A senior producer with ABC News Queensland has been sacked after he suggested to his superiors that Queensland Premier Steven Miles and his Labor government were “not getting a fair shake” in the corporation’s nightly 7pm state election segments.

The Bug understands newsroom colleagues jeered and slow-hand clapped the long-term producer as he was escorted out of the ABC’s South Bank studios in Brisbane.

The producer, who asked not to be named, told The Bug: “All I did in a memo was suggest that since the election’s firing gun early last week, it would be nice if our nightly reports led with images of the Premier at least every second time. Ditto for the main item being covered each night. And that the time and effort spent on each side of the topic du jour be as even as possible. I just felt the current government was not getting a fair shake.”

Senior ABC management, also on the condition of anonymity, told us: “Look, it is possible that we might be favouring David Crisafulli and the LNP ever so slightly but that’s just because we’re always mindful of accusations that our news bulletins are too left-wing. Besides, as one of our reporters pointed out the other night as she ended her segment: polls suggest the LNP is going to win by a landslide and everyone loves a winner, right?

“It’s also true that our 7pm bulletin more often than not follows the template used for Nine News Queensland an hour earlier so that might go some way to explaining how things are and our former producer should have been aware of that.”

EDITOR’S NOTE: The Bug‘s Media Glass House tomorrow, Thursday, will examine the ABC’s nightly Queensland election coverage over recent days and see if our sacked producer has a valid point.

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