on ABC listen,” an ABC spokesperson said.
We understand the publicity for the podcast will be taken down a notch.
‘Fat, 55 and fired’
Radio National has unveiled changes to its schedule for the new year. In a refreshingly honest post on Mumbrella, the publisher Tim Burrowes revealed his program, MediaLand, had been axed after one year.
The media show was a ratings failure and he was “fat, 55 and fired”, Burrowes wrote. “On a radio network that rates badly, MediaLand rates particularly badly … and we didn’t do any better on podcast either.”
In other changes, Radio National Breakfast with Sally Sara has been cut by 30 minutes, and will now revert to its previous start time of 6am.
Future Tense, which began in 2009, is not returning. Its host, Antony Funnell, will instead helm Rear Vision.
After 50 years of hosting The Science Show solo, Robyn Williams is welcoming a co-presenter each Saturday: Lab Notes presenter Belinda Smith.
In a somewhat unexpected move, RN has added London-based journalist Latika M Bourke as a co-presenter on Global Roaming. The program has been extended to four days a week and two new presenters – Bourke and Radio National Hour presenter Kylie Morris – will join the originals Hamish Macdonald and Geraldine Doogue. (Bourke added the M to her name after she left the Sydney Morning Herald last year, where her byline was plain old Latika Bourke.)
Now the writer-at-large at the Nightly, Bourke has a tendency to become the news, as she did recently at a press conference with Donald Trump when she asked why the US president didn’t “just enable Ukraine to finish this war tomorrow”.
Multiple reports, including Weekly Beast, captured the moment. “Australian journalist Latika Bourke was blasted by Trump after she asked a bizarre question about ending the war in Ukraine,” Sky News Australia said.
In September her social media posts featured in The Australian after she complained loudly about the conditions for journalists on the prime minister’s plane.
“Food was inedible … honestly worse than any economy flight I’ve taken, and it was sparse. Never been so ravenous and so little food available. Same for drinks (non alcoholic).”
EPs on the move
Two of the ABC’s flagship shows, Four Corners and Insiders, have new leaders. The ABC has hired the former executive producer of The Project, Chris Bendall, as executive producer of Insiders. Meanwhile, Joel Tozer is moving from 7.30 to head Four Corners.
Bendall is well placed to handle the spotlight at the ABC. He had a blowtorch applied to his belly over The Project’s Brittany Higgins story in 2021.
Bendall faced cross-examination in the federal court about the editorial decision-making process behind the interview.
• The Weekly Beast will return in January 2026.
