Our ABC is supposed to

be "impartial" but is it?

The answer to that has to be "no" of course. Nobody is "impartial". We might like to think we are but are we really. 

I had to judge something once. There were two items there which were of seemingly equal worth but one was a very bright pink and the other was a rather virulent green. I did not like either colour but I confess I do not like pink as a colour at all. I avoid it. I do not wear it. 

I was about to favour the green over the pink and then I stopped myself and thought, "Am I making this decision because I do not like pink?" I thought again and looked again and then chose the pink as the second and the green as the third. (There was another and clearly better choice for first.)

It was just fortunate for me there was time to do that. I was not being hurried and nobody else was going to question it - except the prize winners. The two prize winners did not mind either. They were just excited for each other. That was nice and does not happen often.

But the ABC does not work that way. It is more difficult to be impartial when you are reporting the news even if you believe you are simply stating facts. You are expected to make it "interesting". It is why the person giving the financial news will often start with something about someone rather than a straightforward, "the dollar is down".  

It is even more difficult if you are not simply reporting on an issue but "commentating" on it. That reporter apparently in the middle of a situation does have an opinion of their own. It takes a lot of skill to make it sound as if "these are the facts". I often get other "reports" from other people. For me the news can be an interesting and often alarming jumble of fact and fiction.

But it can all go too far when a very senior reporter, someone who is very well known to the listening and watching population, comes out with a statement that is not in keeping with the "requirement" to be "impartial".  To say that a reporter has to ensure that their comments  "have to have sufficient context to support the statements made" may seem obvious but it is not what always happens by any means. 

Some years ago a senior reporter from the ABC went on to contest a seat at the federal election. It had been thought by many that this would happen. Her reporting, while often considered excellent, was undoubtedly well and truly coloured by her political beliefs. Reporters are people. Reporters are not impartial. 

It will be interesting to find out what is said about Mr Trump on this evening's news bulletin.