Doing our job

[Following the publication of John Izzard’s “Blood News” Sally Sara of the ABC responded here… and John Izzard replied here…]  

Dear Mr Izzard,
 
Well, I’d have to congratulate you on your flexibility.
 
Last week you were suggesting we were exploiting families, ‘rather than cover the actual details of the magnitude of the flood itself’, despite internet link after link provided by me to our coverage clearly showing that we did cover the magnitude of the flood.
 
This week you say you stood by everything you said. Oh, but hang on. Further down in this week’s article that, ‘My criticism wasn’t so much that Sally Sara didn’t cover the magnitude of the flood’
 
Last week, you suggested we were lacking in our coverage of those who are doing their best to fight the floods. (Again, I provide link after link to our stories showing we clearly did cover those helping to fight the floods).  Now, you’re suggesting we’re pushing their propaganda.
 
Our job is to report the situation we find on the ground. If families choose to talk with us and express their personal sorrow, anger or frustration that is their right. The ultimate way to ‘deny them their dignity’ would not allow them to speak.
 
If ABC Local Radio,  makes it own decision to follow our coverage with an appeal, it is completely within their role. The Appeal and our coverage were both praised by the Senate Environment and Communications Committee last month.
 
Far from ‘agenda-driven reporting’, we covered the story in it s full context, extensively for more than 20 days and people chose to respond.
 
You didn’t check your facts when you implied I’d failed to cover the magnitude of the flood or those who were doing their best to help.  
 
Yours sincerely, 

Sally Sara, South Asia Correspondent, Australian Broadcasting Corporation, New Delhi