Inside the ABC’s call to take Lattouf off air

Fischer forwarded another email to Anderson which she had sent to Communications Minister Michelle Rowland.

Key elements of the complaint to Rowland reflect the content in a number of “call to action” templates shared around pro-Israel support and WhatsApp groups on the morning of Monday, December 18, and throughout that week. Different versions of the “call to action” encouraged complaints to be sent to Rowland, the ABC board and Anderson. The calls to action are not included in the court case.

1.34pm
Anderson shares the complaint with news director Justin Stevens, chief content officer Chris Oliver-Taylor and acting editorial director Simon Melkman, with an accompanying note asking them to “look into it”.

1.49pm
Oliver-Taylor forwards the complaints to the acting head of the ABC’s capital city radio network, Steve Ahern, head of audio Ben Latimer, Melkman and Sashka Koloff, the managing editor for standards and compliance in the content division.

In the email, Oliver-Taylor asks them to ensure Lattouf is not posting anything that would call the broadcaster’s impartiality into question.

“I am concerned her public views may mean that she is in conflict with our own editorial policies, but Simon and Sashka would be able to advise. Can we also advise why we selected Antoinette as stand in host?” Oliver-Taylor writes.

1.52pm
Ahern – who is normally ABC Radio Sydney station manager – forwards the complaints to Elizabeth Green, the station’s content director, and acting station manager Mark Spurway, asking for feedback on the issue and urging they speak to Lattouf urgently.

Oliver-Taylor tells the Fair Work Commission on March 8 that he had reported back to Anderson on December 18 “there was no issue and no concern” that Lattouf had breached the ABC’s standards. He tells the hearing that more complaints were received that afternoon and the next day.

Green tells the commission that on Monday, December 18, she advised Lattouf to “keep a low profile, and not post anything controversial”.

Tuesday, December 19

Afternoon
Green gave evidence she had another conversation with Lattouf on Tuesday, December 19, after her show about “craft” and “contents”. Green says she again suggested that Lattouf “still keep a low profile, best not to post anything”.

5.51pm
Lattouf shares a Human Rights Watch post on her Instagram account, with the caption “HRW reporting starvation as a tool of war”.

Wednesday, December 20

11.24am
Soon after Lattouf’s third show on December 20, The Australian’s media writer, Sophie Elsworth, puts questions to the ABC about Lattouf. These include inquiries about the number of complaints the ABC had received about Lattouf, how long she would be on air and whether the ABC was investigating her conduct relating to the Israel-Gaza war.

Around 12.30pm

Oliver-Taylor tells the commission that on December 20 he had a meeting with Ahern, Latimer and Melkman to discuss the Instagram post.

Oliver-Taylor tells the hearing that after consulting with Ahern and Latimer, he decided Lattouf should be taken off air. Oliver-Taylor told court: “I believed it was a breach of policy …” and that “it may have breached social media policy”.

In response to questions during the hearing, Green confirmed she told her managers that she disagreed with the decision to take Lattouf off air “for the sake of two days”, and that she did not see a problem with sharing a post from Human Rights Watch.

She says she saw a separate story about the Human Rights Watch report on ABC News that morning.

1pm

After the meeting, Oliver-Taylor texts Anderson to confirm his view that Lattouf “breached the ABC’s editorial policies whilst in our employment”, and failed to follow a directive from her producer not to post anything while working with the ABC.

“As a result of this, I have no option but to stand her down. Call me if you can, but if not possible, I will action within the hour,” he says in the text.

Oliver-Taylor tells the Fair Work hearing the intent of the message was to brief Anderson before a media storm developed as result of the decision to stand down Lattouf, rather than seeking approval for the decision.

“I felt the matter of taking someone off air is serious enough that the managing director should be aware of that,” Oliver-Taylor tells the commission.

Soon after the text, Anderson calls Oliver-Taylor. Oliver-Taylor tells the hearing Anderson “agreed” with the course of action.

Oliver-Taylor tells Fair Work: “I am still not sure whether there’s a breach or not, if I’m being honest” in reference to questions about the social media policy.

1.30pm
Oliver-Taylor directed Latimer to stand down Lattouf, then briefed ABC head of corporate communications Nick Leys.

2.05pm
Leys issues a statement to The Australian’s Elsworth in response to her questions, that Lattouf would not be returning to complete her final two shifts as host on ABC Radio Sydney.

2.39pm
The Australian publishes an article reporting that Lattouf had been sacked.

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