A report claiming convicted criminal Zaky Mallah—who was controversially admitted entry to an ABC studio audience, and asked a question to a Q&A panel earlier this year—would appear on an SBS program has been shot down as quickly as it emerged, as SBS Managing Director Michael Ebeid commented on a story published on The Australian this morning.
In an exclusive report, The Australian’s Associate Editor John Lyons claimed SBS would “give Zaky Mallah his own show”; said Go Back To Where You Came From alumnus Kim Vuga could appear alongside Mallah, and reported that filming for the show could take place “as early as this Wednesday.”
The piece rapidly received heat from SBS, as Managing Director Michael Ebeid took to Twitter to discredit Lyons’ report.
I want to state that the story in the Oz today about SBS giving Mallah his own show is COMPLETE RUBBISH and we told John Lyons that.
— Michael Ebeid (@michaelebeid) August 14, 2015
A freelance journo had pitched a story idea to SBS which included Mallah, but it had not even been through our editorial process yet #beatup
— Michael Ebeid (@michaelebeid) August 14, 2015
So disappointing that John Lyons twisted my quotes in his rubbish story today. I never said SBS was considering giving Mallah his own show.
— Michael Ebeid (@michaelebeid) August 14, 2015
A statement on the issue was soon released by SBS, saying the pitched idea had still be in gestation stages, with no editorial approval granted by the broadcaster.
“The idea that Zaky Mallah is being given his own show is completely incorrect. SBS had confirmed to the journalist that this was not true, yet he decided to run with an incorrect headline.
A freelance journalist had pitched a potential story idea to The Feed, SBS’s youth news and current affairs program, that could have involved Zaky Mallah in a story segment. The idea was pitched to SBS but no filming had been booked and it had not even progressed past an idea.The idea had not yet even been reviewed as part of the usual SBS editorial process.”
Lyons, you know where to go.