EXCLUSIVE
The star journalist behind ABC’s scandal-plagued war crimes report was so defensive about his work that he got into an awkward bathroom fight with one of the broadcaster’s biggest names after he criticized the series into the air.
The revelation comes amid fresh allegations that the ABC ignored repeated warnings that it was reproducing a manipulated view of an Australian soldier allegedly shooting at unarmed civilians as part of the series and ignored calls to address concerns.
Seven’s Spotlight program erupted in scandal last month after an audio expert told chief reporter Liam Bartlett that the sound of at least five gunshots had been added to the footage to make it appear that the soldier was repeatedly shooting at the soldiers. villagers instead of issuing a single warning. shot.
ABC news bosses said the offending vision was removed from its website on September 13 after Spotlight first alerted them to the “error” in the days leading up to its report.
However, Daily Mail Australia can reveal that Bartlett actually raised concerns about “poorly edited filming sequences” to the ABC as early as June 4, only to be dismissed by the broadcaster because he did not approve of the journalistic standard of Seven.
In an embarrassing about-face, the ABC has since been forced to admit the vision had been “inappropriately edited” and launched an independent investigation into how the footage ended up being included in an online report by its elite investigations unit.
ABC CEO David Anderson also had to admit that the broadcaster’s legal department was separately warned about the manipulated view almost two years ago, but “regrettably” failed to act on the information.
Award-winning investigative journalist Mark Willacy had a “disagreement” with fellow ABC star Paul Barry in the station’s men’s toilets over on-air criticism of his journalism.
Barry told his Media Watch viewers in December 2021 that he had “a problem with the Willacy story.”
The scandal has sparked a fierce backlash against the ABC amid accusations that the video was deliberately used to denigrate the country’s war veterans and falsely accuse them of committing war crimes.
Although ABC news chief Justin Stevens said he did not want to “get ahead” of the outcome of the independent review, he defended the star journalist behind the series. saying that Mark Willacy was not aware of the clip and played no role in the manipulation.
Willacy has also categorically denied any suggestion that he directed or authorized any changes to the vision audio included in his story.
It comes amid revelations that Willacy was involved in an altercation with the host of the broadcaster’s Media Watch programme, Paul Barry, after the presenter criticized some of the Walkley Award-winning journalist’s war crimes reporting on his show .
The Daily Telegraph revealed that the fight between Willacy and Paul Barry occurred in the men’s toilets at ABC’s Ultimo headquarters in Sydney in December 2021 after the Media Watch presenter told his viewers he had a “problem with the story of Willacy.”
The ABC scandal centers on the apparent addition of five additional shots from an Australian soldier shooting an Afghan during an operation in 2012.
Sources told the newspaper that Willacy was “furious” with Barry’s public condemnation of his work and that their confrontation was widely “talked about in the corridors” of the ABC.
Barry confirmed that he “had a little disagreement” with Willacy after the segment, but told the Daily Telegraph it was “no big deal.”
Willacy investigations editor Jo Puccini also complained about Barry’s public removal and wrote to the Media Watch team in February 2022 asking for an on-air correction.
Media Watch’s then-executive producer Tim Latham dismissed their concerns, responding: “I understand that you are hurt by the criticism and feel it is unfair, but I am afraid this complaint will not succeed.’
Willacy then replied: ‘AndYou were wrong and have offered absolutely nothing to validate the key premise of your segment. Please let us know if you will take this complaint seriously. If not, we will intensify it even more.”
The images were used in an online article and accompanying 7.30 report in September 2022, but have since been removed from the internet.
Puccini and Willacy then raised their complaint to ABC management, saying: ‘Media Watch has not taken (our complaint) seriously. “He has ignored us and has not answered the basic questions we asked.”
The Daily Telegraph revealed that, in subsequent correspondence, Willacy told colleagues that “Media Watch had been screwed.’
The story at the center of the saga was eventually removed from the broadcaster’s website after ABC and Willacy lost a defamation battle launched by retired special forces commander Heston Russell.
The ABC has been contacted for comment on why it ignored initial warnings about the manipulated vision and whether it had any response to the revelations about the Willacy toilet explosion in Barry.
Anderson has defended the “public interest issues raised by (Willacy’s) stories” and said the ABC had withdrawn the article containing the doctored view pending the outcome of the investigation.
He said the investigation was essential to maintaining public confidence in his journalism.
‘The ABC is subject to the utmost scrutiny, as it should be, given the trust the public places in it.
ABC News chief Justin Stevens says it appears the clip was “inappropriately edited” but strongly rejected any suggestion that Willacy played any role in manipulating the offensive material.
‘Trust in the ABC has been built over time by delivering exceptional journalism, maintaining the highest editorial standards and being transparent with the public about how we do this.
“The ABC is committed to maintaining that trust.”
In October 2023, decorated war veteran Heston Russell won a defamation case against the ABC over its war crimes coverage after a Federal Court judge ruled that the broadcaster could not prove that the articles it published were from public interest.
Those stories, written and produced by journalists Willacy and Josh Robertson, aired on television, radio and online in October 2020 and November 19, 2021.
The defamation case is estimated to have cost taxpayers up to $3.5 million in legal fees, on top of the nearly $400,000 in damages paid to Mr. Russell.
The shooting sequence was not part of the defamation case brought by Russell, as the ABC published the story about it during his trial.