The ABC is still trying to find savings in its budget after Tony Abbott’s government cut funding by $254m in 2014, forcing the public broadcaster to find staggered savings over three years. First the transcription service was cut, now ABC journalists’ access to wire services is being severely limited. ABC News is dropping several of the wire services it has previously subscribed to, including sports provider SNTV, Getty Images, Bloomberg and Agence France-Presse. It is expected to hit the finance journalists the hardest as they have previously relied on both Bloomberg and Reuters Eikon, which enabled them to take a wider view.
The Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance told Weekly Beast they were disappointed there had been no consultation with staff who would have to bear the brunt of the cuts. The ABC declined to comment.
Sharri Markson heads to the press gallery
The federal parliamentary press gallery is about to get a rather colourful addition to its ranks in the form of Sydney journalist Sharri Markson, who famously went undercover as a university student in 2014 to reveal that universities were indoctrinating students to be biased against News Corp which routinely used its position to wield political power. Who knew?
Markson executed this breathtaking scoop while editor of the Australian’s Media section, a role which ended late last year before she moved on to become a senior writer on the paper. In a surprising career move, Markson is set to take on the nation’s politicians in her new role as national political editor at the Daily Telegraph.
“This is a return to covering federal politics for Sharri, having previously been Canberra correspondent for the Sunday Telegraph,” the Tele announced. “She has also held senior editorial roles including chief of staff for the Sunday Telegraph and editor of Cleo.”
Markson’s defection to the Telegraph has been on the cards since former Courier Mail editor Chris Dore arrived to run the Telegraph as the two have been close in the past. But Markson’s new gig at the Tele will not be welcomed by at least one veteran journalist. Gossip writer Annette Sharp and Markson have been openly feuding for years. Sharp once described Markson as “a woman whose talent for chasing stories is possibly eclipsed only by her ambition” and Markson has returned fire by publishing an email in which the Tele asked photo agencies for “scruffy/too casual/not sexy/bad” photos of Sunrise co-host Samantha Armytage for Sharp’s story.
Holt Street shuffle
But wait, there’s more. When editors move on to other publications their favourite writers usually aren’t far behind, as we’ve seen in the case of Markson and Dore. Now that former Daily Telegraph editor Paul “Boris” Whittaker is firmly in control at the Australian and his faithful Tele scribe Gemma Jones has moved to become the Oz’s chief of staff, another staffer has also made the switch. Simon Benson, who has made quite a name for himself as the the Daily Telegraph’s chief political reporter, is joining the Oz bureau in coming months as national affairs editor.
Family ties
Chris Dore kept it all in the family on Thursday when he published an op-ed about the funding for independent schools, written by his nephew Alex Dore. The younger Dore, who is president of the NSW Young Liberals, revealed quite a lot about how his parents managed to send young Alex to a private school: “Mum started a business with her hands despite agonising rheumatoid arthritis; dad went overseas to work so he could pay our fees, they forewent holidays, rarely socialised with friends, and went without luxuries such as expensive cars or clothes.”
Twitter gremlins unleashed at Australian Women’s Weekly
The Australian Women’s Weekly might be good at selling magazines (it is still the No 1 magazine in Australia), but its social media form has been a little odd recently. The Twitter account for the Bauer-owned publication has been sending out bizarre tweets with no context like: “Baby born without eyes”; “Did a meteor hit Queensland last night?”; “It took 826 days but ‘recovery is possible’”; “Children who go to bed after 9pm are at risk of being obese” and “Good parenting or global kid shaming?”.
Nobody at the Women's Weekly has noticed that their automatic tweet program "Adobe® Social" has stopped including links to their stories pic.twitter.com/Bf6cLg2f3o
— Ti Butler (@tibutler) September 28, 2016
After Melbourne radio presenter Ti Butler pointed out that the account was “drunk tweeting”, the people behind it were slow to act, but eventually deleted all the rogue tweets without explanation. Editor Kim Doherty told Weekly Beast: “Despite appearances on Twitter last night, no, the AWW editorial staff have not been overdoing it at the sherry cabinet. We had a technical gremlin in Adobe Social. I believe he’s now sober.”
Good Weekend has another bad day
Journalist Tim Elliott wrote a fascinating cover story Walking Free about a convicted murderer’s first six months out of jail. Elliott spent a long time finding a suitable candidate for the story, then met him for a meal each week to track his progress and learn about the difficult life that led to prison and how he was coping as a free man.
It was a moving and nuanced portrait of the person behind a crime. Elliott wrote: “When I first asked Samson about the murder, early in our meetings, he described it as ‘just one of those things’. In fact, it was a source of deep shame for him: for months he couldn’t look me in the eye when discussing it. The murder was a tragedy, firstly for Jones’s family but also for Samson, whose life disappeared down a deep, dark hole.”
The piece was very well received on Saturday, but then a major error was discovered. Promised anonymity, the real name of “Samson” the former inmate had been inadvertently published in the printed magazine. Fairfax apologised on Monday.
“On 24-25 September, Good Weekend ran a story, Walking Free. The story contained an error for which we make an unreserved apology. It was a comprehensive and straightforward look at a part of life that rarely gets exposed. The story involved our writer regularly visiting a recently-released prisoner over many months, and tracking his readjustment to life after nearly 19 years behind bars. The subject initially agreed to having his real name published; however it was later decided that we would use a false name to protect his privacy. This was consistent with his request. Unfortunately, the subject’s real name was inadvertently reinstated in one instance in the story, after a very late amendment was made in the production process. We sincerely regret the error.”
It is the second major error at the magazine under the editorship of Amelia Lester, the former executive online editor at the New Yorker, who returned to Australia to edit Good Weekend in February. In May a cover story “Sue Neill-Fraser and the murder that divided Tasmania” was removed entirely for legal reasons.
In July Fairfax ran a correction and apology for the piece which implied prosecutor Tim Ellis SC, the former director of public prosecutions, was responsible for a miscarriage of justice
Rita Panahi misses the point
Resident rightwing Herald Sun columnist Rita Panahi was quick to defend the Footy Show’s Sam Newman from critics who said it was time the old fossil quit TV after he consistently made sexist comments about his co-host Rebecca Maddern.
“This joyless bunch of finger waggers won’t be happy until everyone else is as determinedly miserable and hypersensitive as they are,” Panahi wrote. One of those finger waggers was her Herald Sun colleague Alice Coster, who had berated Newman in a column earlier in the week. There was much cheering at the Hun when Coster, the Page 13 editor, made fun of Panahi in a Tweet by saying she had missed the point.
@RitaPanahi @theheraldsun in an effort not to be a frightbat fingerwagger. Frankly my dear you've missed the point. But do u give a damn?! 😜
— Alice Coster (@AliceHeraldSun) September 27, 2016
- This story has been amended, the previous version incorrectly identified Alex Dore as Chris Dore’s brother. Alex is his nephew.
