ABC reporter Isaac Nowroozi speaks out after being labelled ‘box ticker’
An ABC reporter has spoken out against being repeatedly labeled a “box ticker” since he started working for the national broadcaster.
Isaac Nowroozi, who has a Middle Eastern background, has been with the ABC since January 2018.
The Kennedy Award nominee completed a year’s internship before being offered a full-time job and is now making headlines in Canberra.
Isaac Nowroozi, who has a Middle Eastern background, has been with the ABC since January 2018
“I’ve been repeatedly labeled a ‘box ticker’ since joining the ABC,” he tweeted Sunday.
“It has undermined my pride in my achievements.
‘The ABC’s drive for diversity is often performative. We’re talking about holding up a mirror to society, but we also have to hold one for ourselves.’
Nowroozil graduated with a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of Canberra and went on to work as a reporter at Sky News before joining the ABC.
His comments come after another ABC star, Dan Bourchier, said he had experienced racial abuse and had also been called a “box ticker.”
Bourchier is of Aboriginal descent and grew up in Tennant Creek, a rural town in the Northern Territory.
He is ABC’s referendum correspondent and appeared on ABC’s Insiders program on Sunday, where he spoke about the resignation of Q+A host Stan Grant.
Bourchier said Grant’s speaking out reminded him of things he’s dealt with in his own career.
“The abuse, the death threats, the constant belittling and belittling of what your perspective is, that’s what’s happening from some in the community,” he said.
“It also raised a lot of questions about what’s happening inside the ABC, and there’s been a lot of reporting on that.
“I have to say that didn’t surprise me much because it’s what I hear and part of it (racism) is what I experienced myself.”
The Kennedy Award nominee did a year’s internship before being offered a full-time position at the ABC and is now breaking the news in Canberra
He spoke out against those who refer to him as a ‘box ticker’
He said he was also hesitant to appear on the program because he felt the invitations were symbolic.
‘I’m dismissed as your diversity choice or a tick, that comes from within our organization and that sends a signal that that kind of language is normal. It’s not and it’s unacceptable,” Bourchier said.
Grant, a Wiradjuri man, last week described dealing with brutal racial abuse after taking part in a panel discussion ahead of King Charles III’s coronation, and slammed ABC bosses for showing him “no” support.
Grant said during the segment that the crown represents the invasion and theft of Aboriginal land and was hit by a spate of racist abuse in the days following.
He later resigned from Q+A indefinitely.
On his last night on Q+A, Grant apologized to his haters listening in at home.
“To those who abused me and my family, I would say, if your goal was to hurt me, you succeeded,” he said.
‘And I’m sorry. I’m sorry I must have given you so much reason to hate me so much, attack me and my family, make threats against me.”
The ABC has begun an internal review of the broadcaster’s system to address racism.
Bourchier said this was something he had asked for himself, saying it should be “independent and transparent and look at understanding what is happening and why.”
He said the issue went beyond the ABC, but was something for today’s media in Australia to “think very deeply about”.
Stan Grant, a Wiradjuri man, described dealing with relentless racist abuse last week after taking part in a panel discussion ahead of King Charles III’s coronation, and bathed bosses at the ABC for showing him ‘no’ support