Despite the previous government’s best efforts to discredit the ABC and uncover bias, an independent probe into ABC Radio’s major news and current affairs programs has found that they reach a very high standard of accuracy.

A story appearing in The Age reports that an audit of AM, PM and The World Today found they were almost 96% accurate.

The paper says that the review comes against a backdrop of 11 years of tension and sometimes open hostility between the ABC and The Howard’s government.

Former communications minister Richard Alston complained unrelentingly about the Iraq war coverage in 2003 by the morning radio current affairs program AM, exhausting all the ABC’s internal complaints mechanisms and, unhappy with the ABC’s overall exoneration of the program, appealed to the Australian Broadcasting Authority with only marginal success.

ABC Manging Director, Mark Scott told the paper he was not providing specific briefings to the Rudd Labor Government on the continuing reviews of programs, policies and procedures.

“We are doing this ourselves as part of our self-regulation, and making the results available to all online.
“The ABC holds itself to the highest editorial standards of independence, fairness, accuracy and impartiality under the framework of our editorial policies,” Mr Scott said said.