ABC president Kim Williams has told staff to remain impartial or leave the organization as he declares activism is not welcome at the national broadcaster.
Williams, who replaced Ita Buttrose as ABC chairman two weeks ago, said he would have little tolerance for journalists who are not objective in their reporting.
“If you don’t want to reflect a view that aspires to impartiality, don’t work at the ABC,” he told host Monica Attard on a recent episode of The Fourth Estate podcast.
‘I really think this is a very serious problem.
“This is a publicly funded organisation, it is a publicly accountable organisation, it is accountable to legislation before the national parliament and must always aim to be as impartial as possible in its work.”
Kim Williams, who replaced Ita Buttrose as ABC president two weeks ago, said she will have little tolerance for journalists who are not objective in their reporting.
ABC stand-in presenter Antoinette Lattouf was fired by the ABC in December for her posts about the war in Gaza, just three days into a week’s work as a radio presenter on Radio Sydney.
Premier Anthony Albanese announced Williams would replace Buttrose in January, describing him as “perfect for the role”.
“Kim fits the role perfectly, it’s almost like he was made for it,” he said.
“He is as comfortable running media companies as he is arts organisations, and in fact he is a former commissioner of the AFL, so he is also involved in sport.”
“I can’t think of many Australians who have studied composition in Italy and been AFL commissioners. “Kim is a true renaissance man.”
Williams also responded to reports that members of the Jewish community had pressured ABC board members to fire radio host Antoinette Lattouf.
Lattouf was fired by the ABC in December for her posts about the war in Gaza, just three days into a week’s work as a fill-in presenter on Radio Sydney’s morning show.
She launched legal action against ABC at the Fair Work Commission claiming the decision was political, based on her stance on Palestine and her Lebanese heritage.
Williams said the idea that board members had been influenced by the decision was causing “extreme discontent within the organization.”
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced Williams would replace Buttrose in January, describing him as “perfect for the role” (both photos in January).
‘Individual board members should not be open to receiving such representations. I think the ABC has well-established lines of communication for this type of representation, certainly including the CEO and the president in those lines of representation, but the ombudsman within the ABC has been created for precisely this reason.
“I think it is always important that when receiving any representation of one’s own or opposing points of view, one has an extremely sober and serious impartiality in receiving the information and that one never hastily responds to such representation.”
Williams also raised concerns about the use of social media by ABC staff.
“I have to tell you that I have a deep, abiding and growing skepticism about the value of social media,” he said.
‘I have never tweeted. I have never had a public Facebook account. I have a private Facebook account, mainly for family reasons.
“I read X regularly until the ridiculous rebranding and complete lack of any kind of editorial responsibility on the service, but I never responded.”
The use of social media has landed the ABC in hot water in recent years after Four Corners journalist Louise Milligan (pictured in 2018) falsely accused former Liberal MP Andrew Laming of dressing up a woman’s skirt. on Twitter in 2021.
The use of social media has landed the public broadcaster in trouble in recent years after Four Corners journalist Louise Milligan falsely accused former Liberal MP Andrew Laming of dressing up a woman’s skirt on Twitter in 2021.
The defamation case cost taxpayers up to $200,000, including $79,000 in damages.
ABC chief financial officer Melanie Kleyn said at the time that the national broadcaster considered Milligan’s tweets to be work-related, even though they were made on his personal social media account.
Williams, former head of News Corp Australia and Rupert Murdoch’s Foxtel, will end his five-year term in 2029.