In the wake of journalist Antoinette Lattouf winning her unlawful termination case against the ABC following a social media post about the war in Gaza, the broadcaster has released new public comment guidelines for employees.

They begin:

“ABC workers are members of the communities that we serve and the ABC does not wish to unnecessarily curtail their engagement in civic life, including by expressing personal views outside of work. However, what ABC workers say in public has the potential to damage the ABC’s reputation, or the independence or integrity of ABC content. What all ABC workers say in public can also impact their effectiveness in serving the ABC’s purpose.”

The ABC’s purpose is to deliver services that reflect and contribute to Australian society, culture and identity. This should be straightforward to most of us but beyond our control are people’s comments on our innocuous post, AI fakes and even off line conversations made public. We all, including the ABC, will have to learn as we go as the lines defining this continue to sway.

The guidelines, endorsed by the ABC Board, apply to all comments made by ABC workers on social media, at public events or in any context where comments may reasonably be expected to reach a public audience. ABC editorial content and public comments requested or authorised by the ABC are not subject to these Guidelines.

The full guidelines can be found here: https://www.abc.net.au/about/plans-reports-and-submissions/abc-public-comment-guidlines/103717920

Meanwhile, New Zealand’s public broadcaster RNZ, after commissioning an 11-page report into itself to try to stop dwindling listenership, received feedback from its staff saying the network was “a patchwork quilt of various shades of taupe” and “boring”.

Jen Seyderhelm is a writer, editor and podcaster for Radioinfo.