Exclusives? Aunty’s gone bananas

THE ABC has made the extraordinary claim that it breaks more ­stories than all of News Corporation’s newspapers combined.

Exclusives? Aunty’s gone bananas

THE ABC has made the extraordinary claim that it breaks more ­stories than all of News Corporation’s newspapers combined.

The ABC’s media manager, Nick Leys, who until two months ago was paid a six-figure salary by News Corp Australia, said in response to a media inquiry that he was “bemused” by the claim News Corp, which publishes The Daily Telegraph, The Courier-Mail, The Herald Sun and The Australian, broke more stories than the ABC.

“I’ve always been bemused by News’ blind assertion it breaks more stories than the ABC,’’ he said. “The Australian loves to mislead its readers with this line, but I doubt it fools anyone.

“Even the briefest survey of ABC news coverage this year would produce a list of exclusive reports that have set the agenda and been subsequently followed by other news organisations, including The Australian.”

The Australian asked Leys and his corporate affairs sidekick, ­Michael Millett, to provide a list of the ABC’s exclusives this year to see whether it supported the claim the ABC had broken more stories than News Corp’s newspapers. They failed to name any, even though Leys was given four days’ notice to come up with the stories.

The ABC has a budget of $1.04 billion, with $150 million spent on news and current affairs, according to 2012 figures. But even with this budget, the ABC’s managing director, Mark Scott, admitted in a speech at Melbourne University last week that News Corp had more power to set the news agenda. He also said the ABC did not have one TV show in the top-50 rating programs. “Last year, all 50 of the top-rating programs were Australian — sport, reality and drama,’’ he said. “And, I might add, not one of those top-50 rating shows was on the ABC — a fact conveniently lost on those who persist in depicting the ABC as an all-conquering, audience-snatching competitor.”

Nine’s head of news and current affairs, Darren Wick said Nine broke more stories than the ABC, and did so with a smaller budget. “I wish I had their budget and I wish I had their staff numbers,’’ he said. “I’m not impressed with their news division at all. I’d back every one of my newsrooms against any of their newsrooms any day of the week and twice on Sundays.”

Wick said Nine’s news and current affairs budget was about a third of the ABC’s. “ABC has a focus on social-issue stories, where we tend to be news of the day,’’ he said. “I don’t believe they break more news stories (than Nine or News Corp). I don’t see it. The proof is in the pudding. I’d love to see the breakdown of where they get their claim from.”

News Corp editorial director Campbell Reid also thoroughly rejected Leys’ claim, saying “it does not stand up to scrutiny.”

“We have over 120 national, metro and community publications each dedicated to breaking exclusives for their readers. We break more exclusives than any other media company in Australia,’’ he said.

Leys is most famous for his Pauline Hanson story where, in 2009, he inaccurately claimed sensational photographs of a woman in lingerie was Hanson. He escaped much of the attention, with then Sunday Telegraph editor Neil Breen taking the full force of the public criticism. “A boss should always take the hits,’’ Breen said when asked about Leys’ role in the story yesterday.