ABC’s Mark Scott ‘Sorry’ Over Chris Kenny Sketch

[icyfroth]

The boss of the ABC has apologised to conservative commentator Chris Kenny for a Chaser skit that depicted him having sex with a dog.

ABC managing director Mark Scott released a written statement today apologising to Mr Kenny, nearly seven months after the photoshopped image appeared during a skit in The Hamster Decides.

The national broadcaster received more than 200 complaints about the crude image but the ABC's complaints department found it had not breach editorial policies.

Mr Kenny has since proceeded with a defamation lawsuit against the ABC.

In the statement Mr Scott said he had come to the decision the ABC "should not have put the skit to air".

"Having reviewed the issue, in my opinion it falls short of the quality demanded by our audience and normally delivered by our programming," Mr Scott said.

"While Mr Kenny is a strong and persistent critic of the ABC, and can expect to be a subject of satire, the depiction of him was very strong in the context of the satirical point attempted."

Mr Scott said he had called Mr Kenny to apologise to him and his family and also regretted the delay in making an apology, saying he was originally waiting for internal and Australian Communications and Media Authority reviews.

Chaser team member Julian Morrow responded to Mr Scott's apology by tweeting a digitally altered photo of the ABC boss having sex with a hamster in the same vein Mr Kenny's image was used.

Mr Kenny has not yet commented on the apology but the Twitter account for his Sky News show has retweeted various tweets about it.

From Here

The ABC seems to be doing a lot of apologising lately.

[just_me_karen]

And any wonder some dont lol

It was a funny sketch, but even funnier are the responses about the issue on twitter today.

[lakeland27]

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@icyfroth wrote:

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@lakeland27 wrote:

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@silverfaun wrote:

Sorry LL, but as long as there are people of good moral and ethical character out there they will never “shut it” as you so eloquently put it.

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 where ? i can't see any and know of none.  the sketch was hilarious BTW.

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" where ? i can't see any and know of none"

Any wonder if you watch a lot of ABC

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  Like the piers akerman Peppa Pig scandal from a while back   outrageous ! !

 i didn't even watch the series 'hamster Wheel' but i can't help but feel muckraking liars such as kenny need a little touch up in a way they understand,  publicly where they Lie about others.  polite letters dont work on trolls such as him. 

there is no shortage of grateful viewers who enjoyed a little joke at kennys expense considering the fabricated stories he writes about others to earn his grubby living. he was fortunate they didn't use some of the tactics he does.  imagine if they broadcast some true stories about him .. he'd still be in hiding now.

[icyfroth]

Apparently even Mark Scott didn't think it was funny:

Apology to Mr Chris Kenny

"I wish to apologise to Mr Chris Kenny for the controversial ‘The Hamster Decides’ skit run by ABC-TV in September last year.

At the time of broadcast, I described the skit as tasteless and undergraduate, but noted that it raised questions about the nature of satire and the boundaries of free speech afforded to satirists, comedians and cartoonists.

The audience of The Chaser expect fierce, robust and irreverent satire. Final decision-making on what goes to air, however, rests with the ABC.

There are different matters at stake here: whether the ABC should have made the editorial decision to broadcast the skit and separately, whether broadcasting such a skit was within the ABC’s editorial guidelines for satire and offence. Mr Kenny’s decision to take legal action on the grounds of defamation is also a separate matter.

Notwithstanding any ACMA finding however, I have come to the view with theDirector of Television that the ABC should not have put the skit to air.

Having reviewed the issue, in my opinion it falls short of the quality demanded by our audience and normally delivered by our programming. While Mr Kenny is a strong and persistent critic of the ABC, and can expect to be a subject of satire, the depiction of him was very strong in the context of the satirical point attempted.

As a consequence, I would like to apologise to Mr Kenny for the ABC having put the skit to air, his depiction in the skit and because it was triggered by his criticism of the ABC. I am sorry for the distress this incident has caused him and his family. I have also called Mr Kenny today to convey this apology and put it in writing to him.

While I had been waiting for internal and ACMA review processes to be completed before issuing this statement, I now believe that was a mistake and I regret the delay in making this apology.

Mark Scott

ABC Managing Director

Tasteless and undergraduate would be my assessment of the Chaser humour as well. In this, at least, Mark Scott and I think alike.

[silverfaun]

There  is no defence for this type of disgusting  content being shown on our national broadcaster.

those who  liked it, those who saw nothing wrong  in it, well i’ll say nothing about them, I simply have no words.

[just_me_karen]

That deserves kudos. Keep it up.

[boris1gary]

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@just_me_karen wrote:
That deserves kudos. Keep it up.

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I agree, muchly.

[kilroy_is_here]

The chasers are juvenile nit wits who use the lowest form of humour to make fun of people they don't agree with, offensive humour has no place in our society,many on here show staggering double standards taking offence to political satire about Julia Gillard and then agreeing with this, it seems it's all about who is being humiliated

[just_me_karen]

Spot on, Kilroy! ... It seems it's all about who is being humiliated.

It's ok to post filthy cartoons about our first female prime minister and laugh along....or raise no objection...or justify it as free speech.

But it's not ok to post anything critical about a conservative.

Haha!

Of course everyone knows the apology has nothing to do with being sorry. It's because the money loving conservatives, whilst promoting the rights of bigots and free speech, cry defamation if anyone uses free speech that they don't like.

Hey, that's a bit like accepting humiliation against labor people but not against conservatives, isn't it?

[icyfroth]

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@just_me_karen wrote:
Spot on, Kilroy! ... It seems it's all about who is being humiliated.

It's ok to post filthy cartoons about our first female prime minister and laugh along....or raise no objection...or justify it as free speech.

But it's not ok to post anything critical about a conservative.

Haha!

Of course everyone knows the apology has nothing to do with being sorry. It's because the money loving conservatives, whilst promoting the rights of bigots and free speech, cry defamation if anyone uses free speech that they don't like.

Hey, that's a bit like accepting humiliation against labor people but not against conservatives, isn't it?

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so if it's acceptable now, funny even, hilarious... it must have been acceptable to post rude cartoons about our previous PMs and labor ppl? 

[lakeland27]

yes it was. i didn't think so at the time . but the people behind it .. the ones who benefit. ''the adults'' do. so the Kenny skit is fine too.

ask brandis. he says its fine to be a bigot so it follows it must be fine to have digs at white men and say whatever you like ,, its free speech