The ABC is facing backlash from its own staff as its star reporter Laura Tingle reports on the Middle East conflict from Dubai amid ongoing budget pressures.
Tingle was one of several Australian journalists to make the journey to the Middle East as the first US-Israeli air strikes hit Tehran.
As the conflict escalated and Iran retaliated, Tingle was grounded in Dubai and began covering the war from the United Arab Emirates.
An ABC insider said Tingle’s stint in Dubai angered her colleagues who felt her reporting did not require her to remain in the Middle East.
“People are really pissed off Laura Tingle has been in Dubai for weeks, staying in nice hotels and literally writing blogs with no material collected in Dubai,” one ABC insider told The Australian’s Media Diary.
“This is while other correspondents can’t do trips because of budget. You can write any of that stuff (she was doing in Dubai) from Sydney.
“It’s a complete waste of money. People are working like dogs filling shows and filing news and this stuff really is gutting.”
The insider claimed ABC News boss Justin Stevens was “scared” of Tingle and therefore she “gets top cover”.
This comes despite the fact Mr Stevens being “very worried” about growing costs and urging newsrooms to cut spending, TV Blackbox reported.
It comes after the ABC claimed Tingle had been left “stranded” in Dubai amid the ongoing Middle East conflict.
ABC Radio host Samantha Donovan told listeners “a lot of Australians are stuck in Dubai” and “the ABC’s global affairs editor, Laura Tingle, is one of them”.
However, at that point, Tingle had only recently arrived in the United Arab Emirates.
Days later, Tingle and the ABC began describing her as “stranded” rather than simply “stuck” in Dubai.
The broadcaster later told ABC Sydney radio host Philip Clark she had rushed to the airport after it reopened to retrieve her luggage.
She went on to stay in Dubai for another week and a half.
The backlash over Tingle’s trip comes as budget pressures force the ABC to cut most local news bulletins over the Easter long weekend.
ABC’s head of regional, rural and metro news Donna Field sent an email to editors informing them most Easter schedules were being scrapped.
National bulletins will replace local news coverage across the country on Easter Saturday, Sunday and Monday. Newsrooms have previously closed on Good Friday and this remains unchanged.
Local radio news bulletins will be replaced with national coverage from Good Friday to Easter Monday.
This means there will be no local radio or TV bulletins for days.
Both TV and radio bulletins in Perth will be unchanged due to the time difference.
In the email, Ms Field said an “intense” summer news cycle was behind the “sustainability measure” but the decision was, in fact, a cost-cutting measure.
An ABC spokesperson told SkyNews.com.au: “Laura Tingle is the ABC’s Global Affairs Editor and has provided excellent coverage out of Dubai, including daily analysis, reporting for the 7pm News and interviews.
“Planning for the ABC’s Easter weekend coverage is taking place at the moment.
We expect to do two national 7PM News bulletins over the Easter long weekend and national radio news bulletins, in line with what we’ve done previously over Easter and Christmas periods. Local newsrooms remain fully operational.”