The ABC’s managing director and editorial standards boss have stood up for economics correspondent Emma Alberici, whose recent reporting has found her in a bit of hot water.
At a Senate Estimates committee hearing this week, the ABC flagged multiple errors in stories written by Alberici on corporate tax in Australia, some of which were described as “misleading”
However, ABC managing director Michelle Guthrie said yesterday that she still has confidence in Alberici as a journalist, while editorial standards chief Alan Sunderland praised the stories – which have since been re-written – and encouraged everyone to give them a read, according to Fairfax.
“I want to acknowledge openly that they were not up to our standards and changes needed to be made, but I would not accept that this is extraordinary, that we would have these many – some minor, some more significant – alterations to a story during the editing process,” he said.
“We have said all along, and it has sometimes been difficult to hear this over the noise, that they were important articles, on important issues, that had important things to say. That’s why they were written. That’s why they remain available.”
“I would encourage everybody to go and read both of those articles. They are excellent.”
