{"id":566841,"date":"2026-03-27T02:10:08","date_gmt":"2026-03-27T02:10:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/566841\/"},"modified":"2026-03-27T02:10:08","modified_gmt":"2026-03-27T02:10:08","slug":"murdoch-mastheads-at-odds-as-sexual-assault-survivor-speaks-up-about-the-australians-podcast-amanda-meade","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/566841\/","title":{"rendered":"Murdoch mastheads at odds as sexual assault survivor speaks up about The Australian\u2019s podcast | Amanda Meade"},"content":{"rendered":"

A rare fight between Rupert Murdoch\u2019s Australian mastheads has been playing out in plain sight since news.com.au published an exclusive interview with a sexual assault survivor last week which was critical of The Australian\u2019s podcast<\/a> Shadow of Doubt. The TikTok video accompanying the article has been watched 9.5m times<\/a>.<\/p>\n

A series of stories by the Walkley award-winning investigative reporter Nina Funnell for news.com.au has been generating clicks The Australian can only dream of: 860,000 unique page views<\/a> in just over a week. No doubt this only increased The Australian\u2019s ire about the popular news site\u2019s criticism of its podcast and its host, Richard Guilliatt.<\/p>\n

A new article published on news.com.au on Tuesday scrubbed all mention of Richard Guilliatt, the Shadow of Doubt podcast and The Australian. Photograph: Clare Fletcher\/The Australian<\/p>\n

We won\u2019t go into the distressing details of the case here but Guilliatt interviewed the convicted child sexual abuse offenders<\/a> from jail, which devastated the survivor<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The Australian appeared to target news.com.au with a lengthy rebuttal from Guilliatt<\/a> and an editorial<\/a> claiming the \u201carticles were riddled with so many errors, omissions and misrepresentations that news.com.au<\/a> has already revised them online\u201d.<\/p>\n

But that wasn\u2019t enough crossfire. An eagle-eyed observer would have noticed one of Funnell\u2019s news.com.au articles was amended after publication to add additional comment by The Australian \u2013 even though it already included a lengthy response from Guilliatt.<\/p>\n

A new article published on news.com.au on Tuesday scrubbed all mention of Guilliatt, Shadow of Doubt and The Australian, referring instead to \u201ca public podcast\u201d and the \u201cjournalist responsible\u201d<\/a>.<\/p>\n

We asked the Australian\u2019s editor-in-chief, Michelle Gunn, and the news.com.au editor, Kerry Warren, what had happened behind the scenes but they did not offer an explanation.<\/p>\n

ABC strike fires up Sky<\/p>\n

The ABC\u2019s 24-hour strike has really fired up the folks at Sky News Australia<\/a>, providing the rightwing news channel with colourful takes and juicy fodder for dozens of online stories and videos.<\/p>\n

On Wednesday, as the strike began at 11am<\/a>, Sky News reporters were dispatched to follow ABC employees into the pub, snap photos of what they were drinking and note the cost.<\/p>\n

\u201cAfter taking the day off work to beg the Australian taxpayer for more money, ABC staff have been spotted day drinking in a popular Sydney pub, where a pint of beer will set you back $15 a glass,\u201d they wrote<\/a>. \u201cEarlier that day ABC staff were spotted holding signs suggesting they could not afford to pay their power bills.\u201d<\/p>\n

One Sky presenter was furious that the strike was \u2018depriving us of our normal services\u2019. Photograph: News Corp<\/p>\n

Chris Kenny, whose signature move at Sky has been to attack the ABC, was outraged that his favourite shows were off the air.<\/p>\n

Although Kenny derides ABC content as \u201cgreen left\u201d<\/a>, he was furious that the strike was \u201cdepriving us of our normal services\u201d and he called for presenters, who had told viewers they were going on strike to demand better pay and conditions, to be sacked.<\/p>\n

Kenny also made sledges, including: \u201cThey\u2019ll probably never rate higher.\u201d<\/p>\n

For a 24-hour news channel that regularly calls for the ABC to be privatised or de-funded, Sky spent a lot of time talking about how much viewers would miss. One reporter told a presenter, Peter Stefanovic, that \u201cviewers wanted to tune in to watch the news at seven\u201d but had to settle for Hard Quiz. One headline said: \u201cABC viewers forced to watch comedy reruns.\u201d<\/p>\n

The reporter said: \u201cThis morning, when viewers wanted to tune in to the ABC Breakfast show, well, they instead had to watch the international coverage from ABC\u2019s UK affiliates, BBC.\u201d<\/p>\n

The shadow communications minister, Sarah Henderson, was given a lot of airtime<\/a> to say the strike was a \u201cdisgrace\u201d but also appeared to back the important work the ABC does: \u201cThere has never been a more important time in this country when we need ABC journalists and other content makers to be out in the field informing Australians.\u201d<\/p>\n

Union access curtailed<\/p>\n

Media Entertainment and Arts Alliance members passed the following motion after returning to work on Thursday after their 24-hour strike: \u201cMEAA members are deeply concerned by the statements made by Hugh Marks. These statements show that our managing director has either been misinformed by the people he employs to lead these negotiations, or is wilfully misrepresenting the conduct and status of bargaining.\u201d<\/p>\n

The motion followed an interview in which the managing director said staff had treated taking industrial action<\/a> as \u201ca bit of a game\u201d.<\/p>\n

The ABC advised the MEAA and CPSU that union officials could no longer use a union member or delegate as an escort when they visit a work site. Photograph: Hollie Adams\/Reuters<\/p>\n

Weekly Beast can reveal that tensions were running so high this week that the people and culture manager had informed the unions of a major change in their access to union members on ABC properties.<\/p>\n

At 5pm on Wednesday the MEAA and the Community and Public Sector Union received notice that union officials could no longer use a union member or delegate as an escort when they visited a work site. \u201cThe ABC has changed its process so that effective immediately, an escort will be provided by the ABC,\u201d the notice said. \u201cThis will be a member of the P&C team, a security team member or possibly another ABC representative.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe permit holder will be taken to the meal\/break area of their choice, where they are to remain. Should they wish to change locations they must contact the representative (if they are not with them) and then be escorted to the next location or the exit. ROE permit holders are not to walk through the building, work stations or other areas unless escorted by the ABC representative.\u201d<\/p>\n

A spokesperson for the ABC said the change was necessary because union officials were disrupting staff while they were working and were accessing unauthorised areas.<\/p>\n

Lateline headliner returns<\/p>\n

It appears there is life after being made redundant by the ABC. Back in 2018, the multi award-winning journalist and foreign correspondent Ginny Stein was made redundant after the ABC axed Lateline. It was an ignominious end to a sparkling career in public broadcasting.<\/p>\n

Stein went on to be managing editor for Radio Free Asia\u2019s south Asia division, based in Washington DC, until it was closed down by Donald Trump.<\/p>\n

This week the University of Technology Sydney announced that the veteran journo was now a professor: she had been appointed head of discipline for journalism at the school of communication, faculty of design and society.<\/p>\n