Published: 21 November 2023
Last updated: 5 March 2024
Australian journalists who signed the wave of pro-Palestinian petitions and letters have renounced their independence in reporting the conflict.
A week ago people identifying themselves as members of the journalists’ union, the Media Entertainment and Arts Alliance, signed a public letter which they circulated on social media and sent to news organisations, including the ABC.
The letter condemned the Australian government’s support for “Israel’s genocidal assault on Gaza”. The letter went on to demand that the government change its policies and condemn Israel for its genocide of the people of Gaza.
The letter was signed by hundreds of people and if you scroll through the names, the journalists who have signed it – some I know – do not refer to themselves as journalists but media workers.
Did they not want to be recognised as journalists? Perhaps they believe the designation journalist is no longer meaningful. After all, being a journalist implies an adherence to certain values and ethical principles.
Like fairness, like factual accuracy, like making sure you are not – and could not be seen to be – pushing an agenda, being an activist for a cause.
It is on that basis that journalists have certain rights. The right, for instance, to ask questions of people in power and even the right to poke into the lives of people who are not particularly powerful.
How could any of these media workers cover anything to do with the conflict and be trusted to be fair and accurate?
The right to protect sources and the right to offer a public interest defence of journalism that breaches privacy laws and even national security laws. Among other rights and privileges.
All this is why the codes of conduct of most media organisations, including the ABC, forbid journalists from being members of a political party or any other organisation that they might one day have to cover.
