‘Sunrise’ Erased Crowds Of Indigenous Protestors From Its Show This Morning
Here's the criticism Sunrise doesn't want you to see.
Early this morning a group of protestors gathered outside the Sunrise studio in Sydney’s Martin Place to protest a cooked segment that saw a bunch of unqualified white people basically call for the return of the policies that led to the Stolen Generation, which aired on the show earlier this week,
If you were watching Sunrise, though, you wouldn’t have known the protestors were even there. While live footage of Martin Place is usually broadcast behind the Sunrise presenters, today the show appears to have just played old footage rather than acknowledging that people were right outside being extremely angry at them.
They also lowered soundproof blinds to block out the sound of protestors knocking on the windows and calling for them to be held accountable.
.@sunriseon7 has a television screen backdrop behind them showing Martin Place as quiet!! What deception. You are cowardly.
— Amy McQuire (@amymcquire) March 15, 2018
.@sunriseon7 you have a big group of strong Aboriginal people outside the studio today telling you the situation affecting so many black families today. Will you put them on?? Or are you too cowardly? Do you even care??
— Amy McQuire (@amymcquire) March 15, 2018
In fact, avoidance seems to be Sunrise’s entire strategy right now. They have also deleted footage of the offensive segment from social media, and have yet to apologise. The only statement they’ve given so far on the issue is that “editorial opinions, either written or articulated are a vital part of journalism.
“At all times on Sunrise, respect for others and their values and opinions is a foundation principle in debates.”
Photos from outside the studio this morning show that in reality, though, First Nations people are not feeling too respected by the show, and their protest was pretty hard to ignore. Footage shows around a hundred people with Aboriginal flags and placards banging on the studio’s windows, calling out “shame”, “leave our kids alone” and “always was, always will be, Aboriginal land”.
Placards at the rally read “stop stealing our kids”, “Stop The Removals”, and redesigned the Sunrise logo to read “SunLies”.
Protestors gather outside Channel 7 headquarters in Sydney. @sunriseon7 #ourkidsbelongwithfamily pic.twitter.com/rsfrHp8qig
— Sebastian Reategui (@spebz) March 15, 2018
Protestors bang on the glass windows of Channel 7 headquarters where Sunrise program is taking place. Shortly before, producers closed the black curtains and blocked protestors from being seen on the live program. @sunriseon7 #ourkidsbelongwithfamily pic.twitter.com/mV5ZGi2cdm
— Sebastian Reategui (@spebz) March 15, 2018
Huge group of protesters in Martin Place to protest Sunrise’s racist commentary earlier this week pic.twitter.com/elV2e5kMMc
— Anthea ? (@anthea_yeah) March 15, 2018
If you would like to see what the broadcast edited out, a livestream of the protest and speeches is available here:
Update: Sunrise responded to our request for comment with the following.
“We respect the right to protest as much as we respect the right of free speech.
“Some of the group were holding offensive signage and some began banging on the window and mouthing obscenities.
“To ensure regulatory compliance, and bearing in mind the potential for young children to be watching, the decision was made to utilise a generic backdrop.”