No media organisation is above criticism – even from a prime minister. That's especially the case when the media organisation in question is funded by taxpayers.

The reaction to Prime Minister Tony Abbott's criticism of the ABC has bordered on the hysterical.

Former ABC managing director David Hill told Fairfax Media Abbott's criticism was “dangerous”. The Age's political editor Michael Gordon labelled it “astonishing”. The Guardian's Katharine Murphy warned darkly that things might “escalate”.

The ABC is not such a faultless organisation that it should be above criticism. As a media outlet totally funded by taxpayers, it deserves much greater scrutiny, and has special obligations to be rigorously fair, balanced and impartial. As an organisation, it has shown itself to be tone deaf when it comes to the legitimate concerns of many Australians, that it leans to the left and is not a welcome home for conservatives or classical liberals – particularly among its salaried employees.

In many ways the ABC has made a rod for its own back. Its defenders are right to argue that it should not be an uncritical cheerleader for Australia, and that it should place the pursuit of truth above nationalism. The ABC was perfectly entitled to report on revelations from Edward Snowden on the growing apparatus of state surveillance in much of the Western world. It was a legitimate news story unquestionably in the public interest, and ignoring it would have done Australians a disservice.