News Brands
Afghan journalists win right to come to Britain after media appeal
More than 200 Afghan journalists who worked with the British media are to be granted access to the UK after an appeal by a coalition of British newspapers and broadcasters, reported The London Observer on Sunday.
Media organisations, including the Observer and Guardian, appealed to the Foreign Office after it emerged that the journalists would not qualify to come to the UK under existing schemes. Officials said those who qualified are being contacted.
In an open letter last week, the UK’s major newspapers and broadcasters said their ability to keep the British public informed of events in Afghanistan over two decades had been “heavily reliant on the loyalty and commitment of the Afghan journalists, translators and support staff”.
The Press Gazette reported:
Some 21 news brands from 11 UK-based media organisations co-signed an open letter to Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab earlier this month calling for special visas for their Afghan colleagues.
Now several of the news outlets have co-signed a new letter urging the Government to ensure their colleagues are able to get on evacuation flights, but the Foreign Office continued to say it would only consider requests case-by-case where there was evidence of a threat due to someone’s connection with the UK.
The letter was signed by Guardian and Observer editor-in-chief Katharine Viner on behalf of her newspapers plus the Daily Mail, Mail on Sunday, Daily Telegraph, Sunday Telegraph, The Sun, The Economist, Sky News, and ITV News, Channel 4 News and 5 News producer ITN.
The move in the UK coincided with the MEAA, together with the International Federation of Journalists, who called on the Australian Government to take urgent action to provide humanitarian visas to Afghan journalists and media workers.
The two organisations wrote to Foreign Minister Marise Payne, Immigration Minister Alex Hawke and Opposition foreign affairs spokesperson Senator Penny Wong, highlighting the threats posed by the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan.
Four Corners investigation into Fox News sparks backlash from News Corp
Coming straight off the back of their 60th anniversary episode, Four Corners has aimed its sights squarely on Fox News and the impact that it had in both the 2016 and 2020 election results.
The episode – called Fox and the Big Lie – was the first of a two part series in which Sarah Ferguson investigated how the Fox network promoted Donald Trump to a fault and helped “destabilise democracy in America”.
Ferguson, who lives in the US, said that “we’ve just seen the catastrophic consequences of what happens when a shared belief in truth and facts break down”.
Interviews included Lieutenant Colonel Ralph Peters, a retired Fox contributor who said that the network had “profoundly changed” and said that the network “went from being a conservative voice … to being a propaganda organ for Donald Trump”.
The episode has received backlash from News Corp titles, calling the episode “conspiracy-laden and error-ridden”. Articles criticising the episode have come from James Madden, Adam Creighton, Chris Kenny, Gerard Henderson, and James Morrow.
See More: Four Corners: Fox News ‘expose’ shows same old script from the ABC
See More: ABC’s Four Corners: Cutting Corners in pursuit of the big dud story
The ABC’s independent complaints department has been labelled ‘a total failure’ and is ’broken’
The ABC’s independent complaints department is a “total failure” and is “broken” after it was revealed Four Corners executive producer Sally Neighbour investigated and cleared high-profile reporter Louise Milligan after a complaint was made about her to the separate disputes body, reports News Corp’s Sophie Elsworth.
Former Victorian Liberal Party president and ABC board member Michael Kroger said the internal review process at the public broadcaster was flawed and it “cannot be trusted”.
“A completely separate independent ombudsman with appropriate resources needs to be established to properly investigate complaints against the ABC,” Kroger said. “Four Corners investigating Four Corners is a shocking governance failure in the modern era, this cannot be taken seriously.”
Gazzo’s chorus of outrage reaches a crescendo
It has been a ghastly week for music journalist Jane Gazzo. She has deleted herself from Twitter after she found herself swept up in an exposé of punk muso Ally Spazzy, reports SMH’s Samantha Hutchinson and Stephen Brook.
Spazzy, real name Alice McNamara, was named in this masthead’s investigation into neo-Nazis: “Another anti-lockdown promoter has been unmasked as Alice McNamara, a musician who runs a children’s music business, Kiddyrock. Ms McNamara, who has been posting neo-Nazi and anti-lockdown propaganda under an online alias, hung up the phone when contacted.”
Campaigning group The White Rose Society then published an exposé of McNamara’s activities in the unsavoury anti-lockdown chatroom on the messaging app Telegram. It also reported McNamara uncovered via matching phone number details that a member of the group was Gazzo – who presents the ABC music show The Sound.
While the group was unsavoury, Gazzo’s posts were mild and she didn’t post any neo-Nazi or racist rhetoric. Still, the company you keep.
Gazzo later deleted all her social media and said she had been “wrongly implicated” by others. She later apologised saying she was motivated by journalistic inquiry, posting on Facebook: “For the record I am not anti-Vax, anti-Semite, anti-lockdown, anti-government and I have only ever met Ally twice in my life and I am absolutely shocked and appalled about what has transpired with her. I am not sure what else I need to say on the matter but hopefully this is the last on it.”
Gazzo wasn’t keen to talk to us. Now ABC distanced itself from her, as has the Australian Music Vault, the Arts Centre Melbourne’s permanent contemporary music exhibition.
Television
Lego Masters to include celebrities in 2022?
Lego Masters is tipped to feature celebrities in its 2022 season.
The Sunday Herald Sun reported the series hosted by Hamish Blake will be the latest reality series to take a celebrity detour, produced in Sydney.
TV Tonight hears whispers it could see a celebrity paired with a family member or friend in its next outing.
The Project’s Steve Price ‘tears up’ at Qantas ad
A newly published Qantas ad pushing people to get vaccinated has choked up hosts of Channel 10’s The Project.
The description for the ad, published on Monday said: “Getting vaccinated is an important step that every Australian can take to bring us that little bit closer to life as we knew it.”
Images of family, overseas weddings and family reunions are paired with Tones and I’s sombre song, Fly Away.
The Project’s Steve Price was taken by the advert when it was played on Monday evening.
“I find it hard to watch without sort of tearing up,” he said.
“I’ve got a sister in Western Australia who can’t see me and I can’t see her, I’ve got a mother in Adelaide. I can’t go to any of these places – I’ve been on a plane once in a year, and I imagine I’m not as bad off as most people.”
MasterChef’s Andy Allen announced as Australian Organic Awareness Month 2021 ambassador
MasterChef Australia Judge Andy Allen is the official Ambassador of Australian Organic Awareness Month 2021, and he is calling for Aussies to ‘swap in’ certified-organic products this September.
“From working at Three Blue Ducks I learnt the flavour of food produced organically is mind-blowing,” Andy said.
“Our restaurants try to source organic where possible and we prefer food that is taken straight from the farm to our restaurant. You can’t get anything fresher or with a better taste than this, and you really don’t have to do much more than simply put the product on a plate to see how amazed people are by the flavours.”
Certified organic produce must meet strict standards and regular audits to ensure it’s free from synthetic chemicals and pesticides, from paddock to plate.
“I have learnt so much during the last few years, and one of the biggest things I hope for during Australian Organic Awareness Month 2021 is that people become aware that the organic industry is more than just food,” he said.
Throughout Australian Organic Awareness Month, shoppers are encouraged to swap conventional products for certified organic alternatives, whether it’s food to stock the pantry, wine for the cabinet or even a skincare or makeup item for the bathroom.
Andy Allen
AOL CEO, Niki Ford, said swapping in just one organic item goes a long way to support organic farmers and producers who were dedicated to environmentally-sustainable practices.
“In 2020 more than nine million Australian households purchased an organic product, which is a trend we believe will continue to develop,” Niki said.
“Around the world, consumers are moving towards Australia’s organic produce because we have a clean, healthy reputation, and we are eager for customers on home soil to experience this difference for themselves.”
“We are incredibly proud of our industry and we are so thrilled Andy has partnered with us during this very special month,” Niki said.