r/australia • u/l3ntil • 2d ago

culture & society ABC reporter could face disciplinary action over opinion piece, journalists’ union says | Australian Broadcasting Corporation

https://www.theguardian.com/media/2026/oct/12/abc-reporter-opinion-piece-journalists-union-meaa

"ABC management has refused to rule out disciplinary action against a journalist and union office-holder for writing an opinion piece for the Australian Financial Review, according to the Media Entertainment and Arts Alliance (MEAA).

The award-winning ABC climate journalist, Michael Slezak, had an article published last week in Nine’s financial newspaper in his capacity as federal president of MEAA.

The AFR described Slezak, who is also head of the ABC house committee, as federal president of media at the Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance and an ABC journalist.

The article was about a proposal by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (Asic) to restrict journalists from accessing information such as the home address and date of birth of company directors, an issue the union is campaigning on."

124 Upvotes

91% Upvoted

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52

u/CMDR_RetroAnubis 2d ago

The head of the ABC published a piece in the Australian of all fucking places recently.

Nobody seemed to notice.

103

u/Ric0chet_ 2d ago

Disciplinary action for what? He’s expressed an opinion in another masthead that doesn’t have the same disclosure policies or charters the ABC has.

54

u/RecipeSpecialist2745 2d ago

I love how wealthy company directors are up in arms that journalists could access their personal details. But the consumer on the street that their companies prey on? Oh no, we definitely need peasants' details; that's the basis of our business. You have to laugh at the cognitive dissonance that CEO's have when it comes to data privacy.

20

u/herpesderpesdoodoo 2d ago

One imagines they're going to push the same line as the BBC that all their presenters must be news-literate Stepford Wives 24/7 and any expression of independent thought is against the charter.

13

u/JootDoctor 2d ago

Basically the same rules for public servants too. “Shut up and don’t make your political opinions public”. It’s crap and goes against the fundamentals of democracy and citizenship, being able to discuss your views in the agora.

7

u/herpesderpesdoodoo 2d ago edited 2d ago

Yes, and no. With public servants the whole charade relies on the executive being impartial in carrying out the law with the responsibility for having opinions falling to the legislature. But that does take those of us in public servant roles out of the realm of humans.

As to the news orgs, you can definitely see how impartiality helps against the likes of Murdoch, but when it's engaged with disingenuously or stupidly (Dara O'Briain's joke about a Prof. of dentistry having to debate someone who removes teeth with string and a door being the semi-hyperbolic argument) you get the rise of cranks and extremists who haven't been put back in their place by those with the voice and power to do so.

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u/Repulsive_Set4541 2d ago

The libs really did neuter the ABC

28

u/FreakySpook 2d ago

That plus the media landscape outside of ABC/SBS is basically Nine/7West/NewsCorp. For corporate or journalist hires, there's not a lot of talent they can bring into the ABC that hasn't been completely corrupted already.

37

u/nocheezepleeze 2d ago

Mikey is a legend, it's so gross to see ABC obviously targeting a mentor and leader to heaps of journos.