Respected broadcaster Stan Grant has confirmed his departure from the ABC to assume a new role as the Asia-Pacific director of the Denmark-based Constructive Institute, in collaboration with Monash University.
The move comes after he stepped down as the presenter of ABC’s Q+A program last month, following what he described as intense abuse on social media.
Grant had initially announced his intention to work on different projects within the ABC but has now chosen to leave the organisation entirely.
His final segment on Q+A aired in May. The broadcaster faced heightened scrutiny and online abuse following his guest commentary during the ABC’s coverage of King Charles’s coronation.
In a first-person article published on the ABC website earlier this year, Grant said,
“Since the King’s coronation, I have seen people in the media lie and distort my words. They have tried to depict me as hate-filled. They have accused me of maligning Australia.
Nothing could be further from the truth. My ancestors would not allow me to be filled with hate. Racism is a crime.
Racism is violence. And I have had enough.”
Commenting on his new role Stan Grant stated he was,
“incredibly excited” to improve how the media approached “misinformation and disinformation”.
“It aligns with my values and draws on my 40 years in journalism, as well as my commitment to doing public interest journalism better in a way that serves the public at a time when the stakes couldn’t be higher for our country and for the world,” he said.
“The ABC is precious to me and so are its people. For now I need to go in a different direction but I will always consider ABC family.”
Justin Stevens, ABC Director of News, expressed his respect for Grant’s decision and stated that the new role
“clearly aligns with Stan’s desire to lead a conversation in Australian media about how media can foster a more constructive and kinder discourse.”
Stevens added,
“The ethos behind it aligns with our endeavour to make our journalism more constructive at a time where the media sector is seeing increasing levels of news avoidance and news fatigue.”
In paying tribute to Grant, Stevens added,
“I would like to pay my personal respects and gratitude to Stan for being a truth teller, a courageous voice for many, and a teacher and mentor.
We thank Stan for his huge contribution to the ABC and the national conversation and wish him well in his new endeavours.”
