In an ironic development, ABC’s Chris Rowbottom was awarded the prize for best print news / text story at Saturday night’s Tasmania’s Media Awards for one of his articles on the proposed Mac Point stadium. It was ironic, because Rowbottom wrote what was arguably the worst story of the stadium debate (in 2025).
Rowbottom, who can never seem to decide if he is a stadium fan or a journalist who runs government and AFL leaks without questioning them, gives every appearance of being a protagonist for the stadium rather than an objective and independent reporter of the highly controversial project.
One of the worst of his reports was his attempted and shameful smearing last year of eminent economist Dr Nicholas Gruen, along with prominent stadium opponent Richard Flanagan.
It was a story that gave every appearance of having been invented in a senior government minister’s office. Unsurprisingly, Rowbottom’s story was immediately put to the political use it was intended for, being an attempt to discredit – without any basis – Nicholas Gruen’s highly damaging report on stadium costs. And in turn, it was then used by both the Premier and Treasurer – again without evidence – to attack the integrity of the government’s own Tasmanian Planning Commission which was in the process of reporting on the stadium proposal.
Now read on, for Roland Browne’s detailed critique from last year of that disgraceful article, a low point for the ABC that has allowed one of its own journalists to overtly promote a massive and divisive project, while flouting the requirements for impartiality and integrity in reporting.