Recent Media Commentary

22 June 2010, 4BC, Michael Smith program

http://www.4bc.com.au/blogs/michael-smith-blog/the-price-of-war/20100622-yutw.html

The price of war

ADA comment on Australia's strategic and moral dilemmas with prosecuting the war in Afghanistan

27 October 2009, ABC admits errors in 7.30 Report story broadcast on 09 September 2009

The Corrections and Clarifications page of the ABC website at http://abc.net.au/news/corrections/ reads:

"Female diggers

7.30 Report

On September 9, in a background story about women in the Australian Defence Force, the ABC reported three inaccuracies:

The story contained a comparison between women serving in other foreign defence forces and reported “But in Australia women have been kept away on the basis they're not strong enough to cope” is inaccurate. The ABC acknowledges that female diggers do serve in combat zones.

The ABC inaccurately reported that “Women already make up about 13 per cent of the permanent Defence Force ranks, but those 7000 soldiers, sailors and air crew are limited to support roles”. The ABC understands that women in the ADF are not limited to support roles and do serve in direct and indirect combat functions in combat units.

The ABC sought comment from Neil James of the Australia Defence Association, however, due to time restrictions and editing processes, Mr James’ comments regarding the possible capture of female diggers on the battlefield were misrepresented.

The ABC apologises for the lapse in standards."

The more detailed email response sent to the ADA by the ABC on 28 October 2009 reads:

"Thank you for your email regarding The 7.30 Report story Aussie Combat Women. In keeping with the Corporation’s complaint handling procedures, it has been referred to me for investigation and response.

The ABC acknowledges your concern with certain aspects of the report. First, the ABC agrees that the reporter’s comparison between female diggers and women serving in a range of other foreign defence forces, with the statement “But in Australia women have been kept away on the basis they're not strong enough to cope” is inaccurate. The ABC acknowledges that female diggers do serve in combat zones.

Second, the ABC acknowledges that the reporter’s statement that “Women already make up about 13 per cent of the permanent Defence Force ranks, but those 7000 soldiers, sailors and air crew are limited to support roles” is inaccurate. The ABC understands that women in the ADF are not limited to support roles and do serve in direct and indirect combat functions in combat units.

Third, the ABC acknowledges your concern with the editing of your comments in the report’s conclusion and agrees that your point regarding the capture of female diggers on the battlefield was misrepresented. I am advised by ABC News management that this occurred during tight deadline editing that required the story to be cut down to fit its allotted running time. The ABC regrets that this resulted in your comments being broadcast out of context and sincerely apologises for its lapse of editorial standards. http://abc.net.au/corp/pubs/edpols.htm

You can be assured that your concerns have been brought to the attention of the producer of the program and ABC News management. These breaches of the Corporation’s Editorial Policies have been discussed with the reporter and producer and will be reported to the ABC Board.

It is of course not possible, within the time constraints of such a brief report, to include all of the issues raised in your interview and correspondence. The 7.30 Report endeavoured to encapsulate the major points on the matter through the presentation of a range of principal relevant perspectives. For example, on your point regarding the link between operational capability and employment policy, the Defence Personnel Minister, Greg Combet, made these points in the report: “This is about assessing at the end of the day, anyone's physical capability to fulfil a particular role within the ADF” and “It's extremely important that we send a signal to women that their role is valued within the Australian Defence Force and their opportunity to participate in occupations is considered on appropriate grounds.”

The program would have preferred to include the perspective of a female digger in the report and spent several hours of its limited production time attempting to locate serving and retired female personnel to interview, through contact with the ADF and the Department of Defence. I am advised by ABC News management that repeated requests were made with the ADF media unit for comment throughout the day, but no response was received.

I am advised by ABC news management that the program intends to broadcast an on-air correction tomorrow tonight, time permitting, or as soon as reasonably possible. The online transcript of the report has been amended, with an editor’s note explaining the errors. Those errors have also been posted on the ABC News corrections page. http://abc.net.au/news/corrections/

Thank you for allowing the ABC the opportunity to respond to your concerns.

Yours sincerely

Kieran Doyle

Investigation Officer

Audience and Consumer Affairs "

The detail of the ADA's complaint to the ABC (on 10 September 2009) concerning this program can be read here.