Michelle Guthrie sends all-staff email after ABC Radio Adelaide’s Ali Clarke breaks down on air

ABC managing director Michelle Guthrie sent an all-staff email after ABC Radio Adelaide‘s Ali Clarke broke down in tears on air.

ABC Radio Adelaide's Ali Clarke.

ABC managing director Michelle Guthrie sent an all-staff email addressing “personal abuse, threats and harassment” of presenters after ABC Radio Adelaide‘s Ali Clarke broke down in tears on air.

Clarke, said she had received texts that accused her of conducting a “pitiful interview” and providing “excruciating listening for the Adelaide audience”.

“Sorry … we don’t always get things right here but we do always try our best, you know and we sit here with the text line in front of us and it just adds up you know,” a teary Clarke said.

“Sometimes we do interviews and it is handed to us last minute and we are trying our very best and when someone texts in that was a pitiful interview, and what you just said was awful, I’ve embarrassed the interviewee, and provided excruciating listening to the Adelaide audience, and maybe this is true, but it adds up.”

Guthrie addressed the incident with an internal email later in the day and said the public broadcaster was assisting the presenter over the incident on Tuesday.

“I am concerned that one of our colleagues, Ali Clarke, found herself visibly affected by harsh online texts while presenting her program this morning,” Guthrie wrote.

“This follows online attacks on a range of ABC presenters and guests in recent months.”

“We are also looking internally and externally at additional measures to protect our people. This includes peer support and safe engagement with our audiences.”