Letter sent to Linton Besser from Media Watch on 6 July 2026
Dear Linton,
I would like to ask Media Watch to examine the ABC’s apparent decision not to report on the recent women’s rights rallies held in Melbourne and other Australian cities.
The rallies attracted hundreds of participants, required significant police operations, faced organised counter-protests, and generated widespread public discussion on an issue of ongoing national interest. Several other Australian media outlets considered the events newsworthy enough to report on them. Yet, despite thorough searches of the ABC News website, I have been unable to find any substantive coverage.
This is particularly puzzling because the ABC has reported on similar women’s rights rallies in previous years. If the ABC’s editorial approach has changed, the public deserves an explanation.
The ABC’s Editorial Policies emphasise serving the public interest through accurate, impartial and comprehensive reporting. While editorial independence is essential and no news organisation can cover every event, the complete absence of coverage for a recurring national protest on a highly contested public policy issue raises legitimate questions about consistency in the application of news values.
Media Watch has a strong track record of scrutinising the ABC’s editorial decisions — including not only how stories are covered, but also why certain stories are not covered at all. I believe this situation warrants similar scrutiny.
Could Media Watch please ask the ABC News division the following:
- What editorial decision was made regarding coverage of these rallies?
- Were reporters assigned to cover them?
- If not, why not?
- If coverage was produced but not published prominently, what was the reasoning?
- How does this decision compare with the ABC’s coverage of similar rallies in previous years and other public demonstrations?
These questions are about transparency and public accountability rather than the merits of the rallies themselves. Regardless of where people stand on the issues being debated, Australians should be able to trust that editorial decisions at the national broadcaster are made consistently and in line with the ABC’s own editorial standards.
Best regards,
E. Gillanders