Did News Corp Australia play a role in Stan Grant’s decision to take indefinite leave from the ABC? This is the question being asked following a sustained campaign of criticism against Grant. ABC director of news, Justin Stevens, has accused News Corp of fanning the flames of abuse targeting Grant, but News Corp’s executive chairman, Michael Miller, has denied this. A search of news stories using the terms “ABC” and “Stan Grant” turned up 34 mentions in the two weeks prior to the coronation panel that sparked sustained criticism of Grant. All but three of them were in News Corp-owned properties. In the 12 days following the coronation and up to the moment Grant announced he was stepping down from Q+A, the same search produced 78 results. 64 of these mentions came in News Corp properties, and virtually all of them were critical. From this small sample, there is evidence of a sustained campaign from News Corp.
Source: smh.com.au
