ABC issues apology over biased coverage of Alice Springs community meeting

The ABC has backflipped over its controversial Alice Springs coverage by issuing an apology just hours after it was threatened with an official investigation into the matter.

On Friday evening, the public broadcaster released a statement with a partial apology, admitting it failed to provide the full context regarding a meeting held between townsfolk in the crisis-riddled town on Monday.

The Save Alice Springs meeting was held on Monday evening, organised by local business owner Garth Thompson.

More than 3000 residents attended to discuss the crime wave affecting their town, with the gathering reportedly lasting around 20 minutes.

However, the ABC’s Indigenous Affairs correspondent Carly Williams interviewed several attendees outside the meeting, with one woman describing it as a “total white supremacist fest” with a “scary” vibe.

Another man also threatened violence against Indigenous people in a sickening spray, using racist language while speaking with the ABC – however, no examples of racism from inside the meeting were broadcast, leading to accusations of bias.

A package appeared on the national broadcaster‘s flagship current affairs show AM as well as a TV report.

“We acknowledge that one report on AM was incomplete, and did not adequately cover the full context of the meeting or the range of perspectives expressed at it,” the ABC said.

“ABC News apologises to audiences for providing an incomplete picture of the event in this instance.”

In an editor’s note, ABC News management said they take “responsibility” regarding the oversight.

“This report includes the views of some people who attended the community meeting and their immediate reaction. Those views were reported accurately. However, this report should have included a broader range of perspectives expressed at the meeting and further information about what was discussed, to provide additional context,” they said.

“ … Following this report, ABC News published additional coverage of the issue which included a broader range of perspectives and context.”

The rest of the ABC’s statement, however, doubled down and defended its journalists.

“The views of those interviewed who had attended the meeting were accurately reported and were clearly newsworthy,” it wrote, adding later that “ABC News stands by its journalists covering this story”.

“The ABC has comprehensively covered the issues of substance abuse and public violence in Alice Springs and will continue to do so,” it added.

The AM report remains available online, with an Editor’s Note and links to further coverage added to provide further perspectives and necessary context.

The apology came just hours after it emerged that the ABC could be investigated by the media watchdog after a senator made a formal complaint.

On Friday morning, Liberal Senator Sarah Henderson revealed that she had asked the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) to scrutinise the tax-funded organisation.

Ms Henderson, herself a former ABC journalist, slammed the “shockingly biased” TV package that came out of a controversial meeting held between residents in Alice Springs, dubbing it an “ABC fail” and “rubbish reporting”.

The reportage was “complete and utter rubbish”, Ms Henderson claimed.

In the days since, the ABC’s coverage of the gathering has been slammed as “biased” by a number of people including the organiser, Mr Thompson, and mayor Matt Paterson, who called for an apology as well as a retraction.

Ms Henderson wrote on Twitter: “Rather than tell the full story, the ABC offensively and inaccurately depicted the meeting as ‘clearly all around white supremacy’.

“Not only has it refused to retract the story, apologise & investigate how it got to air, the ABC has arrogantly defended it.

“A very big ABC fail.”

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Speaking to Sky News, she said that “the ABC has completely and utterly lost the plot” and that what it had done was “irresponsible”.

“They clearly do not understand what it takes to be an impartial journalist,” Ms Henderson added.

“Not only should there be an apology and a retraction, as the mayor has called for, there needs to be training of journalists, there needs to be a review and an investigation into what happened.”

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