ABC defends Laura Tingle and Sarah Ferguson amid ‘unfounded’ criticism of Bondi shooting coverage | Australian Broadcasting Corporation
The ABC’s chief executive has defended two of the channel’s best-known journalists, Laura Tingle and Sarah Ferguson, following criticism of their coverage of the Bondi terror attack.
In a statement on Monday night, Hugh Marks described the shooting that killed 15 people and injured dozens on the first night of Hanukkah as “a shocking and traumatic event for Australia and the Jewish community in particular” and expressed “our deepest condolences” to the Jewish community.
But he said criticism of Tingle and Ferguson was “unfounded”.
The criticism of Tingle relates to her saying on a Dec. 16 episode of ABC’s Politics Now podcast hosted by Patricia Karvelas that the alleged actions of the two gunmen “had nothing to do with religion.”
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Marks said the podcast episode “attempts to address some of the issues that have emerged in the national debate in the wake of the Bondi attack.”
He said Tingle’s analysis of the program “in no way sought to belittle the terrorist nature of these terrible events, Australia’s needs to combat antisemitism or the rights of Jewish people to feel safe”.
Meanwhile, Ferguson was criticized for his interview with former treasurer Josh Frydenberg at 7.30pm on December 17.
The 7.30 presenter asked Frydenberg about his speech at the Bondi Pavilion that day; Frydenberg accused Anthony Albanese of allowing Australia to “radicalise on his watch” and told him to “accept personal responsibility for the deaths of 15 innocent people, including a 10-year-old child”.
Ferguson asked whether the comments were a “personal case against the prime minister” ahead of Frydenberg’s “inevitable” return to politics.
Frydenberg responded: “I am deeply disturbed by what you have just said.” “I’m very hurt. To say there was any political motivation in this is an insult.”
Marks said Frydenberg had “previously made comments attempting to place blame for horrific attacks squarely on the prime minister”.
“There was a question in Sarah’s interview about her potential return to politics, which was a legitimate question a journalist could ask her,” he said.
Marks said it was “understandable that the community is looking for answers in times like these.”
“Questions about the role of the media, including the central role of the ABC in responsibly sustaining a united and inclusive society, are vital. These are the questions we ask ourselves on a daily basis.
“But it is important that the reviews are realistic and accurate.”
