“There is no excuse for what I saw”: Stan Grant calls on the ABC to do better
Stan Grant, host of the ABC’s Q+A, has condemned his own network for its lack of diversity during its NSW election coverage.
Grant, a Wiradjuri man, wrote a letter to ABC’s managing director David Anderson asking “in 2023, how is it at all acceptable that an election night coverage features an entire white panel?”
In the letter, which Crikey shared portions of, Grant stressed that he was not criticising his “well qualified” colleagues for featuring on the panel, but instead that he was tired of how the ABC had “nurtured and promoted white staff at the exclusion of others”.
The panel in question was led by David Speers and Sarah Ferguson, with NSW treasurer Matt Kean and Labor frontbencher Penny Sharpe joining them. ABC’s coverage also saw state political reporter Ashleigh Raper, Jeremy Fernandez (who is Malaysian-born), and other reporters across key electorates.
However, Grant was far from pleased with the “cameo” roles given to the journalists of colour - despite Fernandez in particular appearing in the network’s promotional material - stating that “the fact that any journalists of colour in our coverage were ‘off Broadway’ in support roles, reporting from the suburbs, only adds to the insult.”
“There is no excuse for what I saw on air last night,” he said.
“None. I have worked at organisations around the world and nowhere would what we presented last night be tolerated.”
Grant called on the ABC to “do better”, and admitted keeping them honest feels like a responsibility on his shoulders. But as he explained in his letter, he doesn’t do any of it for himself.
“I have had my career,” he wrote, “but I don’t want to wait another decade for things to change.”
According to The Guardian, the ABC’s news director Justin Stevens has responded to Grant’s honest take, stating that “ABC News takes on board any criticism and welcomes constructive discussion.”
Stevens went on to note that he agreed with Grant that the network is “not yet where we want to be”, before sharing a series of recent appointments within the ABC.
“We will continue to do all we can to elevate the work of Indigenous employees and ensure our coverage and workforce are truly representative of Australia,” he said.
“We respect Stan enormously. For decades he has been one of the highest-profile First Nations journalists in this country and with that he has carried the burden of fighting for the advancement of his First Nations and culturally diverse colleagues.
“That responsibility is on all of us to carry at the ABC and not him alone.”
Images: Q+A / Youtube