WEBVTT - The Media Show | 20 September 0:00:00.560 --> 0:00:05.760 This is the Media Show with joanouting, Hello and welcome 0:00:05.760 --> 0:00:08.039 to the Media Show. I'm Color Bond filling in for 0:00:08.119 --> 0:00:11.240 Jack harton this week Big Show Ahead. As the ABC's 0:00:11.280 --> 0:00:15.920 reputation is in tatters after bombshell allegations it doctored footage 0:00:16.000 --> 0:00:19.239 to make it look like war crimes were committed in Afghanistan, 0:00:19.600 --> 0:00:23.920 and the outgoing nine CEO finally speaks after his shock resignation. 0:00:24.560 --> 0:00:27.320 Now we saw this week the second dice with death 0:00:27.400 --> 0:00:30.120 Donald Trump has had in just a few months. As 0:00:30.160 --> 0:00:32.640 I'm sure you know, the forty fifth President of the 0:00:32.800 --> 0:00:34.920 United States, who of course wants to be the forty 0:00:35.000 --> 0:00:38.120 seventh president, was playing around of golf at his course 0:00:38.200 --> 0:00:42.080 in West Palm Beach in Florida on Sunday afternoon when 0:00:42.080 --> 0:00:44.599 the Secret Service found a man harding in the bushes 0:00:44.640 --> 0:00:47.800 four hundred meters away from Trump with an AK forty 0:00:47.840 --> 0:00:51.840 seven style assault rifle. They fired multiple rounds at Ryan 0:00:52.000 --> 0:00:55.280 Ralph before he fled the scene, and he was eventually 0:00:55.320 --> 0:00:59.520 stopped and arrested about seventy two kilometers away. After being 0:00:59.520 --> 0:01:02.680 shot in year in Butler, Pennsylvania a little more than 0:01:02.680 --> 0:01:06.039 two months ago, he was another man who appeared to 0:01:06.080 --> 0:01:10.119 be ready to assassinate the Republican presidential candidate. And you'd 0:01:10.200 --> 0:01:13.679 think after last time that the media would be smart 0:01:13.800 --> 0:01:17.679 enough to tone down the anti Trump rhetoric. The bloke 0:01:17.959 --> 0:01:22.319 nearly got shot again, But no, the leftist media in 0:01:22.360 --> 0:01:26.319 the US in this case, the MSNBC was saying it 0:01:26.400 --> 0:01:28.960 was Trump who needed to tone down the rhetoric. 0:01:30.040 --> 0:01:32.520 But do you expect to hear anything from the Trump 0:01:32.600 --> 0:01:36.600 campaign about toning down the rhetoric, toning down the violence, 0:01:36.680 --> 0:01:39.959 or would that be atypical of the former president. 0:01:40.640 --> 0:01:44.520 Well, Alex remember back to the assassination attempt on President 0:01:44.560 --> 0:01:47.000 Trump's life, and how you know, there was talk of 0:01:47.040 --> 0:01:50.840 a new tone, and then the Republican Convention was, by 0:01:50.960 --> 0:01:54.920 Trumpian standards, muted, and it did seem like he was 0:01:56.960 --> 0:01:59.400 just trying to take it down a few nches. But 0:01:59.480 --> 0:02:02.920 then by the end of his convention speech, you know, 0:02:02.960 --> 0:02:05.480 we were kind of back to where we started. 0:02:06.440 --> 0:02:09.600 I mean, they're effectively victim blaming. He came within four 0:02:09.680 --> 0:02:12.400 hundred meters of a lunaty hidden in the bushes with 0:02:12.440 --> 0:02:16.640 an assault rifle, and it's apparently his job to calm 0:02:16.720 --> 0:02:19.360 things down. Here are a few more examples of the 0:02:19.400 --> 0:02:22.920 media shifting the blame to Trump for someone apparently wanting 0:02:22.960 --> 0:02:23.560 to shoot him. 0:02:24.760 --> 0:02:28.800 Donald Trump is blaming Democrats for inflaming political rhetoric, but 0:02:28.840 --> 0:02:31.600 the former president's own words seem to be increasing the 0:02:31.639 --> 0:02:35.320 threat of political violence in Springfield, Ohio. That's where a 0:02:35.440 --> 0:02:39.160 false and ugly accusation against Haitians, thousands of whom our 0:02:39.280 --> 0:02:42.720 legal permanent residents, is impacting everyday life as a. 0:02:42.760 --> 0:02:46.680 Parent assassination attempt comes amid increasingly fierce rhetoric on the 0:02:46.720 --> 0:02:50.400 campaign trail itself. Mister Trump is running made jd Vance 0:02:50.480 --> 0:02:54.520 continue to make baseless claims about Haitian immigrants in Ohio. 0:02:55.120 --> 0:03:00.000 You can't say that threat's bomb threats on Springfield, Ohio 0:03:00.200 --> 0:03:03.919 schools and hospitals have nothing to do with Trump and 0:03:04.040 --> 0:03:08.040 the Trump campaign. You can't say Trump has no responsibility 0:03:08.360 --> 0:03:13.160 for an attack on Paul Pelosi, no responsibility for Jan six, 0:03:13.440 --> 0:03:18.480 no responsibility for threats against election workers, no responsibility for 0:03:18.560 --> 0:03:22.560 threats against doctor Fauci and health administrators. I mean, the 0:03:22.680 --> 0:03:27.280 list goes on and on and on. So the calls 0:03:27.360 --> 0:03:31.200 to tone down are good, but they need to come 0:03:31.200 --> 0:03:32.320 from inside the house. 0:03:33.520 --> 0:03:37.280 I mean, for heaven's sake, and the post mortem continued 0:03:37.320 --> 0:03:40.680 in print, with the leftist media rubbishing the idea that 0:03:40.800 --> 0:03:44.880 inflammatory rhetoric against Trump might incite someone to want to 0:03:44.960 --> 0:03:49.160 kill him. NBC online quote, Trump dispenses with unity and 0:03:49.200 --> 0:03:55.360 blames Democrats after apparent second assassination attempt. The Washington Post quote, Trump, 0:03:55.400 --> 0:04:00.720 without evidence blames rhetoric of Biden Harris for possible assassination attempt. 0:04:01.040 --> 0:04:05.800 MSNBC online quote the problems with Trump blaming Dems for 0:04:05.840 --> 0:04:11.680 apparent assassination attempt. USA Today quote after possible assassination attempt, 0:04:11.960 --> 0:04:17.359 Trump decries sorry rhetoric, Spare me the sanctimony. USA Today 0:04:17.600 --> 0:04:22.760 again quote Trump fundraises, blames Biden and Harris without evidence 0:04:22.800 --> 0:04:26.880 in aftermath of second assassination attempt. Here in Australia, The 0:04:26.880 --> 0:04:31.080 Sydney Morning Herald quote without evidence, Trump blames Biden and 0:04:31.160 --> 0:04:36.039 Harris for apparent assassination attempt. Seeing INN online quote headline, 0:04:36.520 --> 0:04:40.320 Trump pivots from second to parent assassination attempt to more 0:04:40.360 --> 0:04:45.200 incendiury claims lead. Ex President Donald Trump responded to a 0:04:45.279 --> 0:04:49.400 second apparent assassination attempt that he blames on incendury political 0:04:49.480 --> 0:04:54.560 rhetoric by inflaming the situation even more. The Atlantic quote 0:04:54.640 --> 0:04:57.880 Donald Trump is using another possible attempt on his life 0:04:58.040 --> 0:05:00.760 to inflame tensions in America, which which is one more 0:05:00.800 --> 0:05:04.640 reason he should never be president again. The Los Angeles 0:05:04.720 --> 0:05:09.479 Times quote Trump assassination attempts are just the beginning. Imagine 0:05:09.520 --> 0:05:12.120 what is coming after the election. It then goes on 0:05:12.160 --> 0:05:15.479 to say in the article, if Vice President Kamala Harris 0:05:15.720 --> 0:05:19.320 wins the election in November, there is serious concern over 0:05:19.400 --> 0:05:22.960 violence waged by Trump supporters who may believe that the 0:05:23.000 --> 0:05:27.160 election was rigged or stolen. It continues. If Trump is elected, 0:05:27.440 --> 0:05:30.960 many expect a visceral reaction from segments of the far left, 0:05:31.240 --> 0:05:34.560 including some who may resort to violence. May is doing 0:05:34.600 --> 0:05:37.280 some heavy lifting there, but after a brief charting of 0:05:37.320 --> 0:05:40.800 the left, it goes on, Trump's election could also embolden 0:05:40.920 --> 0:05:44.680 any followers prone to violence, which could feel more terrorism 0:05:44.720 --> 0:05:50.880 against immigrants, people of color, women, LGBTQ plus people and others. 0:05:51.680 --> 0:05:55.120 How can the media possibly claim that there is no 0:05:55.200 --> 0:05:59.440 evidence that the rhetoric of Biden and Harris could encourage 0:05:59.440 --> 0:06:04.280 assassinate attempts against Trump. They have both repeatedly caught him 0:06:04.279 --> 0:06:07.159 a threat to democracy. Biden said he should be put 0:06:07.200 --> 0:06:09.840 in a bullseye I mean, if you think he is 0:06:09.880 --> 0:06:12.680 a threat to the very fabric of the governance of 0:06:12.680 --> 0:06:15.599 the United States, then why wouldn't you want to have 0:06:15.680 --> 0:06:19.560 the man killed? And Rachel Maddower had Hillary Clinton on 0:06:19.720 --> 0:06:22.599 MSNBC the next day to say that Trump was a 0:06:22.640 --> 0:06:24.599 demagogue and a threat to the world. 0:06:26.400 --> 0:06:30.400 You know, journalists should, you know, really try to achieve 0:06:30.440 --> 0:06:33.760 objectivity and by that he said, I mean they should 0:06:33.839 --> 0:06:36.680 cover the object. Well, the object in this case is 0:06:36.720 --> 0:06:42.719 Donald Trump, his demagoguery, his danger to our country and 0:06:42.760 --> 0:06:46.480 the world, and stick with it. You know, they were 0:06:46.600 --> 0:06:53.880 merciless about what they saw as President Biden's problems in 0:06:53.920 --> 0:06:54.440 the debate. 0:06:55.640 --> 0:06:58.640 They never learn, But I think the point is that 0:06:58.680 --> 0:07:02.200 they don't want to learn, because it's deliberate. They would 0:07:02.320 --> 0:07:05.720 rather see Trump dead than in office again, so why 0:07:05.800 --> 0:07:11.480 would they turn down the retric Joining me on the 0:07:11.520 --> 0:07:14.720 show this week is The Australian's media writers Sophie Ellsworth 0:07:14.720 --> 0:07:18.920 and writer and broadcaster Kel Richards. Kel. You know, it's 0:07:19.080 --> 0:07:23.440 just so egregious the examples from the American media. I 0:07:23.480 --> 0:07:26.080 could have gone on. That's only a handful of the 0:07:26.120 --> 0:07:29.320 examples that I managed to scrounge up this week, but 0:07:29.480 --> 0:07:33.679 that the leftist media in America wants the man dead, 0:07:33.880 --> 0:07:36.400 it would seem, and will do everything to shift the 0:07:36.400 --> 0:07:38.320 blame for people wanting to kill him. 0:07:38.480 --> 0:07:41.280 Ninety percent of the American media have decided on their 0:07:41.360 --> 0:07:44.920 candidate they want elected to the White House, and everything, 0:07:45.080 --> 0:07:48.360 every single journalistic value has been thrown out the window 0:07:48.360 --> 0:07:51.280 in order to pursue their campaign to get Krmala Harrison 0:07:51.320 --> 0:07:53.520 too the White House. The things we we're hearing more bizarre. 0:07:53.680 --> 0:07:56.320 On Wolf Blitzer's program on SO, a woman wanted to 0:07:56.360 --> 0:08:00.800 blame Trump for the attack on Nancy Pelosi's husban. Now, 0:08:01.000 --> 0:08:04.400 a that's without evidence. If you want to talk about 0:08:04.480 --> 0:08:06.160 things with that, There's no evidence for that at all. 0:08:06.200 --> 0:08:08.800 It was a madman who did that. There's never been 0:08:08.840 --> 0:08:11.760 any suggestion that had anything to do with Trump, except 0:08:11.760 --> 0:08:15.080 now suddenly we want to blame Trump for everything, including 0:08:15.120 --> 0:08:17.480 things in the past. And you quoted that line, which 0:08:17.520 --> 0:08:19.960 is the most important line. That was three or four 0:08:20.000 --> 0:08:22.960 of them newspaper lines you quoted without evidence, without evidence. 0:08:23.000 --> 0:08:26.280 I'll give you the evidence. The ipsuma verba of Joe 0:08:26.320 --> 0:08:30.040 Biden he is a threat to democracy, was quoted word 0:08:30.160 --> 0:08:34.120 for word by Ryan Ralf and his post online. So 0:08:34.240 --> 0:08:38.640 Ryan Ralph the alleged attempted assassin, quoted Joe Briden word 0:08:38.720 --> 0:08:41.400 for word, this is why he has to be assassinated. 0:08:41.600 --> 0:08:44.400 I mean, why can't they see the evidence in front 0:08:44.440 --> 0:08:45.120 of their eyes? 0:08:45.360 --> 0:08:48.319 Oh? Well, I think they can see the evidence, Kelbert. 0:08:48.360 --> 0:08:52.760 The point, Sophie is that they're just deliberately ignoring the 0:08:52.800 --> 0:08:57.040 evidence in front of them to achieve an ends. And surely, 0:08:57.120 --> 0:08:59.760 when you're reporting on something like this, you know, we 0:08:59.800 --> 0:09:04.280 are talking about twice in just over two months that 0:09:04.360 --> 0:09:07.920 someone has attempted to or appeared to attempt to kill 0:09:07.960 --> 0:09:11.880 the former president of the United States. Surely the media 0:09:12.000 --> 0:09:15.920 in the US and more broadly has a responsibility to 0:09:15.920 --> 0:09:19.120 tone things down a bit to try to prevent these 0:09:19.160 --> 0:09:22.319 things from happening. It almost seems like they're encouraging it. 0:09:25.600 --> 0:09:29.800 Well, Caleb, I think these journalists, suppose the journalists need 0:09:29.880 --> 0:09:33.640 to be careful and cautious in the language they use. 0:09:34.320 --> 0:09:36.880 Some of those clips that you have shown there to 0:09:36.920 --> 0:09:41.160 the viewers appear to be more along the opinion articles 0:09:41.840 --> 0:09:44.559 than straight news reports, and they need to work out 0:09:45.000 --> 0:09:47.439 are they giving a straight news report or are they 0:09:47.520 --> 0:09:50.200 trying to give a straight news report but really making 0:09:50.280 --> 0:09:53.760 an opinion article. And this is where I think the 0:09:54.120 --> 0:09:57.960 public loses trust in the media because it's badged up 0:09:58.000 --> 0:10:01.280 as news, but it's not really news. I can almost 0:10:01.320 --> 0:10:02.520 turn into propaganda. 0:10:02.640 --> 0:10:06.760 And it all contributes to the polarization of America. And 0:10:06.840 --> 0:10:10.040 it is the polarization of America that has led to 0:10:10.120 --> 0:10:12.200 things like this. I mean, if you are at a 0:10:12.200 --> 0:10:16.560 point where you genuinely think that a democratically chosen candidate, 0:10:16.920 --> 0:10:20.480 Trump was chosen democratically by the members of the Republican 0:10:20.520 --> 0:10:23.720 Party to be their candidate. If you think a democratically 0:10:23.800 --> 0:10:27.480 chosen candidate running in a democratic election is somehow a 0:10:27.559 --> 0:10:31.240 threat to democracy, then you may have a small problem. 0:10:31.520 --> 0:10:34.079 But it's those thoughts that lead to people wanting to 0:10:34.160 --> 0:10:37.559 kill him, and the media has done nothing to change that. 0:10:37.760 --> 0:10:41.319 Just while we're on the foiled assassination attempt of Trump, 0:10:41.480 --> 0:10:44.480 I was amused to tune into our equivalent of this 0:10:44.559 --> 0:10:47.720 program on the ABC this week, Media Watch, and see 0:10:47.720 --> 0:10:51.360 not a single mention of the assassination attempt or the 0:10:51.360 --> 0:10:54.080 media's reaction to it. I mean, it's only one of 0:10:54.080 --> 0:10:57.600 the biggest stories in the world this week. Now, I 0:10:57.640 --> 0:11:00.520 will concede that we go to war on Frey and 0:11:00.600 --> 0:11:03.200 Media Watch goes to air on Monday, so we have 0:11:03.360 --> 0:11:05.920 had a little more of a run up on this yarn. 0:11:06.320 --> 0:11:09.080 But it all started at about three point thirty am 0:11:09.360 --> 0:11:12.200 Sydney time on Monday, and the story was well and 0:11:12.240 --> 0:11:14.840 truly breaking while the time I woke up to the 0:11:14.960 --> 0:11:17.680 radio on Monday morning, and yes, I'm so plugged into 0:11:17.679 --> 0:11:19.520 the news that I leave the radio on all night. 0:11:19.800 --> 0:11:22.120 But Media Watch goes to air at about nine point 0:11:22.120 --> 0:11:25.120 thirty PM, so you'd have thought that they'd have enough 0:11:25.160 --> 0:11:28.920 time to cover the media's reaction to this massive story. 0:11:29.280 --> 0:11:32.880 They had the tenth anniversary of William Tyrell's disappearance being 0:11:32.920 --> 0:11:37.160 exploited for ratings, the inaccurate reporting of drug overdoses, and 0:11:37.200 --> 0:11:39.640 the resignation of nine boss Mike Sneezeby. 0:11:41.080 --> 0:11:43.640 We asked ten if it was guilty of exploiting the 0:11:43.679 --> 0:11:47.240 Tyrrell story for ratings that had ignored the question, with 0:11:47.360 --> 0:11:50.840 the State Ambulance Service confirming that one of the emergency 0:11:50.840 --> 0:11:54.280 callouts reported as a drug overdose was actually for a 0:11:54.360 --> 0:11:58.079 patient who had swallowed a coin, and finally another one 0:11:58.120 --> 0:11:59.240 bites the dust. 0:12:00.040 --> 0:12:04.040 O Weells Sneezeby after three billion dollar share slide. 0:12:04.920 --> 0:12:08.240 All worthy stories, but they reserve their coverage of the 0:12:08.400 --> 0:12:11.800 US for the opportunity to chard Trapp for talking about 0:12:11.800 --> 0:12:15.680 dogs and cats being eaten in Ohio, and completely ignored 0:12:15.720 --> 0:12:18.400 that someone was stationed with an assault rifle at his 0:12:18.440 --> 0:12:20.000 golf course that very day. 0:12:21.160 --> 0:12:25.320 So, in summary, Donald Trump's dramatic claim they're eating. 0:12:25.040 --> 0:12:28.040 The dogs, the people that came in, they're eating the. 0:12:28.040 --> 0:12:31.840 Cats appears to be a cocktail of hearsay, scuttlebutt, and 0:12:31.960 --> 0:12:35.959 Race's resentment over Haitian migrants, all aided and abtted by 0:12:35.960 --> 0:12:40.319 Trump's running mate jd Vance, who, when confronted on NBC 0:12:40.440 --> 0:12:43.280 over the debunk claims, simply double down. 0:12:43.600 --> 0:12:45.960 I hear you saying that they're baseless, but I'm not 0:12:46.440 --> 0:12:48.480 repeating them because I invented them. 0:12:48.360 --> 0:12:48.920 Out of thin air. 0:12:49.000 --> 0:12:51.920 I'm repeating them because my constituents are saying these things 0:12:51.920 --> 0:12:52.520 are happening. 0:12:53.120 --> 0:12:55.640 So it's left the town of Springfield dealing with the 0:12:55.720 --> 0:13:00.000 ugly fallout, which includes bomb threats, two hospitals put into lockdown, 0:13:00.000 --> 0:13:04.320 on local schools evacuated, the real world consequences of fake 0:13:04.440 --> 0:13:06.760 news amplified on the world stage. 0:13:09.800 --> 0:13:13.720 I mean, that's just extraordinary, Gell. You know, the top 0:13:13.760 --> 0:13:16.920 one of the top media programs in the country goes 0:13:16.960 --> 0:13:19.400 to air on the day that someone has attempted to 0:13:19.480 --> 0:13:21.800 kill the president, and there is not a single mention 0:13:21.920 --> 0:13:23.360 of the biggest story in the world. 0:13:23.520 --> 0:13:26.880 Putting it into context before this year, there was an 0:13:26.880 --> 0:13:31.160 attempted assassination on Ronald Reagan in nineteen eighty one. Then 0:13:31.400 --> 0:13:32.760 there was our forty. 0:13:32.520 --> 0:13:35.480 Three year gap, and then two and two months. 0:13:36.400 --> 0:13:39.040 Now, after a forty three year gap, you think they think, oh, 0:13:39.080 --> 0:13:40.720 this is a big story, but I've got to cover this. 0:13:41.200 --> 0:13:41.920 I suspect the. 0:13:41.840 --> 0:13:44.520 Problem is, and we have to be sympathetic. They clearly 0:13:44.559 --> 0:13:48.320 need more staff. They've only got about fifteen minutes, so 0:13:48.400 --> 0:13:50.640 they clearly need more people working on the program. 0:13:51.640 --> 0:13:55.240 Don't give them ideas, gel they're already spending enough of 0:13:55.280 --> 0:13:57.440 our money. We'll take a quick break when we're back 0:13:57.480 --> 0:14:01.880 the ABC again in more hot water allegations adopted footage 0:14:02.040 --> 0:14:07.800 of alleged war crimes don't go away. Now, this has 0:14:07.840 --> 0:14:10.640 to be one of the worst cases of fabricating a 0:14:10.679 --> 0:14:14.120 story that I have ever seen in my career. No 0:14:14.160 --> 0:14:17.520 doubt you heard this week about former commando Heston Russell 0:14:17.600 --> 0:14:20.840 and how the ABC falsified footage to make it look 0:14:20.920 --> 0:14:24.120 like war crimes had been committed in Afghanistan, and this 0:14:24.280 --> 0:14:28.360 was exposed by seven Spotlight last weekend. We start with 0:14:28.480 --> 0:14:32.640 Star ABC journalist Mark Willersey explaining the footage showed in 0:14:32.720 --> 0:14:34.000 his seven thirty report. 0:14:34.960 --> 0:14:37.720 We don't have the vision that comes immediately before this, 0:14:38.440 --> 0:14:41.520 but this Australian soldier is firing towards what appear to 0:14:41.560 --> 0:14:42.840 be unarmed. 0:14:42.440 --> 0:14:44.520 Civilians in residential compounds. 0:14:45.320 --> 0:14:49.000 And here's mister Russell explaining the footage after. 0:14:48.760 --> 0:14:49.520 The warning shot. 0:14:50.000 --> 0:14:52.800 This insurgent has run into a compound and the drone 0:14:52.840 --> 0:14:54.360 has witnessed him bend over and. 0:14:54.280 --> 0:14:55.080 Pick up something. 0:14:56.040 --> 0:14:58.160 He's picked up something that looks like a weapon. 0:15:00.000 --> 0:15:02.960 And you'll hear me telling my soldier shoot him, shoot him. 0:15:03.360 --> 0:15:04.600 We listen closely, you'll hear that. 0:15:10.360 --> 0:15:14.120 Then you'll see that's the footage of my guy shooting 0:15:14.120 --> 0:15:15.120 at him in the compound. 0:15:21.600 --> 0:15:25.160 There's any one problem though, The footage the ABC has 0:15:25.240 --> 0:15:28.720 shown has six gunshots at the beginning instead of one 0:15:28.800 --> 0:15:29.520 warning shot. 0:15:30.440 --> 0:15:34.240 The version of events told by the ABC's Mark Willison, 0:15:34.680 --> 0:15:44.800 which starts with six rounds of firing then a single 0:15:44.840 --> 0:15:46.480 warning shot becomes six. 0:15:51.680 --> 0:15:57.800 For me, it appears some of they've literally added extra gunshots. 0:15:58.880 --> 0:16:01.880 I mean that is fake news, plain and simple. It 0:16:02.000 --> 0:16:05.920 is a fabricated story, a docted piece of footage to 0:16:06.000 --> 0:16:09.720 make it look like Australian soldiers were unduly firing at 0:16:09.800 --> 0:16:14.640 unarmed Afghan civilians. The ABC has denied that mister Willisey 0:16:14.720 --> 0:16:17.520 or anyone else involved in the editorial side of things, 0:16:17.960 --> 0:16:21.440 was involved in or aware of the doctored footage. ABC 0:16:21.560 --> 0:16:24.840 News director Justin Stevens addressed this with our own Sophie 0:16:24.840 --> 0:16:27.560 Ellsworth on Tuesday at the Melbourne Press Club, where he 0:16:27.600 --> 0:16:31.000 took exception to the allegation the footage had been doctored. 0:16:31.200 --> 0:16:34.240 He said, you use the word doctor, which is an 0:16:34.280 --> 0:16:37.760 extremely high allegation to make of any journalist, that a 0:16:37.840 --> 0:16:42.480 journalist would falsify information for their own journalistic game. Well, 0:16:42.840 --> 0:16:45.760 when you replace one gun shot with six to make 0:16:45.800 --> 0:16:49.000 the situation look worse and in fur that war crimes 0:16:49.000 --> 0:16:52.280 have occurred, then yes, I would say the footage has 0:16:52.320 --> 0:16:55.640 been docted. He continued. I think we need to in 0:16:55.680 --> 0:16:59.320 the first instance, exhaustively get to the bottom of what's happened. 0:16:59.480 --> 0:17:02.800 As I said, we will be upfront and transparent at 0:17:02.800 --> 0:17:06.080 the appropriate time in coming days as to what happened 0:17:06.440 --> 0:17:10.080 Now the ABC's understanding of coming days may be different 0:17:10.119 --> 0:17:12.439 to mine, but we're now at the end of the 0:17:12.480 --> 0:17:15.960 week and I'm yet to see an explanation. When mister 0:17:16.000 --> 0:17:19.080 Stevens was asked if he'd make an apology to mister Russell, 0:17:19.160 --> 0:17:22.160 he said he was not going to preempt that. I'm 0:17:22.200 --> 0:17:24.800 not sure what there is to preempt. The footage was 0:17:24.920 --> 0:17:28.320 edited and the ABC has admitted it shouldn't have happened. 0:17:28.520 --> 0:17:31.880 An apology was due at that point. Mister Russell has 0:17:31.920 --> 0:17:35.320 written to ABC Chairman Kim Williams, but so far to 0:17:35.400 --> 0:17:35.879 no avail. 0:17:36.840 --> 0:17:39.720 The ABC needs to sit down, go through due process. 0:17:40.160 --> 0:17:43.000 Breached out to Kim Williams, the head, the new chair 0:17:43.000 --> 0:17:44.480 of the ABC, and asked to meet with him and 0:17:44.520 --> 0:17:47.280 go through this because it is a shocking scandal and 0:17:47.320 --> 0:17:49.080 they can't weasele their way out of it now. 0:17:50.040 --> 0:17:53.240 The least he is owed is a response. He already 0:17:53.280 --> 0:17:57.080 successfully sued the ABC for defamation after reports by mister 0:17:57.119 --> 0:18:01.080 Willisey on four Corners implied he was involved in war crimes. 0:18:01.400 --> 0:18:04.440 He was awarded four hundred thousand dollars in damages plus 0:18:04.520 --> 0:18:07.919 legal costs, and those reports stemmed from a US marine 0:18:07.920 --> 0:18:11.479 telling mister Willasey that he had heard, not seen, the 0:18:11.520 --> 0:18:15.080 execution of a prisoner in Afghanistan. The marine even told 0:18:15.160 --> 0:18:18.240 mister Willasey that his memory was hazy, and yet the 0:18:18.280 --> 0:18:22.640 fake story was published and mister Russell was defamed. You'd think, 0:18:22.640 --> 0:18:25.359 in the shadow of that that the ABC would just 0:18:25.560 --> 0:18:30.480 roll over, admit defeat and apologize profusely, but they seem 0:18:30.520 --> 0:18:34.280 intent on digging their heels in again. Mister Russell hasn't 0:18:34.320 --> 0:18:37.480 ruled out launching new legal action now on the matter 0:18:37.520 --> 0:18:40.000 of the doctored footage having nothing to do with mister 0:18:40.040 --> 0:18:43.680 Willersey or the editorial team and instead being an editing error. 0:18:44.040 --> 0:18:47.160 I will say this, The ABC, as I said before, 0:18:47.600 --> 0:18:50.840 denies that mister Willersey or the editorial team had any 0:18:50.880 --> 0:18:54.520 knowledge or involvement in the editing of the footage, and 0:18:54.600 --> 0:18:58.359 if that's the case, it is an egregious abrogation of 0:18:58.480 --> 0:19:01.960 journalistic responsibility. I've worked in the media for the better 0:19:02.000 --> 0:19:04.120 part of a decade. Most of that is a reporter. 0:19:04.680 --> 0:19:08.439 If you are publishing a Cracker exclusive, a story that 0:19:08.480 --> 0:19:12.959 alleges war crimes or misconduct by soldiers, you dot every 0:19:13.119 --> 0:19:18.200 eye and cross every te fifteen times before you let 0:19:18.240 --> 0:19:21.119 that story be printed or go to air. If you 0:19:21.240 --> 0:19:24.479 worked in TV, as mister Willisey does, you ought to 0:19:24.520 --> 0:19:28.399 watch the finished product over and over and over again 0:19:28.880 --> 0:19:32.440 to be one hundred percent satisfied that you are publishing 0:19:32.520 --> 0:19:35.440 a water tight yarn. You're not just suggesting some blog 0:19:35.480 --> 0:19:40.080 didn't pay his speeding fine. You are alleging war crimes. Now. 0:19:40.119 --> 0:19:43.159 Mister Willisey may well not have been involved in or 0:19:43.200 --> 0:19:46.199 aware of the fact the footage had been edited, but 0:19:46.359 --> 0:19:54.760 we should ask why didn't he know that footage was docted, Sophie. 0:19:54.760 --> 0:19:57.000 Of course, you've been covering this story all week. It 0:19:57.119 --> 0:20:01.159 is just extraordinary the way the ABC has for the 0:20:01.160 --> 0:20:04.280 most part, not taken much responsibility for this. 0:20:07.280 --> 0:20:10.840 Well, no answers to as to what has happened, Caleb, 0:20:11.640 --> 0:20:15.200 And it was quite curious that Justin Stevens, the ABC 0:20:15.440 --> 0:20:18.160 News director, decided to pull me up on my language 0:20:18.200 --> 0:20:22.720 when I described it as doctoring the audio. I don't 0:20:22.760 --> 0:20:25.200 know how else you could describe it. There's a difference 0:20:25.240 --> 0:20:29.080 there between six shots and one shot. And it's pretty 0:20:29.119 --> 0:20:32.920 clear somewhere in the food chain at the ABC when 0:20:32.960 --> 0:20:36.800 this broadcast went to air, there was a problem with it. 0:20:36.880 --> 0:20:40.520 So they have an enormous issue on their hands. Michelle Roland, 0:20:40.880 --> 0:20:45.560 the Communications Minister, wants answers on this, and I can't 0:20:45.600 --> 0:20:48.040 imagine many people up in the top tiers at the 0:20:48.080 --> 0:20:52.359 ABC would be too thrilled about this shocking published city 0:20:52.880 --> 0:20:55.879 that tarnishes their reputation. 0:20:56.520 --> 0:20:59.920 I just can't understand kel how something like this could 0:21:00.119 --> 0:21:04.920 happen one shot being turned into six without someone somewhere 0:21:05.000 --> 0:21:10.639 in the ABC making it happen. It just seems very strange. 0:21:10.680 --> 0:21:14.719 Well, for years I worked at the ABC in Television 0:21:14.800 --> 0:21:18.240 Current Affairs as a senior reporter. I've sat in editing suites. 0:21:18.280 --> 0:21:21.480 I have done this, I've made these stories editors. The 0:21:21.520 --> 0:21:23.639 people who did the technical stuff don't do it on 0:21:23.680 --> 0:21:26.919 their own. They sit beside a reporter or beside a 0:21:26.920 --> 0:21:30.960 producer who directs what they are doing. So, I, like you, 0:21:31.440 --> 0:21:35.720 I don't understand how a producer or a reporter sitting 0:21:35.760 --> 0:21:38.760 beside the editor saying on that helmet cam footage is 0:21:38.800 --> 0:21:42.159 only one shot, add five shots more. They can't be 0:21:42.320 --> 0:21:45.520 in there unless someone said add five shots more. The 0:21:45.560 --> 0:21:48.679 person who's the technician doing the technical editing doesn't do that. 0:21:49.080 --> 0:21:51.760 It's the reporter or the producer who sits there saying 0:21:51.960 --> 0:21:52.800 that's what you do. 0:21:53.160 --> 0:21:53.320 Now. 0:21:53.359 --> 0:21:56.040 I know I've been there, I've sat in the editing suites, 0:21:56.080 --> 0:21:59.280 I've done that. I cannot see. I cannot understand how 0:21:59.320 --> 0:22:01.879 that's a mistake or an error. There has to be 0:22:01.920 --> 0:22:06.000 some sort of conscious, intentional decision by someone at some 0:22:06.160 --> 0:22:09.920 point to say, yes, let's dub in five more shots exactly. 0:22:09.960 --> 0:22:12.200 And of course, as I said before, the ABC denis 0:22:12.240 --> 0:22:14.800 that mister Willisy or anyone involved in the editorial team 0:22:14.840 --> 0:22:17.280 had any knowledge. But we want to know who did, 0:22:17.600 --> 0:22:23.240 who made it happen, and if so, how did it happen. Well, 0:22:23.280 --> 0:22:25.639 I did say earlier that if the story changes and 0:22:25.680 --> 0:22:28.840 you've already recorded your show, well tough luck. You have 0:22:28.960 --> 0:22:31.560 to come back in and record. And so that's what 0:22:31.640 --> 0:22:33.800 I've done, even though I'm in a different city and 0:22:33.880 --> 0:22:36.840 clearly in a different suit. I hope our friends at 0:22:36.880 --> 0:22:38.160 Media Watch take notes. 0:22:38.520 --> 0:22:38.760 Now. 0:22:38.880 --> 0:22:42.320 Late this afternoon, after we had already recorded the Media show, 0:22:42.440 --> 0:22:46.760 the ABC's managing director David Anderson issued a written statement 0:22:46.840 --> 0:22:49.480 in which he admitted that the ABC was worn two 0:22:49.560 --> 0:22:52.840 years ago about the doctor footage we just discussed, but 0:22:52.960 --> 0:22:56.359 somehow that never made its way to the news department. 0:22:56.760 --> 0:22:59.000 Mister Anderson said that a letter had been sent to 0:22:59.040 --> 0:23:03.480 the ABC's lead department in November twenty twenty two, quote 0:23:03.560 --> 0:23:07.000 raising concerns about the audio editing, but it was never 0:23:07.080 --> 0:23:09.679 sent to the news bosses. He again said of the 0:23:09.720 --> 0:23:13.199 doctor footage that this era should not have occurred, but 0:23:13.280 --> 0:23:16.000 there has still been no apology to mister Russell for that. 0:23:16.480 --> 0:23:19.560 Mister Anderson said that he was quote now commissioning an 0:23:19.600 --> 0:23:22.800 independent review of the issues that have been raised with 0:23:22.880 --> 0:23:26.159 the online and broadcast story to fully understand what has 0:23:26.200 --> 0:23:30.880 occurred and make any necessary recommendations. This review must get 0:23:30.920 --> 0:23:33.600 to the bottom of how this happened, and it must 0:23:33.640 --> 0:23:37.240 address the questions we asked a few minutes ago, particularly 0:23:37.320 --> 0:23:40.480