Antoinette Lattouf has thrown her hat into the ring to become the next presenter of ABC’s Media Watch, despite currently being embroiled in a wrongful dismissal case against the national broadcaster.
Current presenter Paul Barry announced this week that he is leaving the program at the end of the year because it was ‘time to give someone else a chance’.
Ms Lattouf, 40, was taken off air for three days last December during her week-long stint as an understudy on ABC Radio over controversial Instagram posts she made.
One post related to a human rights report that accused Israelis of “using civilian starvation as a weapon of war in Gaza.”
Ms Lattouf subsequently launched a Fair Work claim, claiming she was dismissed because of her political views and her Lebanese heritage.
The ABC claimed she breached the organisation’s social media policy around impartiality and that she was not actually dismissed because she was paid for the full week.
Antoinette Lattouf has put herself forward as the new host of Media Watch on ABC, despite being embroiled in an unfair dismissal battle with the broadcaster
Current presenter Paul Barry is stepping down after eleven years in charge of the flagship programme
But Ms Lattouf scored a major victory in her case earlier this month when the Fair Work Commission ruled that she had indeed been dismissed by the national broadcaster.
The bitter and protracted legal battle could still end up in the Federal Court if planned mediation talks between Ms Lattouf and the ABC fail next week.
Despite the ongoing saga over her dismissal, Ms Lattouf has suggested she should be the one to take over flagship program Media Watch, after current presenter and media veteran Barry announced last week he was leaving in December after 11 years.
“So dear aunt, let’s put the dismissal behind us. I happily accept my reinstatement as the new host of Media Watch,” Ms. Lattouf wrote in a tongue-in-cheek piece for the Sydney Morning Herald.
Ms Lattouff said that despite the job usually going to an older man, she felt she was cynical enough to take charge of one of the toughest jobs in media.
She turned to social media platform
Along with herself, she nominated Leo Puglisi, the 16-year-old founder of the online news website 6 News Australia, veteran columnist and political commentator Gerard Henderson, and the successful Australian cartoon character Bluey.
Teenage 6 News founder Leo Puglisi was also put forward as host for the show to attract younger viewers
Veteran columnist Gerard Henderson was also featured in a Twitter poll by Ms Lattouf
As does cartoon character Bluey, who she ironically thinks would be a great host to keep the appointment in-house and perhaps leverage some of that show’s popularity.
The journalist said Puglisi would be a smart appointment to attract younger viewers, something the ABC desperately needs, while Bluey would do well to keep the role ‘in-house’ at the ABC.
Mr Henderson, who already writes the Media Watch Dog column for The Australian, was included to avoid any perception of the ABC’s left-wing bias, she said.
Ms Lattouf came out on top with 45 per cent of the vote, well ahead of second-place Mr Puglisi with 35 per cent, followed by Bluey with 17 per cent and Mr Henderson with a paltry 2.9 per cent.
She said she “loved holding the media accountable” and would enjoy the performance.
“Lately I’ve been on the show, not as a host, but still in the chair. Luckily it has supported me,” she said.
Mr. Puglisi said he was flattered to have been considered for the role, at least by Ms. Lattouf.
“As long as the ABC moves the Media Watch start time earlier if it’s a school night, I’d be happy to host,” Mr Puglisi told Daily Mail Australia.