Could you imagine the CBC admitting bias?

Progress in Australia...

ABC managing director Mark Scott last night admitted the national broadcaster had to respond to claims it was politically biased in its news, current affairs and other programming, by launching new editorial guidelines.

Mr Scott singled out the watchdog program Media Watch as needing an overhaul in his plan to ensure more balance and diversity of opinion on the ABC, long accused of perceived left-wing bias.

In a speech at the Sydney Institute, Mr Scott would not be drawn on whether he believed the ABC was biased, but said: "I suspect that we are by no means as bad as our critics might suggest and not as blameless as our defenders might wish."

However, Mr Scott said he accepted a July ruling by broadcast watchdog the Australian Communications and Media Authority that found a Four Corners report on the Tasmanian forest industry by journalist Ticky Fullerton was not impartial. "I can understand how they reached that finding," he said.

As for Media Watch, presently hosted by Monica Attard, Mr Scott said he had "encouraged the director of television (Kim Dalton) to work with the Media Watch team to review their format and content next year to ensure there was more opportunity for debate and discussion around contentious and important issues".

Mr Scott chose the conservative think tank run by ABC critic Gerard Henderson to unveil a tough new editorial policy that subjects all radio and television programs to the same editorial scrutiny as news and current affairs.

He created a new position - director of editorial policies - to report to him in his role as "editor-in-chief of the ABC" to monitor and assess editorial performance across alltelevision and radio programming.