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Andrew Greene received $16,000
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The ABC is investigating
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) is looking into an incident involving one of its journalists who accepted $16,000 in travel expenses from a arms firm they reported on in a story.
Andrew Greene travelled from
Sydney
to
Germany
on business class flights worth about $16,000, and was put up in hotels in Hamburg and Kiel to attend a press event for the German weapons company TKMS. The company paid for his trip.
The senior defense correspondent at ABC subsequently presented a report on The World Today concerning TKMS, featuring comments from its CEO, Oliver Burkhard. Following the disclosure of Greene’s trip, this piece was taken down from the ABC website.
“We have everything under control,” Mr. Burkhard assured Greene in the report.
‘I know our competitors, they never have been exported in the past.’
Greene did not disclose the trip to either his ABC audience or his bosses, according to
Media Watch
.
According to what the ABC understood, he was reportedly on personal leave and acquired an audio recording of Mr. Burkhard’s news conference via email instead of traveling to Germany personally.
The Media Watch host Linton Besser strongly criticized the seasoned journalist, stating that “although Andrew Greene has an extensive background as a pioneering news figure, he has now faltered due to his vulnerability when faced with temptation.”
It’s a worn but warning story about the danger each reporter faces when they get too close to the generous offers from an unforgiving business world.
Following inquiries from Media Watch directed at the national broadcaster concerning Greene’s visit, they removed his account from their website.
The organization has now initiated an inquiry into Greene’s behavior.
“These are grave accusations, and the ABC is currently looking into them,” stated ABC spokesperson Sally Jackson in a Monday press release.
The ABC adheres to strict editorial guidelines, and any such behavior, once substantiated, would be deemed inappropriate and might amount to professional misconduct.
‘Due to the requirements of proper procedure and privacy, we will not provide additional comments while the investigation is ongoing.’
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