It was the emotional editorial that touched over 12 million people but Australia’s Prime Minister is one of the few who took issue with Waleed Aly’s impassioned speech and is now threatening legal action.
The New Daily has confirmed channel 10 was contacted by Mr Morrison’s chief press secretary, Andrew Carswell, claiming the report which aired on The Project on Friday night included “discredited information”. Reporter Samantha Maiden also says there was a reference to “defamation”.
According to the report;
At issue was Aly’s reference to a 2010 shadow cabinet meeting where Scott Morrison is accused of noting anti-Muslim sentiment in the community and suggesting the Liberal Party capitalise on it.
The PM’s press secretary said The Project should “apologise” and accused producers of failing journalism 101 by not checking the claims. The claims were never explicitly denied at the time by Mr Morrison.
“You’ll have to forgive me, these won’t be my best words…”
On this heartbreaking day, Waleed reflects and calls for unity. #TheProjectTV pic.twitter.com/mIOI0eGamb
— The Project (@theprojecttv) March 15, 2019
It’s not the first time politicians have rung network chiefs unhappy with unfavourable coverage. TV Blackbox knows of multiple instances of this happening over the years at the highest levels. Recently Justin Milne’s tenure as ABC Chair came to an end after accusations of political interference by former Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, a claim both denied.
Co-Creator and Editor of the TV Blackbox website, Robert McKnight is highly regarded Australian Television Producer, he has worked at SEVEN, NINE and TEN, and is most well-known for creating and producing STUDIO 10. Currently Rob is the host and producer of the TV Blackbox, McKnight Tonight and Monsters Who Murder podcasts.
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