ABC fiction, baloney with a twist

The creative folk at the ABC have this week debuted a new fictional drama with an unlikely plot line and a most surprising twist. In the gripping script, a crew from the national broadcaster’s celebrated Four Corners current affairs program receives a hot news tip in the wee hours of Tuesday morning. The message? Grab your camera gear and head to an address in the Perth suburbs. These intrepid truth warriors have absolutely no idea what’s happening there. Hell, they don’t even know it’s someone’s house. Without answers to these most basic of questions they judge the story significant enough to race to the scene, where they happen upon a group of miscreant activists allegedly planning to carry out an attack on the home of Woodside boss Meg O’Neill.

The big twist? The ABC expects Australians to believe this ludicrous version of how events unfolded on Tuesday.

It would appear even the national broadcaster, as well practised as it is at flipping two-finger salutes to the notion of accountability, has realised having prior knowledge of a crime targeting the home of a senior business figure is a bridge too far.

Trust is the bedrock of any news organisation, let alone one funded by taxpayers. If senior ABC staff are contemptuous enough to spin baloney to explain away a damaging incident, what else are they and their journalists not upfront with Australians about?