The deep involvement of Information Corp’s Janet Albrechtsen in what we now know is the contaminated Sofronoff inquiry into the prosecution of Bruce Lehrmann has led to loads of scrutiny and criticism.
The behaviour of Walter Sofronoff throughout the inquiry was, we now know, fairly extraordinary — probably unprecedented. It’s exhausting to recall any inquiry or royal fee in fashionable occasions that has been so characterised by such inappropriate contact between the inquiry head and a 3rd get together — not to mention a member of the media engaged in campaigning straight on the problems being contested by that inquiry. Sofronoff’s justification that it was acceptable for him to have contact with the media doesn’t even come near masking the sheer quantity and time he devoted to texting and chatting with Albrechtsen, lunching along with her, sharing paperwork and proof along with her and, probably, acquiring her enter to drafts of his report.
Albrechtsen was, clearly, a participant on this inquiry, not a journalist. Nonetheless, she was doing her job of securing entry to somebody essential to the difficulty she was masking. To acquire such high-level entry to somebody on the very coronary heart of one of many greatest tales of the day was, bluntly, nice journalism. I’d wager many journalists across the nation can solely envy the extent to which she acquired entry to the pinnacle of a serious inquiry. You possibly can rebuke the use to which she put that entry however nonetheless marvel that she obtained it.
Sofronoff, if he severely thought a part of his job was relations with the media — and that’s the primary time I’ve heard the pinnacle of a serious inquiry declare that — had the accountability of appropriately managing these relations to the advantage of his inquiry, not giving privileged entry and, doubtlessly, a drafting position, to at least one member of the media.
The issue shouldn’t be with Albrechtsen, engaged in doing her job, a lot as her employer. Information Corp was — and is — engaged in a marketing campaign of cruel character assassination of Brittany Higgins. It’s dedicated to the duty of exemplary punishment of her for the injury she inflicted on the Liberal get together — together with Liberal MPs and senators who proceed to pursue her.
Will Information Corp, or the Coalition, ever be glad that they’ve inflicted sufficient injury on Higgins? Or on anybody concerned within the prosecution of Lehrmann (for, we should keep in mind, a sexual assault he has at all times denied)? It appears not, regardless of the intensive proof of the ugly toll the Information Corp marketing campaign, and relentless litigation, has taken on Higgins.
Certainly, fairly probably there are some engaged within the marketing campaign towards Higgins who can be content material to see it take as heavy a toll as potential, to make sure each staffer, each lady, each prosecutor, each journalist will get the message to not embarrass the conservative facet of politics.
The Albrechtsen-Sofronoff relationship is a form of micro model of the bigger drawback with Information Corp. It’s a malignant participant within the public affairs of the nation. But it surely stays a most cancers in our physique politic as a result of individuals in energy permit it, and allow it. Nobody compelled Sofronoff to develop such an in depth relationship together with his Information Corp interlocutor. Nobody compels Labor politicians — Invoice Shorten the honourable exception — to tug the forelock to the Murdochs, as is going on proper now on the information media bargaining code. Nobody compels Information Corp’s media rivals to deal with its lies and propaganda severely, as if it was an precise media outlet.
It’s not a media outlet, however a foreign-owned political participant engaged in promoting hate and division. If it’s a pustulent tumour, additionally it is a international physique lodged right here and allowed to stay. Highly effective individuals and establishments permit the injury that this international firm inflicts. And the remainder of us put on that injury like a rash.