Extract from ABC News
The ABC's managing director has defended the national broadcaster's coverage of the Israel-Gaza conflict, saying its reporting has been impartial.
In a speech to the volunteer organisation Friends of the ABC on Friday evening, David Anderson said he disagreed with recent accusations of bias.
"It is possible for the ABC to accurately describe the shocking attacks in Israel while also providing coverage of the shocking conditions being experienced by civilians in Gaza, as well as appropriate historical context," he said.
"More broadly, without the careful interrogations provided by the ABC, the partisan bubbles on either side would float free, intact, and undisturbed.
"The national broadcaster belongs to all Australians and so it must meet the unique expectation of being "everything to everyone".
He said impartial reporting was a tough discipline.
"It means that the ABC can be in the position of putting views to the public that some, or many, may not want to hear," Mr Anderson said.
"I've noticed this in our coverage of both the Israel-Hamas war and the Voice to Parliament referendum.
"The ABC does not ban people based on their political beliefs, and our guidelines require that the ABC is not seen to be condoning or encouraging prejudice or discrimination."
He also said impartiality did not require every perspective to receive equal time or for every aspect of an argument to be presented.
"We do not simply give interviewees an open platform and carte blanche to say whatever they want," Mr Anderson said.
"Often when people say our editorial policies are in decline, they usually mean we aren't taking a side.
"In fact this means our editorial polices are working exactly as they should."
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