Ita erred in approving Four Corners episode

Ita Buttrose has compromised herself. By endorsing the broadcast of the scandalous Four Corners program, she established the chairmanship of the ABC as the ultimate approval authority for programs. This is something previous chairs of the organisation have been careful to avoid.

Her problem is that the only defence now open to her is that the program was in the public interest. Given the program’s political selectivity, personal intrusion and taint of malicious nastiness, most people would laugh that claim out of court.

Communications Minister Paul Fletcher would seem to have the ABC where he wanted it. The question is — what is he going to do about it?

Geoffrey Luck, Killara, NSW

Ian McGarrity’s lucid analysis of the latest ABC imbroglio makes for compelling reading (“Internal ‘partiality’ review set to leave Ita, ABC cornered”, 15/12.) Managing director David Anderson’s almost unprecedented request to board chair Ita Buttrose to view the controversial Four Corners “expose” of ministers Alan Tudge and Christian Porter prior to it being televised raises questions: if Ita, why not other board members? Does it mean Anderson had his doubts on the propriety of delving into the private lives of government ministers and wanted support should there be blowback? Would the ABC have run an expose on Labor government ministers? Was Anderson concerned it might reflect adversely on the “impartiality” of the ABC, since it’s been impugned in the past, putting at risk its government funding?

And does it matter? If the purpose of the ABC’s trenchant lack of impartiality has been to shore up the stocks of Labor, well hasn’t it made a hash of that?

Mark Awerbuch, Crafers, SA

I suspect my old ABC colleague Ian McGarrity has drawn a false conclusion from his reading of the contretemps between the Communications Minister and the national broadcaster.

The decision by the managing director to show ABC chair Ita Buttrose the Four Corners edition before broadcast was not a misjudgment, nor did it undermine his authority as editor in chief. On the contrary, it was entirely in keeping with the corporation’s longstanding policy of upward referral.

If an executive has any serious doubts about content then they must seek the opinion of their superior. The merits of the Four Corners report are open to debate, but it would have been reckless to expect Buttrose to defend a program she hadn’t had the opportunity to see.

David Salter, Hunters Hill, NSW

Ita Buttrose may have been able to get around Kerry Packer’s gruff, overbearing and often rude personality but with Communications Minister, Paul Fletcher, she is dealing with a different beast.

Fletcher cares about what is right legally. It’s no use Buttrose dismissing him off-handedly.

You don’t have to be a Rhodes Scholar to identify the bias toward the left of politics on the ABC. If Buttrose really believes her organisation plays with a straight bat then she is delusional. The best thing she could do is agree bias is a problem and sort it out.

The public watches eagerly.

John George, Terrigal, NSW