Inside the ABC's leadership crisis

Updated

A managing director and chairman gone, journalists under fire from alleged political interference and an embarrassing email from the past. The ABC has never seen a week like this.

With a beaming smile Kirstin Ferguson strode into the ABC News Channel Sydney studio and sat across from anchor Kathryn Robinson, prepped for her first interview as acting ABC chair.

"It has been a damaging week at the ABC, do you expect there is a cloud over the entire board at the ABC?" Robinson asked Dr Ferguson.

Unlike in the Royal Australian Air Force, where Dr Ferguson started her career, her new colleagues can and will question her authority, regularly.

This is the reality of the role she accepted the night before, when she was called by Communications Minister Mitch Fifield and asked to fill in for her predecessor Justin Milne, who resigned in a cloud of controversy just hours earlier.

Dr Ferguson is the new face of an ABC in turmoil.

A board under fire

Throughout her 17-minute live TV interview Dr Ferguson's composure barely faltered, but her demeanour belies a troubling week for a public broadcaster facing a crisis the like of which it has never seen its 89-year history.

Despite the departure of former managing director Michelle Guthrie and Mr Milne — within the space of about 72 hours — the board, including Dr Ferguson, is still under pressure.

"To me, there is still a significant lack of transparency around what occurred during the past week," 7.30 host Leigh Sales said.

"They [the board] have all got questions to answer," media union CEO Paul Murphy said.

Dr Ferguson rejects the idea that a cloud is hanging over the entire board.

That's in spite of reports it was presented with a dossier by Ms Guthrie in which multiple allegations of editorial interference — attempts by the former chair to get journalists sacked — were highlighted.

Various media outlets published the allegations. Fairfax Media reported the details of emails it claimed showed Mr Milne directed Ms Guthrie to fire economics correspondent Emma Alberici following a complaint from the Government.

News Corp reported that he told Ms Guthrie to "shoot" ABC political editor Andrew Probyn. Another report claimed Mr Milne called on Ms Guthrie to reverse the decision to move triple j's Hottest 100 from Australia Day.

The allegations reverberated around ABC offices and at an open all-staff meeting in the ABC's Ultimo headquarters, a resolution calling for an independent inquiry into the matter was passed unanimously before staff walked out in a show of anger.

"If the board was aware of this last week, why was the first sign of any alarm about it only apparent after that information became public in the Sydney Morning Herald [on Tuesday]?" Sales asked.

"Why did it take everybody from Andrew Bolt to Bill Shorten to say it was unacceptable for the board to swing into action? The board's considerations and actions are opaque at the moment. How do we know we can trust their judgment?"

Director of News Gaven Morris, who spent the week reinforcing the editorial independence of his staff, said it would be a healthy thing to see more transparency from the board.

"I think transparency and an assurance to our staff and our audience that we are an independent media organisation are needed. We are 100 percent supported to do good work and do good journalism," Morris said, adding that he's "happy to be patient and wait for those processes" inquiring into the board to take place.

Women supporting women

In addition to her duties on three other boards, Dr Ferguson is in the middle of a book tour. Women Kind, written with journalist Catherine Fox, is about women supporting other women in corporate Australia.

Now she's been part of the sacking of the public broadcaster's first female managing director.

"Gender isn't a determinant of leadership and there are male leaders and female leaders with different skills and qualities," she said in her News Channel interview.

"That said, I always put the interest of the ABC first, however, I will not resile from championing in wanting to see more women in leadership and encourage that," she said.

But the anteroom leading into the ABC boardroom paints a different picture of leadership.

Twelve photos hang on the wall, all men who have led the ABC. Ms Guthrie is nowhere to be seen.

In that way, Ms Guthrie never fit in: a diminutive woman in a role that's only previously been held by men.

A split at the top

But beyond headlines alleging political interference, the leaks also painted a poor relationship between Ms Guthrie and Mr Milne, with allegations of sexist language from the former chair, who allegedly referred to her as "the missus" and other ABC staffers as "chicks".

On 7.30 on Thursday night, Mr Milne said he had "zero recollection" of using the phrase "the missus" in reference to Ms Guthrie and only used "chicks" to friends.

"I don't do it all the time. I do it to try to relax people but I certainly don't use that word in a derisive or denigrating way. And if it's caused offence to people, then I do apologise for that," he said.

But it's not the first time Mr Milne's casual language has been in contention.

The ABC can reveal Mr Milne sent an email in 2000 in which he said of a business proposal: "I'm getting a boner for this deal, makes Santa look like a child molester."

Mr Milne was chief executive at OzEmail, the Australian internet service provider.

The email was sent on May 4, 2000, to the chief executive of OzEmail's parent company. In it, Milne discusses a plan for a rival ISP, eisa, to acquire OzEmail. According to a Business Review Weekly article from June 2000, Milne refers to eisa as "Santa" because the company would make people a lot of money.

The acquisition fell apart weeks later amid acrimony and legal action. A subsequent court case used Mr Milne's letter as evidence that he and others had allegedly hindered and delayed the acquisition.

Mr Milne's spokesman declined to answer questions from the ABC about the OzeMail email yesterday.

'The only reasonable choice'

After Mr Milne and Ms Guthrie's departure, the ABC is again led by a man and a woman. Dr Ferguson's acting MD is David Anderson, who has spent 29 years working his way up from the mailroom.

It will be well into 2019 before a new chair is expected to be appointed as the Government awaits an independent panel's recommendations.

Emma Dawson was a senior advisor to then communications minister Stephen Conroy when she oversaw the development of the merit-based board appointment process for ABC and SBS, and the legislation that underpinned it.

"They have to draft the advertisement which takes six to eight weeks. Then shortlist the candidates. Then do a series of interviews. In the past it's taken four to six months," she said.

"The panel then advises the Prime Minister. The PM then needs to consult the leader of the opposition and then make a recommendation to the Governor-General."

Ms Dawson said Dr Ferguson was the only reasonable choice for the Government from this current board.

"Dr Ferguson did go through the independent appointment process and was recommended by the independent selection panel," Ms Dawson said.

"It is critical they follow the independent process for any future board appointments."

The greatest thing the ABC has

If nothing the past week has brought out an impassioned response for the ABC's independence from editorial interference. Leigh Sales reflected that: "I have never felt even a sliver of editorial pressure from anyone in ABC management over the years I've been a reporter."

"Quite the opposite — I've always felt encouraged to ask whatever I want of whomever I want. Nobody has ever said to me 'Geez Sales, you're making things hard for us'."

As presenter of 7.30 she is making editorial judgements and decisions live on air.

"I really respect that my bosses have made me feel like I have that freedom. When a complaint warrants a response, they ask me to provide facts that back a particular line of questioning and so on. So they expect accountability. But they have never made me feel pressured to toe a particular line.

"Politicians and staffers sometimes get in touch with me directly to complain if they think I've been too tough or unfair or inaccurate in interviews. I'm glad they do that, I welcome it. I don't think I'm infallible and it's their right to complain. If I make a mistake, I try to publicly correct it.

"Every political journalist at every media organisation in Australia will have had those conversations.

"The public trust and support is the greatest thing the ABC has going for it and we should do everything we can to make sure we continue to deserve it. That includes admitting when we make mistakes and it includes reporting on ourselves in the same way we would report on any organisation."

Topics: abc, broadcasting, information-and-communication, government-and-politics, australia

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