Scott misleads Senate about Q&A’s NBN coverage

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news Mark Scott appears to have unintentionally misled the Federal Senate about the degree to which the broadcaster’s Q&A program covers the National Broadband Network issue, with the ABC managing director yesterday erroneously claiming that Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull had faced “many questions” about the issue on the show.

Yesterday, Labor Senator Anne Urquhart directly raised the issue of the ABC’s coverage of the NBN issue in a Senate Estimates session, asking a series of pointed questions about whether the ABC had a discrete editorial policy on the topic, why a pro-NBN article written by Lateline co-host Emma Alberici had been held over and published after the September Federal Election, and whether the issue of its NBN coverage in general had been investigated by the ABC.

The questions came after Delimiter revealed over the past several weeks that several of the ABC’s flagship current affairs programs were largely ignoring the Coalition’s radical reshaping of Labor’s popular NBN policy. Q&A host Tony Jones has also actively shut down discussion of the topic on the show several times, despite it explicitly being raised by participants and the audience.

In response to the allegations specifically about Q&A, Scott specifically repeated the claim yesterday that Turnbull had fielded questions on the show about the NBN “many” times. The full video of Scott’s appearance can be watched online through YouTube. There are two sessions — Part 1 and Part 2.

“[The] Minister was interviewed on Lateline in April, and as you know he has turned up on Q&A on numbers of different occasions and I believe that many times he has been questioned on the NBN,” Scott said. Later, in response to a similar question, Scott said: “Minister Turnbull has been the guest on Q&A on a number of occasions and on very many of those occasions he’s been questioned about the NBN.”

“I’m sorry that people didn’t think we covered the NBN enough on that particular occasion,” Scott said, referring to one controversial Q&A episode in late April this year where host Tony Jones shut down questions to Turnbull from commentator Van Badham on the topic. “On many other occasions we have. I’m sure Mr Turnbull will be back on Q&A, I’m sure there will be opportunities for him to engage on the NBN again.”

However, analysis of Turnbull’s appearances on Q&A show that the ABC managing director’s statement about how many times the Liberal MP has discussed the NBN topic on the show was factually inaccurate.

Turnbull was appointed Shadow Communications Minister in September 2010. Since that time, the Liberal MP has appeared on Q&A 12 times, or every few months. Despite the repeat appearances, on only three occasions — 28 April 2014, 10 February 2014 and 8 July 2013, did Q&A allow a formal question about the NBN topic to be asked by the audience. Turnbull’s appearances on Q&A while in the Communications portfolio are tabled below.

table

On two of those three occasions, host Tony Jones actively curtailed discussion on the NBN, allowing only very limited discussion of the topic, and only allowing Turnbull personally to respond to the issue at length, with other panellists only having very limited input.

Delimiter has recently discovered that the NBN topic was also raised on Q&A on 10 June 2013, informally by Labor MP Craig Emerson. However, as on two other occasions on 10 June Jones again actively shut down discussion of the NBN debate on the show after only a very brief discussion, with the Q&A host stating that the NBN topic was a “side debate”.

This means that out of 12 appearances on Q&A since being appointed Shadow Communications Minister in September 2010, on only one occasion did Q&A allow a discussion of more than several minutes to develop about the NBN; and on only one occasion did Turnbull face signficant questioning on the issue — not the “many” occasions which Scott yesterday claimed.

Delimiter’s reporting has also highlighted the fact that the ABC’s flagship current affairs show 7:30 is particularly ignoring the topic of the NBN. 7:30 has not yet covered the NBN as a specific topic in 2014, despite the wide-ranging changes which the Coalition has made to the project and despite the fact that Turnbull has personally made several major policy announcements affecting it (see here and here). The lack of coverage also comes despite the fact that the NBN remains Australia’s largest ever infrastructure project.

Similarly, 7:30 only covered the NBN as a specific topic a handful of times throughout the 2013 calendar year, and coverage of the project at those times was typically largely limited to major announcements regarding the project, or Coalition criticism of Labor’s administration of the project.

In response to general allegations about the ABC’s NBN coverage, Scott yesterday stated that the broadcaster had “no specific policy on coverage of the NBN as an issue”, with the topic being covered, like all other topics, under the ABC’s general editorial policies.

Scott noted that the ABC had audited its NBN coverage. “It’s been investigated and we’ve said that we’ve produced over 150 NBN stories across radio, television news and current affairs and online since September since last year. It doesn’t sound to me that we’re avoiding the topic at all,” he said. “The bulk of those current affairs stories relate to policy and governance, they’re the current affairs stories. The bulk of the news stories relate to the rollout and construction of the NBN across the country.”

“There’s no overarching policy or direction around coverage of NBN issues. Our editors, our executive producers, our journalists exercise their editorial judgement under the window of our editorial policies on which they operate on stories.”

In terms of the delay with respect to Alberici’s article, Scott said that speaking broadly, in his experience in newsrooms and news operations, “many times stories are created and then they are often held because there are often more pressing news stories that have to go to air, and they run when there’s a window to run them.”

“I’m not a close student of the blog or the website, Senator,” Scott added, referring to Delimiter, “but I am aware that there are people in the technology press who would like us to cover NBN issues all day every day. Our editors and producers make their editorial judgement, and they have no overarching instructions in doing so.”

“I know that there are some technology blogs out there who are somewhat fevered about coverage of the NBN, as is their wont. That’s their beat. But there are other questions, there are other matters of public importance, and Q&A on [28 April 2014] covered those other matters. There’s no greater conspiracy that’s lying behind it.”

One ABC journalist who had formerly been reporting on the NBN, the editor of the broadcaster’s Technology & Games site Nick Ross, has largely backed away from the topic following an investigation of his coverage by Media Watch. Scott took several questions on notice as to whether the ABC had prohibited Ross from writing about the NBN previous to the Federal Election.

Delimiter has sought to contact the ABC to request Scott correct his comments regarding Turnbull’s appearances on Q&A.

Image credit: Parliamentary Broadcasting

47 COMMENTS

  1. Scott: “Minister Turnbull has been the guest on Q&A on a number of occasions and on very many of those occasions he’s been questioned about the NBN.”

    This is completely true: Turnbull has been repeatedly questioned about the NBN on Q&A. He just hasn’t been required to answer them.

    • And the only time Tony J allowed “extensive” debate was with someone who wasn’t actually very well informed about the project and just filling in (and even then Anthony actually did a fair job, considering).

  2. I mean, it’s only Australia’s our largest public infrastructure project since forever. Why would anyone wanna discuss it?

  3. “I am aware that there are people in the technology press who would like us to cover NBN issues all day every day.”

    This Turnbullesque response is an unnecessary attempt at deflection.

    “I know that there are some technology blogs out there who are somewhat fevered about coverage of the NBN, as is their wont.”

    Another completely irrelevant distraction.

    What a disappointing performance by Mark Scott. It would’ve be nice if he had addressed the questions directly and professionally.

    • Haha Turnbull is now officially an ABC friend!
      “[The] Minister was interviewed on Lateline in April, and as you know he has turned up on Q&A on numbers of different occasions and I believe that many times he has been questioned on the NBN,”
      Does he even watch the show?

      • I think Scott’s definition of “many” means more than once, and his definition of “questioned” means somebody actually used the letters “NBN” briefly.
        It is sad that the ABC has been reduced to “Bill Clinton responses” (I did not have sexual relations…) as an answer to questions about their programming choices. That is OUR programming!
        What is the process to change the management at the ABC? We should look into it as they are obviously not doing the job we pay them for…time for a new crowd sourced petition?

    • Well they employed his Chief of Staff just long enough to screw over their technology editor a few times. So theres already love there.

  4. A Parliament Group to defend ABC from Parliament influence.

    Do I actually have that correct?

    • Ironic isn’t it? Strewth, is this why the ABC has been pampering to Mr Turnbull’s whims?

      • I think it’ll eventually come out that Malcolm wasn’t actually in favour of those cuts and he did actually help make them not as bad as they could have been. No insider knowledge, just a gut feeling on what I’ve been seeing/reading over a while now.

        In light of that, I can understand why the ABC wouldn’t want to ‘savage’ him and blame the system that allows governments (more specifically, but not limited to Tony and Joe in this case) to indirectly sanction the ABC through it’s funding.

  5. “unintentionally misled the Federal Senate”

    Should the word “unintentionally” be included as part of the news section? Surely that is an opinion.

    • “In terms of the delay with respect to Alberici’s article, Scott said that speaking broadly, in his experience in newsrooms and news operations, “many times stories are created and then they are often held because there are often more pressing news stories that have to go to air, and they run when there’s a window to run them.”

      That is total bullshit.

  6. Keep fighting the good fight, Renai. This feels like progress. You’re slowly exposing more lies and Turnbullian snideness all over the place.

    “Parliamentary Friends of the ABC”
    This reeks of nothing but collusion.

  7. yes, its all lies. because there is only the nbn. nothing else exists for the Australian public. that’s what you are all saying.

    being collectively delusional doesn’t make it real.

    maybe they shut it down to stop 1 conversation taking all their time when they had other things to talk about. you know, like regular people.

    • It’s only the largest, most expensive single infrastructure project Australia has taken on in what, 50 years or something? Yeah, that’s sure to affect absolutely nobody at all. FFS.

    • “maybe they shut it down to stop 1 conversation taking all their time when they had other things to talk about. you know, like regular people.”

      You mean like those months, and months and months (years?) of hearing about “Labor dysfunction/faceless men”?

      And “asylum seekers”? How many friggen years has that been “discussed” now?

  8. “Minister Turnbull has been the guest on Q&A on a number of occasions and on very many of those occasions he’s been questioned about the NBN.” Are you kidding me?

    Q&A has dedicated more time to “faceless men” and Labor leadership questions.

    I guess the NBN isn’t sexy to viewers.

  9. I like how he talks about how they like to cover a wide range and there are more pressing issues.

    I’d love to see a breakdown of just how much gay marriage and refugees is talked about, because those 2 topics are probably the main reason I stopped watching that show years ago, they simply rehash the same story every week, it’s so inane, and I’m a supporter of both.

    Oh yeah, and as Watcher says, the faceless men stuff….oh god, Tony Jones is the worst host IMO, 90% of the time he is just an example of “everything that is wrong with our media” because he is just wasting time on unimportant shit and gossip, and 10% of the time he actually does his job and calls politicians out when they make up bullshit.

  10. I’m sure the next story Renai will be writing about is the AFP raiding his home and confiscating his PC ;)

  11. Oh geez… “We got News Corp in our corner, let’s make a “Friends of the ABC” group to get them on our side too.

    Is that “friend” in the way Brutus was friend of Caesar?

    • That’d be News Corpse, don’t forget they actually backed Rudd way back…look what they did to him after they helped get him in!

  12. I have to admire the finesse you’ve shown getting this back under the national spotlight Renai, great work!!

  13. Ok, here’s one for the tin foil hat brigade.

    As of 5:00pm 30/05/14, not a single mention of Bill Morrow and the suit on the ABC, even though most other news services have carried something about it:

    http://search.abc.net.au/s/search.html?collection=abcall_meta&query=bill+morrow&form=simple

    If you do a search in their news section for “NBN Co” in the last 3 months, you get a healthy sounding 1,097 hits

    http://search.abc.net.au/s/search.html?query=NBN%20Co&collection=news_meta&form=simple&gscope1=10&f.Date|d=d%3E28Feb2014%3C31May2014&period=Past%203%20Months

    But when you go through and check them, you realise the hits are mostly from comments on The Drum articles, articles that aren’t even about the NBN.

    Change that to TV and you get 152 hits

    http://search.abc.net.au/s/search.html?query=NBN%20Co&collection=abcall_meta&form=simple&gscope1=1&f.Date|d=d%3E28Feb2014%3C31May2014&period=Past%203%20Months

    Those hits are basically just Landline and Media Watch…

  14. Keep up the good work Renai Snowden…

    Perhaps you could ask the abc why they do not feel inclined to educate and generate public involvement in nbn discussion sinceit should be a core focus given its size and national importance.

    Instead abc implies that only fringe IT bloggers and readers are interested. Does the abc not wish to be at the forefront of discussion on nation changing politically important projects?

  15. Good point, mick. That quote proves that the ABC is purposefully trivialising the matter.

    “Oh, nobody cares about the largest single infrastructure project Australia has undertaken in almost forever apart from a select few tech geeks. Nevermind it was the majority that voted Labor in to begin this incredibly expensive, niche project. Now everybody wants to make love to a guy in speedos.”

    F that.

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