The Herald Sun has taken down a feature about the Melbourne international comedy festival after accusations that it had racist overtones.

The festival had partnered with the Hun to distribute its pink program guide, putting the annual comedy festival in a difficult position when an article was published online that the festival alleged was inappropriate in so many ways. A spokeswoman for the festival told the Weekly Beast the article was offensive and inaccurate. The piece highlighted comedians’ ethnic background, poked fun at English pronunciation and told readers if they liked an established act from a certain ethnicity they would like a newcomer who had the same skin colour. “If you like Ronny Chieng, see Kuah Jenhan,” and so on – although it also misspelt Jenhan as “Jenham”.

After complaints from the festival, the audience and readers, the article was taken offline. “The HS article was prepared without our knowledge/involvement,” the festival said on its Twitter account. “We’ve worked today to have it removed. It does not reflect the values of MICF.”



MelbourneComedyFest (@micomfestival) It's here!!! Grab today's @theheraldsun, a coffee & get flipping through the 2017 Program!! #micf #getwiththeprogram pic.twitter.com/0mgyV5yhG5

The Herald Sun’s editor, Damon Johnston, told the Weekly Beast: “The festival raised concerns about this piece of content. We agreed that it was inappropriate and pulled it down.”

Aunty’s new bookkeeper?

Michelle Guthrie is expected to announce a major restructure of the ABC on Tuesday. Working closely on the new-look ABC with Guthrie is Louise Higgins, the former chief operating officer at Lachlan Murdoch’s privately owned Nova Entertainment. Higgins also previously worked for Macquarie Group and the BBC.

Coalition handpicks mining lobbyist for ABC board position Read more

Higgins, whose remit included Sydney’s Nova 96.9, Melbourne’s Nova 100 and the easy-listening hit station Smooth FM, left commercial radio in August. Now based in the MD’s office as a consultant, Higgins is tipped to be Guthrie’s new chief financial officer, replacing David Pendleton, who resigned before the restructure. The Weekly Beast understands the restructure will result in hundreds of job losses across the ABC, starting in operational areas and moving towards content areas later in the year.

State of emergency

Although the public relies on the national broadcaster in an emergency – and the ABC has repeatedly asked the government for money to fund its emergency broadcasting – Guthrie confidently told Senate estimates that the ABC was not the emergency broadcaster in the Northern Territory.

An ABC spokesman had to clarify her statements later: “The ABC managing director was referring specifically to ABC shortwave as an emergency service provider. ABC shortwave is not a reliable source of emergency information. Other ABC services along with the Bureau of Meteorology and other providers offer comprehensive emergency information.”

Guthrie’s revelation that she didn’t see her role as a lobbyist for more funds for the ABC that raised the ire of Labor MP Mark Dreyfus, who thought her comments “disappointing”. “I think that the ABC needs in the managing director a champion for the work of the ABC,” he told Jon Faine’s ABC local radio show the next day.

“There have been very major cuts to the funding of the ABC under this government since 2014 and every previous managing director, at least every one that I recall, has been a champion of the ABC … I think the role goes well beyond just being a manager, I see the role of managing director as being a public advocate for the ABC, someone who will get out there and argue the case for why we need an ABC, why it’s a vital role as the national broadcaster and why the cuts that have been inflicted on the ABC are harming the ABC.”

A millennial problem

The ABC’s latest foray into digital journalism – which was meant to attract a younger audience – might just have backfired.

“With abs, an uncanny likeness to actress Alicia Silverstone and one million-plus followers on Instagram, Steph Smith has a life that glows on social media. And not just because of the backlit screen.”

What followed was an interview with Smith about how her job as a model and wellness blogger had earned her enough money to buy a house at 23, complete with photos of her food, her blond topknot and a close-up of her zipping up her jeans.

“The model has a down-to-earth Australian charm – don’t say girl-next-door – and an effortless beauty that leaves no doubt as to why she’s currently contracted to both a skincare brand and a self-tanning product,” the ABC reported. “But Smith’s also carving out a broader niche, co-authoring an e-cookbook and becoming one of a new breed of internet ‘influencers’ who make a living out of posting on social media about the cafes they eat at and the clothes they wear.”

Smith is no stranger to this type of coverage – the piece was similar to one run this month in Harper’s Bazaar that detailed how “the Melbourne-based beauty” spent her day.

The ABC article is part of a series “taking a look into the lives of millennial-aged Melburnians who are doing both extraordinary and ordinary things”. But many of the readers were not impressed, complaining about what they called the narcissism on display as well as asking why the ABC was wasting resources on such light fare. The vitriol was so intense that Smith herself took to Facebook and Snapchat to reply, saying she had worked hard as a model for five years to earn her money.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Ian Thorpe will host Bullied, a new program airing on ABC TV, which uses hidden cameras to capture schoolyard bullying and show the footage to teachers and families. Photograph: ABC TV

Bullied breaks the mould

Many in the TV industry will be keeping a close eye on the new show Bullied, hosted by Ian Thorpe, when it goes to air on 14 March. It has broken the mould for a program on the public broadcaster in terms of subject matter and format. Based on a Dutch format called The Bully Project, the idea is to secretly film children bullying others and then show the footage to the family and the school. The idea is controversial for the ABC because it involves hidden cameras and vulnerable young people. It had to be filmed in Queensland because it would have been illegal everywhere else.

The ABC’s former head of TV Kim Dalton always ruled out buying international formats, so it was a surprise when the show was picked up by Adrian Swift when he was at the ABC for just one year before returning to Nine. Swift said at the time that shrinking budgets and audience fragmentation had prompted the ABC to turn to the international market. “Like every broadcaster around the world, faced with declining budgets and declining audiences, there are parts of the schedule where you have less to lose by using a format.”