Senators taking aim at SBS and ABC

LIBERAL senators have attacked SBS executives, claiming the broadcaster exhibits pro-Arab bias, broadcasts "smut" and "pornography", and fails to clearly identify and label terrorist organisations to its viewers.And SBS is not the only public broadcaster under fire. The ABC, represented by new managing director Mark Scott, also faced hours of interrogation from Liberal senators and Labor's communications spokesman, Stephen Conroy, at a Senate estimates hearing in Canberra yesterday.

Subjects in contention ranged from the ABC's controversial new editorial guidelines, which come into effect in March, to allegations of bias in Middle East coverage and labelling of terrorist organisations.ABC executives confirmed during yesterday's hearings that a new position announced by Mr Scott for policing of editorial impartiality will carry a salary of between $150,000 and $280,000.Mr Scott told senators the ABC board would have a role in the appointment, with deputy chairman John Gallagher on the selection panel.

Board participation in editorial appointments was "not atypical."All ABC staff, including high-profile journalists and presenters, will be required to undergo training in the new editorial guidelines.Mr Scott rejected repeated assertions from Senator Conroy that the new guardian of edi- torial impartiality would act as the "chief censor" of the ABC.

Two Liberal senators, Victoria's Michael Ronaldson and Concetta Fierravanti-Wells from NSW, meanwhile, criticised SBS about its reporting of the recent Lebanon-Israel conflict.Senator Fierravanti-Wells claimed high-profile SBS presenter George Negus expressed "pro-Arab" sentiments.

She also alleged that SBS had "sided" with David Hicks, the Australian held at Guantanamo Bay, and exhibited "a rather equivocal view of terrorism".In addition, she said that SBS broadcast "smut and pornography" through foreign movies and through adult animation programs such as Striperella.SBS managing director Shaun Brown defended the broadcasters' policy of "neutrality" in the identification of terrorist organisations.He also categorically rejected the suggestion that SBS broadcast pornography. Programs such as Striperella, he said, followed "a tradition at SBS to support adult animation".

Senator Ronaldson criticised Mr Scott for failing to bring key ABC executives to Canberra to face questions, and took issue with "subjective" ABC coverage of the recent Lebanon conflict.He became increasingly frustrated with Mr Scott's answers as the estimates hearing unfolded and raised concerns about various correspondents' reporting from the Middle East." Such a good start and now you are back with the pack, Mr Scott," Senator Ronaldson told him yesterday.

ABC television head Kim Dalton has come out in support of the Media Watch program and its presenter, Monica Attard, rejecting speculation that satire would be blunted by the new editorial policies. Mr Dalton said Media Watch would return next year with a new executive producer and he hoped Attard would remain as presenter. "I think she does a great job and has an extraordinary reputation as one of our leading, award-winning journalists," he said.

The job of executive producer has been advertised nationally. Current executive producer Peter McEvoy announced his departure before the unveiling of new editorial policies aimed at removing any bias from ABC programs. Mr Dalton said he did not want to reflect on how the program could be improved. "I think it's a really important program. I think it serves a really important purpose in our media environment in Australia at the moment. It's clearly a very entertaining and popular program, and it will remain so," he said. Mr Dalton played down suggestions that Media Watch would become a panel-style show, adding that such speculation did not come from within the ABC.The show's essential role would remain that of a watchdog that looked at "the practice of media in an increasingly complex and globalised environment", he said.

Endorsing the program's its single-presenter format, he said: "It is a short program, it's 12 or 13 minutes on a Monday night … (Viewers) are looking for something that has pace and edge and I'm not sure you can achieve that through a panel show."