Former ABC boss Michelle Guthrie denies attempt to sack journalist and accuses Justin Milne of inappropriate touching
Sacked ABC managing director Michelle Guthrie has denied colluding with former chairman Justin Milne to fire the broadcaster’s chief economics correspondent Emma Alberici, despite an email exchange discussing the reporter’s “external development opportunities”.
The plan was revealed in a Four Corners documentary examining the events that saw Guthrie fired in late September and Milne resign a few days later after accusations of editorial interference and inappropriate behaviour.
Former ABC general manager Michelle Guthrie denies ‘external development opportunities’ was corporate-speak for firing a staffer
In the investigation, it was revealed Guthrie had alleged inappropriate behaviour by Milne shortly after she was given a formal warning by the chairman and fellow director Donny Walford.
Attacks on Emma Alberici are simply part of the witch-hunt against the ABC by the Rightist media and its Rightist comment-a-crowd. As is obvious, repetition creates reputation, or notoriety. Her true crime was to oppose the corporate tax cuts, for good reasons, and with a much higher standard of argument than her critics. Had she supported those corporate tax cuts, she would have been ignored or praised regardless of the merits of her argument. It really is as simple as that.
But of course the Right is not interested in debate, it is interested in making more money – $30 billion or so, to be precise. A lot of CEOs were looking forward to a suitable pay increase – only for themselves, of course.
This is for the Moderator/Editor – you might want to adjust Justine Milne to Justin Milne? in the first paragraph of this article.
Hi Justine,
We’ve fixed that. Sorry about the mistake.
Regards,
Paul
It was an odd program, and no one came out well.
I think Guthrie came across as out of her depth and inept – but also quite earnest and speaking her own truth.
Milne, by contrast, came across as dodgy and untrustworthy.
Thing is: both of them were intensely playing their spin. Neither of them gave any sort of impression that they understood how much was at stake for the ABC. Milne seemed to think his tech toy project was a magic bullet. Guthrie was just clueless, clearly playing a lawyer brief.
I happen to think Alberici was way off the reservation, but the problem is not her but the standards and discipline within ABC news. They seem to laud guys like Stephen Long, who is simply a recyclist and no more (and I doubt he can even find his own bike these days).