THE sacking of SBS sports reporter Scott McIntyre for a series of tweets on Anzac Day has left a stain on the commemorations.
The broadcaster sacked McIntyre for the tweets which talked of of the Gallipoli landings as the "cultification of an imperialist invasion" and went on to speak ofthe "summary execution, widespread rape and theft committed by these brave Anzacs in Egypt, Palestine and Japan".
The managing director of Australian broadcaster SBS, Michael Ebeidc, said the remarks were inappropriate and disrespectful, and that they breached the broadcaster's code of conduct and social media policy.
It should be noted here journalists are encouraged to tweet by their employers. They are also encouraged to be controversial when it comes to opinion.
The lines between personal opinions and the use of social media at work is becoming very blurred ... and McIntyre has paid the price.
However, the main issue is we can and should be able to examine what happened at Gallipoli without restraint.
The irony is that the underscoring of democracy and freedoms during the commemorations has been wiped out by the decision by SBS not to allow a dissenting voice.
From what I know of soldiers who returned from World War II, a dissenting voice was to be admired. McIntyre may well be regarded as a bit of a pup, but a pup nonetheless who should be able to be critical of what happened at Gallipoli.
