SBS staffers say there are increasing levels of grief and moral injury in the broadcaster caused by its continued hardline editorial approach to the ongoing conflict in Gaza. They spoke anonymously due to concerns over any disciplinary consequences that might stem from speaking out publicly.
Those who spoke to The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age said they were hesitant to speak at all due to a fear of retribution after significant internal backlash when staff spoke to Crikey in 2024 over concerns the newsroom was losing its multicultural staff.
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In response to a series of questions, an SBS spokesperson said the broadcaster takes a considered approach to language in all its content, especially in relation to matters that are contested, in this instance in reference to Palestinian statehood.
“We take a range of factors into account and in particular include context wherever possible, which is how we are approaching references to Australia’s recognition of the Palestinian State,” the spokesperson said.
While the broadcaster has a general news and current affairs division, it also houses SBS Radio, home to more than 60 different language services, including both Arabic and Hebrew news services. It employs a number of both Muslim and Jewish staff.
But staff said SBS has failed to explain why it refused to bring its editorial output and guidelines in line with the government’s updated foreign policy position, which they say has added to a growing culture of censorship within its newsroom and pushback to any questioning of management.
How widespread this feeling is across the newsroom is difficult to gauge due to the inability to speak out, some said.
Two years on from the October 7 attack that unleashed the war in Gaza, the conflict continues to divide newsrooms, with policies and reporting on both Israel and Palestine facing heightened scrutiny, despite a potential peace deal in the works, brokered by US President Donald Trump.
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In November 2023, just one month after October 7, ABC staff criticised the broadcaster’s coverage of the conflict in an open staff forum, citing the inability to use terms such as genocide, apartheid and occupation.
Weeks later, journalists from newsrooms including The Age, The Sydney Morning Herald, ABC and Guardian Australia, among others signed an open letter calling for greater scrutiny in the reporting of the conflict.
There were differing levels of action taken against signatories, with journalists who had signed the letter at this masthead temporarily taken off stories relating to the conflict, while other newsrooms urged journalists not to sign any open letters.
Last month, the ABC’s Fang told staff there was no longer any need to correct interviewees who refer to Palestine or otherwise qualify the word when used by people in ABC coverage.
SBS is searching for a new managing director after James Taylor joined outdoor media company oOh!media. It is also without a permanent chair, while the government is advertising for a replacement for George Savvides, who left in July.
