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ABC Fox News ‘probe’ slammed for bias and lack of balance

Four Corners has been blasted for its ‘inherent bias and lack of balance’ after Monday night’s episode on Fox News misrepresented key facts.

ABC Four Corners journalist Sarah Ferguson. Picture: John Appleyard
ABC Four Corners journalist Sarah Ferguson. Picture: John Appleyard

The error-strewn Four Corners investigation into Fox News has been blasted for its “inherent bias and lack of balance” after Monday night’s episode misrepresented key facts about the Murdoch-­controlled network’s coverage of the Trump presidency.

The program opened with the overblown statement that Fox News was effectively an arm of the Trump administration but failed to back the claim with evidence.

“(Donald) Trump wasn’t alone in his assault on the truth but he could never have spread ‘the big lie’ so widely without his most reliable echo chamber – the ­Murdoch-owned-and-run Fox News,” journalist Sarah Ferguson said at the beginning.

The program, the first of a two-part series on the ABC, relied on the accounts of six Fox News “insiders” but failed to mention that five of them had left the network more than three years ago.

The sixth former staffer, one-time Fox News digital politics editor Chris Stirewalt, who was given the most airtime on Monday night, did not offer any evidence for the ABC’s suggestion he was unfairly dismissed after he correctly called the state of Arizona for Joe Biden on election night.

In fact, he even admitted to Ferguson that there was no attempt by senior figures at Fox News to influence the coverage of the presidential election.

The program highlighted isolated incidents that saw Mr Trump’s association with Fox News hosts cross the line, most ­notably when host Sean Hannity appeared onstage with the president during a political rally; it did not mention Hannity was subsequently censured by the network.

The program also overlooked the fact Mr Trump attacked Fox News early and often in his presidency, and regularly took issue with the standpoints of some of the network’s most high-profile hosts.

Coalition MP Sarah Henderson, a former ABC journalist, said Four Corners seemed to no longer be concerned in covering stories relevant to an Australian audience. “I think Four Corners has lost its way,” she said.

“The program appears to be more concerned about running personal agendas and partisan campaigns than telling great Australian stories.”

Senator Sarah Henderson. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Gary Ramage
Senator Sarah Henderson. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Gary Ramage
Nicolle Flint. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Gary Ramage
Nicolle Flint. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Gary Ramage

Coalition MP Nicolle Flint said Monday night’s episode failed to meet the public broadcaster’s editorial guidelines. “The latest Four Corners program is yet another example of the inherent bias and lack of balance permeating every corner of the ABC,” she said.

“I will keep demanding answers for Australian taxpayers as to why the ABC continues to fail to adhere to its editorial guidelines which demand, among other standards, accuracy, impartiality and a diversity of perspectives. This is the least we should demand for over $1bn of taxpayers’ money each and every year.”

A spokesman for the ABC told The Australian: “The program meets our editorial guidelines. We stand by our journalism.”

The Four Corners program also suggested Trump supporters aban­doned Fox News to such an extent after the November election that rival network Newsmax out-rated it. Newsmax has never outright beaten Fox News for a single day.

Newsmax’s 7pm program out-rated Fox News for one night in one demographic (25-54) on one show in December 2020.

It’s understood that this was ­explained to Ferguson at length ahead of the broadcast, but the ­detail was not included in the ­program.

James Madden
James MaddenMedia Editor

James Madden has worked for The Australian for over 20 years. As a reporter, he covered courts, crime and politics in Sydney and Melbourne. James was previously Sydney chief of staff, deputy national chief of staff and national chief of staff, and was appointed media editor in 2021.

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Original URL: https://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/media/abc-fox-news-probe-slammed-for-bias-and-lack-of-balance/news-story/1910f2e4ff299cc7fbb705e923c6595d