ABC, reporter sorry for Shorten tefillin tweet
THE ABC’s Triple J radio station has apologised after a journalist on its program The Hack tweeted a picture of ALP leader Bill Shorten wearing tefillin, in front of a fighter jet brandishing the logos of Visy.
THE ABC’s Triple J radio station has apologised after a journalist on its program The Hack tweeted a picture of ALP leader Bill Shorten wearing tefillin, in front of a fighter jet brandishing the logos of Visy.
The tweet by Alice Workman – which included Shorten’s quote, “We are ready to lead a smart, modern and fair Australia, ready friends to advance Australia” – was slammed by Melbourne Ports MP Michael Danby as “an ugly bigoted trope”.
Noting the tefillin and that Visy is owned by the prominent Jewish Pratt family, Danby lamented the use of such imagery, telling The Australian on Monday: “Whether the explanation for this tweet is ignorance or bigotry, such a person’s comment is outside the boundaries of civilised debate and makes them unfit to be employed by taxpayer-funded ABC or indeed elsewhere in journalism.”
Triple J told The AJN this week that “it sincerely apologises for any offence caused. Reporter Alice Workman was unfamiliar with the image of the phylactery and did not realise its religious significance.”
Stating that Workman would be meeting Danby to discuss the issue, the ABC added, “Alice is profoundly sorry for any offence caused and has been counselled by her editorial managers.”
AJN STAFF
comments