Guardian, Crikey, Nine and ABC hide behind flawed data about News Corp’s coverage of Stan Grant and the coronation

Fresh data has discredited claims that News Corp and Sky News engaged in a sustained campaign to target journalist Stan Grant and the ABC over coverage of the King’s coronation.

The Guardian Australia Editor Lenore Taylor. Picture: AAP

Fresh data has discredited claims that News Corp and Sky News engaged in a sustained campaign to target journalist Stan Grant and the ABC over the national broadcaster’s coverage of the King’s coronation.

Internal publishing data provided by News Corp (publisher of The Australian) reveals media outlets, most notably the Nine Entertainment tabloids (The Age, The Sydney Morning Herald), Guardian Australia, and Crikey – as well as some high-profile ABC journalists – wildly exaggerated the volume of news and commentary in the company’s mastheads about Grant and his appearance on the controversial pre-coronation panel show.

This new analysis stretches from when the ABC’s coverage of the coronation programming started at 5pm on May 6 to when Grant announced on May 19 that he planned to step down as host of Q+A.

In this period, The Australian, News Corp’s metropolitan and regional mastheads, news.com.au and Sky News digital produced a total of 36 unique stories. Not all of these articles were syndicated.

Similarly, between May 19 and last Thursday, as the ABC and other media debated and reported Grant’s decision to leave Q+A, 50 unique stories were published across all these titles – a figure comparable to reporting for many other public interest issues, considering more than 20 titles were involved. Again, not all of these articles were syndicated.

During the two weeks before the coronation, 14 unique stories were published across the News Corp titles and Sky News digital. Not all of these articles were syndicated.

ABC managing director David Anderson. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Martin Ollman

Crikey has reported Grant was mentioned more than 150 times in this same period in The Australian and in footage by Sky News. But its data includes the number of times the words “Stan Grant”, “Stan” and “Grant” were mentioned in any single Sky discussion.

Of a list of articles that Crikey has used as the basis for its analysis it claims, for example, Grant’s name was uttered 14 times in a single five-minute exchange between Sky host Chris Kenny and The Australian’s media reporter Sophie Elsworth.

In another, a news story published in The Australian, Mr Grant’s name was mentioned four times. The Australian approached Crikey last week for comment about its misleading figures, but did not receive a reply.

Guardian Australia also ran a story last week that referred to “150 mentions” of Grant following the coronation broadcast.

While the Guardian subsequently amended its original story to identify its source only as “third party data”, ABC managing director David Anderson was asked about the matter at senate estimates last Wednesday by Liberal senator Hollie Hughes.

“There’s been some suggestion that some of that misinformation around numbers of mentions etc … was actually being put up by the ABC communications unit, namely Sally Jackson and Nick Leys,” Senator Hughes said.

“Could you please confirm, or if you don’t know already, take it on notice whether or not the communications team was responsible for putting out those figures to the Guardian and other outlets that are incorrect?”

Mr Anderson replied: “I’ll take that on notice, Senator. I don’t know for sure so I will come back to you on that.”

The ABC boss has until early July to respond to the questions put to him by Senator Hughes.

Last Wednesday, the ABC communications unit requested The Australian correct a report stating that the ABC received 1700 complaints about its coronation coverage, on the basis this figure was inaccurate and too high.

Hours later, Mr Anderson told the Senate hearing that the ABC had received 1832 complaints.