MEDIA NEWS:

The Murdoch media’s national broadshit The Australian has explained the reference to former prime minister Scott Morrison (in main picture at Mar-a-Lago) in its story on likely replacements for Kevin Rudd as the nation’s ambassador to the United States.

In an online report yesterday following news that Mr Rudd was leaving his post prior to the end of his term, The Australian listed possible replacements as former Labor Party ministers Joel Fitzgibbon and Stephen Conroy with Mr Morrison as “rank outsider”.(below)

Australia’s leading journalism academic, Professor Henny Jonningham, (below) said she believed Mr Morrison’s name had been included as a result of the broadshit’s longstanding editorial policy aimed at achieving balance in its coverage.

“It was notable that I could find no other media outlet that included Mr Morrison in stories speculating about Mr Rudd’s replacement,” said Professor Jonningham, chair of the Combined Universities’ Newswriting Tribunal.

“I suspect he was listed as a result of the Murdoch media’s editorial policies which require right-wing politicians to be given as much exposure as possible, and if a story contains references to only left-wing politicians, then a right winger must be thrown in the mix even if their inclusion runs counter to the facts.

“Of course, that approach is balanced by the fact that it doesn’t require any Labor voice if only right-wing politicians feature in a story,” she said.

But Professor Jonningham’s view was rejected by The Australian‘s editor-in-chief, Michelle Gunn.

 “Our righters hit the phones to talk to their contacts in the political and diplomatic worlds yesterday after news broke of Mr Rudd’s planned departure from Washington. They soon compiled a shortlist of his possible replacements and Scott Morrison was definitely on it.”

Ms Gunn said the best assessment the staff righters could make was that the replacement shortlist was led by Mr Fitzgibbon followed by Mr Conroy.

“Information from our righters’ contacts at that time put Mr Morrison in sixth place on the shortlist of possible new ambassadors,” she said.

“But immediately after Mr Conroy – in third to fifth place (clockwise below) – came a well-used toilet brush, a 300mm Besser block, a large rancid coil extruded from an Alsatian, and then Mr Morrison. (photographed at Engadine McDonald’s)

“Rather than explain the three candidates ahead of Mr Morrison, we decided to use the term ‘rank outsider’ to describe his place on the shortlist.

“So while Professor Jonningham – for whom I have nothing but utmost respect – is correct in explaining our editorial policy for achieving balance in our political righting, she is actually wrong in this particular case,” Ms Gunn said.

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