SBS admits to errors
SBS has admitted it made two errors in a story about Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh after receiving a formal complaint from the Australia/Israel & Jewish Affairs Council (AIJAC).
SBS has admitted it made two errors in a story about Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh after receiving a formal complaint from the Australia/Israel & Jewish Affairs Council (AIJAC).
The publicly funded broadcaster acknowledged in a letter to AIJAC last week that a television report on February 1 was “imbalanced and appeared to display a partiality”.
Ombudsman for SBS Sally Begbie agreed with AIJAC’s formal complaint that television reporter Omar Dabbagh’s story on the United States’ decision to add Haniyeh to its list of proscribed terrorists breached the broadcaster’s Codes of Practice by claiming that Haniyeh is “seen as pragmatic and flexible in his attitude towards Israel”.
SBS also acknowledged that Dabbagh’s statement asserting that “Hamas had ruled Gaza since 2007 in a de facto capacity until handing power to the Palestinian Authority in December” was incorrect.
“As Hamas still controls Gaza, and Ismail Haniyeh consistently refuses to recognise the state of Israel, the report was inaccurate,” Begbie said.
“These inaccuracies created a false impression that Ismail Haniyeh had a flexible attitude towards Israel and that Hamas is more cooperative in Palestine than it has shown itself to be.”
The letter added that “these are key descriptions in the report and as a result, regardless of other balancing material in the story, the report was imbalanced and appeared to display a partiality.”
Begbie said SBS director of news and current affairs Jim Carroll had reminded staff of their obligations under the code for “accurate, balanced and impartial reporting”.
AIJAC executive director Colin Rubenstein commended SBS for upholding the complaint.
“We are pleased that SBS has shown a willingness to acknowledge when breaches of its Codes of Practice have taken place and take action to correct any errors,” he said.
“The report in question clearly failed to uphold the basic standards of balance and factual accuracy expected, especially for a taxpayer funded public broadcaster.”
He added: “We also welcome SBS’s assurance that staff have been reminded of their statutory obligation to ensure reports are grounded in reality and based only on the confirmed facts. We are grateful to the SBS Ombudsman for her thorough efforts in the investigation in response to AIJAC’s complaint.”
AIJAC most recently hosted Washington-based Indian scholar Sadanand Dhume at functions in Sydney and Melbourne, where he discussed the India-Israel relationship.
AJN STAFF
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