From: Manuel Graeber manuel.graeber@professoriate.org
To: Complaints complaints@presscouncil.org.au
Subject: Re: APC 2024/0971 Complainant / Sydney Morning Herald
Date: Fri, 21 Jun 2024 17:38:06 +1000
Reply-To: manuel.graeber@professoriate.org
Dear Mr Nangle,
“A senior brain researcher, who as President of the University of Sydney
Association of Professors (USAP) submitted a public interest disclosure
(PID) regarding a report that accused a high-ranking official at the
University of Sydney of bribing and blackmailing a vulnerable young
colleague, has filed a lawsuit against the university’s administration
after being subsequently dismissed for “serious misconduct”.”
is the factual correction that needs to be published. Unlike Ms White’s
proposal the above statement does not mislead the public by omission.
The above can be added to the article as the mandatory correction requested by
me (Professor MB Graeber, I still hold my British title).
Before I made my PID in 2021, I consulted with two senior professorial
colleagues who had independently received the same report before me, confirming
that it was necessary for me to take this step as an elected workplace
delegate of our association.
Ms White received detailed written information from me some of which is online
which includes the warning that the current management of the University of
Sydney is spreading numerous falsehoods. Ms White has published many of them
although there is not even an apparent connection to my statement of claim
(attached) which categorically denies any misconduct on my part. This is not
journalism that can be trusted in my opinion.
I will publish our correspondence so that there is a public record independent
of the Sydney Morning Herald’s concerning behaviour. I frankly think they need
a different editor.
Your interest and staying on the case and assistance in this matter is much
appreciated.
Kind regards
Manuel Graeber
On Fri, 21 Jun 2024 03:50:57 you wrote:
Dear Mr Graeber
As previously informed, your concerns were raised with the publication.
In responding, the publication has said (in relevant part), that:
We checked the court documents again and Professor Graeber’s statement of
claim did not contain any reference to the allegation being made in his
capacity as an employee and President of the University of Sydney
Association of Professors.In addition, Professor Graeber only agreed to being interviewed via email –
if he had agreed to a phone interview these finer details could have been
clarified prior to publication. At no stage did his written answers include
any statements about his allegations being made in the capacity of
President of the University of Sydney Association of Professors.… we are willing to add a few clarifying words to the story, namely that
Professor Graeber made the complaint ‘on behalf of a colleague’.The publication has also said that it will add the following note at the end
of the article:‘Clarification: This story has been updated to make it clear Professor
Graeber’s complaint was on behalf of a colleague’.As the above amendment to the article and ‘clarification’ would appear to
address your concerns, please let me know by close of business Tuesday 25
June 2024, if you accept the publication’s remedy.Kind regards,
Paul Nangle
Director of Complaints
[cid:image001.png@01DAC3E1.A49EA810]
Australian Press Council Inc
PO Box 1014, North Sydney 2059
T 02 9261 1930
www.presscouncil.org.auhttp://www.presscouncil.org.au/
From: Complaints complaints@presscouncil.org.au
Sent: Friday, June 14, 2024 12:32 PM
To: manuel.graeber@professoriate.org
Subject: RE: APC 2024/0971 Complainant / Sydney Morning Herald
Importance: High
Dear Mr Graeber,
I have contacted the publication in relation to your concerns with the
following comments:
A senior brain researcher who accused a Sydney University academic of
attempting to bribe and blackmail another staff member is suing the
institution after he was fired for “serious misconduct”.
I will contact you again after I receive a response from the publication.
Kind regards,
Paul Nangle
Director of Complaints
[cid:image001.png@01DAC3E1.A49EA810]
Australian Press Council Inc
PO Box 1014, North Sydney 2059
T 02 9261 1930
www.presscouncil.org.auhttp://www.presscouncil.org.au/
From: Manuel Graeber
manuel.graeber@professoriate.org>
Sent: Friday, June 7, 2024 3:13 PM
To: Complaints
complaints@presscouncil.org.au>
Subject: Re: APC 2024/0971 Complainant / Sydney Morning Herald
You don’t often get email from
manuel.graeber@professoriate.orgmanuel.graeber@professoriate.org.
Learn why this is importanthttps://aka.ms/LearnAboutSenderIdentification
This is what happened
A senior brain researcher, who as President of the University of Sydney
Association of Professors (USAP) submitted a public interest disclosure
(PID) regarding a report that accused a high-ranking official at the
University of Sydney of bribing and blackmailing a vulnerable young
colleague, has filed a lawsuit against the university’s administration
after being subsequently dismissed for “serious misconduct.”
Kind regards
Manuel
On Fri, 7 Jun 2024 03:15:18 you wrote:
Dear Mr Graeber
Thank you for email.
To ensure my understanding of your concerns with the article is correct,
please confirm if it is the article’s following words you are concerned
with:
A senior brain researcher who accused a Sydney University academic of
attempting to bribe and blackmail another staff member is suing the
institution after he was fired for “serious misconduct”.
If you would please let me know if my understanding is correct, I will
contact the publication about this and ask it to consider amending the
article.
In relation to your request for the publication publish a correction to
“expose the fact that the court documents submitted by Mr Mathew Dean of
Sydney Uni management are full of falsehoods”, we are not able to assist
with this aspect of the complaint. As previously noted, the article is
based on a report of court proceedings and the comments in the article,
including those by Sydney University are presented as “claims” and
“allegations”.
It would be appreciated if you would provide a response to this email by
12June 2024
Kind regards,
Paul Nangle
Director of Complaints
[cid:image001.png@01D9E4B7.B5139D90]
Australian Press Council Inc
PO Box 1014, North Sydney 2059
T 02 9261 1930
www.presscouncil.org.au>
—–Original Message—–
From: Manuel Graeber
<manuel.graeber@professoriate.org<mailto:manuel.graeber@professoriate.org
Sent: Monday, May 27, 2024 4:03 PM
To: Complaints
complaints@presscouncil.org.au>
Subject: Re: APC 2024/0971 Complainant / Sydney Morning Herald
[You don’t often get email from
manuel.graeber@professoriate.org>.
Learn why this is important at
https://aka.ms/LearnAboutSenderIdentification ]
cil/
Dear Paul,
If the Sydney Morning Herald (SMH) would publish a correction it would
expose the fact that the court documents submitted by Mr Mathew Dean of
Sydney Uni management are full of falsehoods. You have access to more than
one example which prove this (please find my original email attached below
for your reference). However, you did not address these issues and instead
referred to an already factually incorrect article published in the SMH.
My main grievance is that a senior colleague has made allegations of
bribery
and blackmail against University management, not me. It was my duty to
make
a public interest disclosure, and I should not be portrayed as a
troublemaker for simply carrying out my duty as an employee and President
of the University of Sydney Association of Professors.
The public needs to be informed accurately and not misled by spin. It is
worth mentioning that a former editor-in-chief of the Sydney Morning
Herald
(Darren Goodsir) currently serves as the chief of staff at our university.
As you might know, traditional news sources are losing their grip on the
market to social media platforms. While this shift brings its own set of
challenges, it also presents an opportunity for more accurate and
unfiltered reporting as you can see in this case. It is our responsibility
as academics to ensure that the truth is prioritised over spin. I hope
that
you will consider my request for a correction and take necessary action.
Please let me know if I/we can provide any further information or evidence
to support our claims.
Kind regards
Manuel
Professor Manuel B Graeber MD PhD FRCPath President, University of Sydney
Association of Professors Vice-President, Australian Association of
University Professors
Complaint WC/LUMIRJ/0258
From: Manuel Graeber
>>
(Professoriate) To:
complaints@presscouncil.org.au>
Date:
06/05/24 22:29
Dear Sir/Madam,
I would like to request that The Sydney Morning Herald and 9News publish a
correction and apology due to the misinformation they are currently
spreading. Both news organizations have been propagating inaccurate
information as evidenced by the links provided
us-misconduct-sues-sydney-uni-20240408-p5fi4d.html
-bribery-and-corruption/d7fd1182-e7c9-4510-b0f6-6f0b81f13fb5
Their defense is that this misinformation stems from a court document,
which
only contains claims and not evidence. However, both news reports directly
contradict the original evidence that has now become publicly available,
and the editors have been made aware of this.
I am particularly concerned about their reporting as they claim that I,
rather than a colleague, made the initial allegations of blackmail and
bribery by a high-ranking university manager. This is untrue. Furthermore,
it is untrue that there is no officially recognized public interest
disclosure, among other false information in their articles.
I am requesting an apology because these reports are also defamatory. Both
editors have either refused to make the necessary corrections or ignored
my
concerns entirely
-misinformation-although-the-facts-are-in-the-public-domain-and-its-editor
s-
have-been-informed/
the-facts-are-in-the-public-domain-and-its-editors-have-been-informed/
I am eagerly awaiting your response.
Thank you for your attention to this matter.
Kind regards,
Manuel Graeber
Professor Manuel B Graeber MD PhD FRCPath President, University of Sydney
Association of Professors Vice-President, Australian Association of
University Professors
On Mon, 27 May 2024 03:16:54 you wrote:
Dear Mr Graeber,
Re:
Sydney Morning Herald article “Whistleblower professor accused of
‘serious misconduct’ sues Sydney Uni”, (Online) 17 April 2024
9News article “University of Sydney professor fights sacking, claims
bribery and corruption” 18 April 2024
We refer to your complaint received on 6 May 2024 concerning the
articles above.
In your complaint you say that “both news reports directly contradict
the original evidence that has now become publicly available, and the
editors have been made aware of this”. You say that you are
“particularly concerned about their reporting as they claim that I,
rather than a colleague, made the initial allegations of blackmail and
bribery by a high-ranking university manager”.
After careful consideration, the Council Secretariat has decided not
to proceed further with the complaint. In reaching this decision, we
have taken into account that the articles are based on a report of
court proceedings that would appear to be accurate at the time of
publication. In relation to this, we note that the articles are based
on a ‘statement of claim’ filed in the Federal Court of Australia and
the comments in the article are presented as “claims” and “allegations”.
In relation to your concerns relating to blackmail and bribery, we do
not consider the articles attribute these actions to you. We note that
the Sydney Morning Herald article says: “According to court documents,
this email included allegations that a senior academic tried to bribe
and blackmail a vulnerable young colleague and that Graeber was being
excluded or bullied in the workplace”. The 9News article says:
“Graeber alleged that a professor ‘attempted to bribe and blackmail
another staff member’, but this complaint was not made following
procedures for reporting allegations of corrupt conduct, the tertiary
institution said in its defence”.
Accordingly, we consider the matters about which you have expressed
concern, are unlikely to be considered a breach of the Council’s
Standards of Practice.
Although we are not proceeding further with the complaint, the Sydney
Morning Herald will be informed of your concerns about the article.
Please note that 9News is not a member of the Australia Press Council.
Australian television and radio broadcasters, such as 9News, are
regulated by the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA).
Information about how to access ACMA’s complaints handling process may
befound at: https://www.acma.gov.au/complaints
We appreciate your concern about compliance with appropriate media
standards. Apart from the outcomes in specific cases, we do try to
learn from the broad pattern of complaints in an effort to improve
media standards and to target our educational initiatives.
Information on our complaints procedures, including a request to
review a decision, may be found
here.<https://www.presscouncil.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/Revie
w_of_
Decisions_Fact_Sheet_V1_14.12.20.pdf>
Kind regards,
Paul Nangle
Director of Complaints
Australian Press Council Inc
PO Box 1014, North Sydney NSW 2059
Telephones: 02 9261 1930 1 800 025 712
www.presscouncil.org.au
uncil.org.auhttp://www.presscouncil.org.au/>
[cid:DocMergef6df15db5a594133ac042f67b1f393a0.001.jpeg]<http://www.pre
sscoun cil.org.au/press-council-40th-anniversary-conference/>
[cid:DocMergef6df15db5a594133ac042f67b1f393a0.002.jpeg]<https://twitte
r.com/
AusPressCouncil>
—
Australian Association of University Professors (AAUP)
—
Australian Association of University Professors (AAUP)
[24.02.23 – Graeber v USYD – Amended Statement of Claim (filed).pdf application/pdf (616256 bytes)]