Welcome back to INSIDE MEDIA, where we bring you the inside story on media news, with plenty of views, every Monday and Thursday.
‘DOCTORED’ AUDIO REVIEW
It’s been a tough six months for ABC chair Kim Williams.
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While he hasn’t been afraid to lay down the law with staff, telling them activism is not welcome at the taxpayer-funded broadcaster, he now has some big decisions to make regarding an independent inquiry into its prestigious news division.
The ABC has been dragged kicking and screaming into ordering a review into the doctored audio fiasco relating to Heston Russell, and the true independence of that review will be seen as a reflection of Williams’ credibility.
Williams seems to have taken a more hands-on approach regarding editorial decisions than his most recent predecessors, who have been kept at arm’s length through bureaucratic ABC procedure.
That means that even though he inherited this mess, he will be the one who is ultimately judged on how transparent and forthright the review ends up being.
To recap: 7NEWS Spotlight revealed five extra gun shots had been added to a video which originally only contained one.
Independent Forensic Digital Audio Expert James Raper examined the ABC’s video and found: “They’ve taken the audio from the six shots and they’ve applied it to this video in the news clip.”
Since that revelation, the ABC has been in damage control, at first attacking the producers of Spotlight: “Given the information that has emerged this year about Spotlight’s conduct and approach to journalism we have no confidence in engaging with your program.”
Later, when presented with the evidence, the ABC removed the video from its website and YouTube page. Another statement issued to Spotlight read: “We have removed the online video where an error has been identified, based on preliminary inspection of the audio. The ABC is seeking more information on how this occurred.”
Since then, it has emerged the ABC was informed about the doctored audio almost two years ago.
On Friday, outgoing Managing Director David Anderson issued a statement saying: “It has now come to my attention that in November 2022, ABC Legal was sent a letter raising concerns about the audio editing. Regrettably, at no point was this letter, or the information in the letter, disseminated to ABC News.”
He has now ordered an independent review but stopped short of issuing an apology.
Despite all the evidence though, the ABC is still being defensive about the reporting of this story.
The Australian reported news boss Justin Stevens took issue with the use of the word “doctored” to describe the audio error, saying: “You use the word doctor, which is an extremely high allegation to make of any journalist, that a journalist would falsify information for their own journalistic gain.”
What else do you call it?
A piece of video with one gun shot was edited to make it sound like six shots were fired. If that’s not “doctored”, I don’t know what is.
INSIDE MEDIA has put the following questions to the ABC:
1. Who will be running the review?
2. How long is the review expected to take?
3. Will all of the findings of the review be made public?
4. As the ABC has acknowledged the error, why isn’t an apology forthcoming?
Those questions were sent first thing this morning, the ABC has not replied.
SOPHIE MONK’S FUTURE AT CHANNEL 9
A few months ago, I revealed Channel 9 had picked up a big new format called The Floor.
It’s a gameshow with 81 contestants who all have a square. The aim is to beat the other players and take their squares.
It’s actually a pretty good show.
The host in the US is none other than actor Rob Lowe and according to The Daily Mail, the new Australian host is set to be the likeable Sophie Monk.
That’s at odds with my mail that says Roger Corser has been overseas filming the show with Aussie expats. Nine are trying to save the big announcement for their Upfront event in October. That’s the annual showcase to media and advertisers where the network will reveal its big plans for 2025.
Even if Sophie isn’t the host of The Floor, it certainly seems like she’s ready to move on from Love Island.
According to The Daily Mail article, Nine had approached former Big Brother contestant Skye Wheatley as a potential replacement for Monk.
Things took a dramatic turn though after Wheatley underwent dramatic plastic surgery recently, with a source telling the outlet: “I don’t think Nine was unconfident with her ability to host the show. I think it was just ‘the look’ they were hiring her for that has changed.”
That might have set off a chain reaction forcing Monk to remain with Love Island.
Expect some big announcements next month by Nine, but I’m pretty confident Roger Corser will be hosting The Floor.
WHO’S LEAKING AGAINST SOFIE?
Someone has it in for 4BC radio host Sofie Formica, if leaks to media are any indication.
For the past few months, there has been a steady stream of misinformation being reported based on biased “sources”.
But who is it and what is their motive?
The seasoned radio presenter was notably absent from an internal email sent to staff on Thursday, which outlined the station’s programming shake-up, including Gary Hardgrave’s continuation in the Drive slot, filling the position vacated by Peter Gleeson.
INSIDE MEDIA can reveal no other presenters were mentioned in the email to staff except for Peter Fegan and Gary Hargrave. That’s because the email was about their new positions. There was no mention of Bill McDonald or any other of the regular presenters, but the ‘source’ of this article failed to mention that to the reporter.
There are plenty of other examples, but suffice to say there’s a lot of finger pointing going on at the moment over who’s leaking what.
Full disclosure, I was Sofie’s executive producer for a couple of years at 4BC and I still present an entertainment report twice a week.
And speaking of Peter Fegan, the Channel 9 journalist has won the coveted Breakfast gig, replacing outgoing trio Laurel, Gary and Mark. Fegan will host the show for the remainder of the year. That basically means executives think he’s the future but are hedging their bets by seeing what the last 10 weeks of ratings bring.
If he rates, he’ll stay. If he maintains current figures, he’ll probably stay. If ratings go down, there will be a rethink.
DO YOURSELF A FAVOUR
One of the funniest quotes to come out the US Presidential debate between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump was Trump’s statement: “In Springfield, they’re eating the dogs—the people that came in. They’re eating the cats.”.
Well now that phrase has been turned into a hit song by a South African musician named David Scott.
Since being uploaded nine days ago, the YouTube video has been viewed almost eight million times and is shooting up the charts of other streaming services like Spotify.
If you want a good laugh, check it out in the video player above.
