Errors in 60 Minutes Beirut case
"INEXCUSABLE ERRORS" IN NINE'S 60 MINUTES LEBANON CHILD SNATCH STORY
THE STORY
* Australian woman Sally Faulkner goes to Lebanon to get two children her estranged husband Ali Elamine didn't return after holiday.
* Hires child recovery agency which grabbed Lahela (aged five) and Noah (three) on Beirut street on April 6.
* 60 Minutes crew there to film it: Reporter Tara Brown, producer Stephen Rice, sound recordist David Ballment, cameraman Ben Williamson.
WHAT HAPPENED
* Faulkner and 60 Minutes crew detained on child abduction charges.
* Spend 14 days in a Beirut jail before released when Elamine agrees to drop his personal charges.
* Child Abduction Recovery International CEO Adam Whittington, colleague Craig Michael and two Lebanese associates also detained.
WHAT NINE/60 MINUTES GOT WRONG
* Made direct payment to recovery agency (two payments totalling $115,000).
* Didn't consult with Nine's security advisers.
* Poor judgment:
- in due diligence on CARI's expertise
- direct payment to agency
- considering alternative exits from Lebanon
- failed to raise concerns about story with 60 Minutes management
- failed to tell 60 Minutes management when appeared it wouldn't turn out as planned
* Didn't adhere to Nine's usual procedures (over security risks, safety, approval of contractual arrangements).
* Producers had significant level of autonomy, without adequate oversight.
* Team members not encouraged to press any concerns.
* Got too close to story.
THE FALLOUT
* Producer Rice gone.
* Formal warnings for others involved.
* Rest of 60 Minutes crew to return to work soon; still getting counselling.
* 60 Minutes program continues, as does payment for stories.
* Nine upgrading processes on story selection and approval, how to approve contracts and payments, risk assessments.
THE REVIEW
* Done by 60 Minutes founder and former executive producer Gerald Stone, former Nine senior executive and A Current Affair producer David Hurley and in-house general counsel Rachel Launders.
WHAT'S NEXT
* 60 Minutes crew could still face charges under Lebanese justice system.
* Public prosecutor considering charges of kidnap and belonging to a criminal gang (maximum sentence of three and 10 years respectively).
* CARI team remain in Beirut jail.
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