<\/p>\n
\u201cIn the interests of trying to be balanced … we\u2019ve ended up not doing a good job of covering the referendum debate,\u201d Laura Tingle said.<\/span>Credit: <\/span>James Brickwood<\/cite><\/p>\n Tingle observed the pursuit of strict balance was difficult when outlandish claims were made and subjects were not willing to be scrutinised.<\/p>\n \u201cAt the ABC, we have to fill in a form every time we do a story about the referendum that says \u2018here are the people we\u2019ve spoken to, here are the number of minutes the Yes case has got, here are the number of minutes the No case has got\u2019,\u201d she said, a reference to the internal ABC Voice Tracker.<\/p>\n Tingle said opposition Indigenous Australians spokeswoman Jacinta Nampijinpa Price had declined invitations to appear on 7.30<\/em> since July.<\/p>\n \u201cBut somehow, the way the numbers have worked tells people that the Yes case has been wildly overrepresented on the ABC, and as a result, it affects the way we structure and report stories because they say if you can\u2019t get somebody who\u2019s a No, you can\u2019t put on somebody who\u2019s a Yes,\u201d Tingle said.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is nuts … it\u2019s completely sick.\u201d She added: \u201cI shouldn\u2019t be saying any of these things.\u201d<\/p>\n Tingle lamented the ABC and other media reported seriously on Price\u2019s comments at the National Press Club last month that colonisation had a positive impact on Indigenous Australians because it provided running water and food.<\/p>\n \u201cIn the interests of trying to be balanced … we\u2019ve ended up not doing a good job of covering the referendum debate,\u201d Tingle said.<\/p>\n The veteran journalist, who was elected to the ABC board by staff in March, made the remarks at Glebe Town Hall in Sydney while launching journalist David Marr\u2019s book Killing for Country<\/em>.<\/p>\n In response to inquiries, the ABC rejected suggestions Tingle was critical of the broadcaster\u2019s coverage and said she was endeavouring to defend the ABC from claims of bias against the Yes campaign.<\/p>\n It pointed out that tracking content was a routine component of election coverage.<\/p>\n \u201cThere has never been a policy to not interview a \u2018Yes\u2019 proponent due to a refusal by a \u2018No\u2019 proponent,\u201d it said.<\/p>\n A statement from Tingle said she had tried to explain the dilemmas and frustrations of providing balanced coverage in a campaign when one side of the debate was not available, and when many wild claims were made.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is an issue that I think is an exceptionally difficult one for the media generally, not just the ABC, and not just in terms of this campaign, at a time when political messaging is splintering into social media messaging, and the old rules of political campaigning are changing,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n \u201cThe ABC has provided unprecedented levels of coverage from around the country of the referendum campaign, particularly from Indigenous voices, and I\u2019m very proud of the work my colleagues have done in often very stressful circumstances.\u201d<\/p>\n As part of its obligation of impartiality, during elections, the ABC collects and publishes details of how much airtime each side or party received, as well as other forms of content.<\/p>\n The Voice Tracker requires journalists to log broadcast material to the nearest 15 seconds; if a Yes spokesperson received 15 seconds of airtime, that is logged as 0.25 points, and if a No representative appeared for 45 seconds, that is 0.75 points.<\/p>\n An FAQ document seen by this masthead states the purpose of the tracker is \u201cto provide timely feedback on our coverage which will assist with presenting an appropriate diversity of voices and perspectives. The purpose is not to enforce a perfect 50:50 representative of each position\u201d.<\/p>\n Vox pops from members of the public (excluding talkback callers) are tracked, as well as instances when requests to appear on air are declined.<\/p>\n In August, newsgathering editor Peter Gotting emailed staff reminding them to log whether the speaker was Indigenous, a grassroots community member or a public figure.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have had lots of examples recently of teams that produce the stories not completing the details,\u201d he wrote.<\/p>\n The ABC\u2019s news director, Justin Stevens, said the broadcaster\u2019s coverage of the Voice referendum had been outstanding, including its elevation of First Nations journalists.<\/p>\n \u201cOur coverage has at times been criticised by both the Yes and the No campaigns for overly representing or platforming the other,\u201d Stevens said on Friday. \u201cIn reality, ABC coverage heard from, scrutinised and interrogated both.\u201d<\/p>\n At the National Press Club this week, Labor senator Patrick Dodson praised the ABC and other media for \u201cexemplary\u201d coverage of the referendum campaign.<\/p>\n