The ABC refused to make senior executives available to respond to Grant's claims and did not respond when contacted. Instead, the station pointed to a statement by news director Justin Stevens, the only station manager praised for Grant, who stood by Grant and rejected attacks on him in "the usual sections of the media that They point to ABC."
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese told reporters traveling with him in Japan that Grant had his respect and that he was concerned about the level of hate on social media in the run-up to the Voice referendum. “Seeing some of the comments that, frankly, are completely off the mark,” Albanese said. “We can have different respectful points of view without falling into defamation and that is important.” He declined to comment specifically on Grant's dispute with ABC, saying he was not aware of the details.
Charging
Noting that this would be "the last column I'll write for ABC for a while," Grant said on Monday night's episode of Questions and answers would be the last, adding “for how long? I don't know."
While noting that the mainstream media was not without blame for the state of the discourse, having "turned public discussion into an amusement park," Grant saved his strongest criticisms for social media, which he said, "at the worst In any case, it is a sordid spectacle. A grotesque burlesque. Lives are reduced to mockery and ridicule.
“I don't want to be a part of it,” Grant added. “I want to find a place of grace away from the stench of the media. I want to go where the sewer of social media doesn't remind me."
After revealing that ABC had filed an official complaint on Twitter about the abuse he has been subjected to on the platform, Grant observed that “racism is a crime. Racism is violence. And I've had enough.
stan grantCredit: Natalie Boog
Twitter no longer has staff in Australia and does not respond to inquiries from the press.
Although critical of ABC's management in general, Grant singled out Stevens, the station's head of news, for his friendship.
“It has been a support and a consolation. You are trying to change an organization that has its own legacy of racism,” she wrote.
In his own statement noting Grant's decision, Stevens noted that his colleague "has been subjected to grotesque racist abuse, including threats to his safety."
Charging
Noting that the attacks had become particularly strident since the coronation coverage, Stevens said they were "abhorrent and unacceptable", saying any criticism of the broadcaster's coverage "should be directed at me, not him." ".
Stevens described Grant as “one of Australia's best and most respected journalists and broadcasters”, adding that “ABC stands with him and condemns the attacks directed at him”. He said some media coverage of the coronation broadcast was "unfair, inaccurate and irresponsible" and "helped fuel horrific personal and racial abuse.".”
