ABC Investigations Chief Jo Puccini Departs After 25 Years

Jo Puccini, the award-winning journalist who oversaw Four Corners and Background Briefing, is leaving the ABC after 25 years.

Acting news director Donna Field announced the departure in an email to staff Wednesday. Field said Puccini had shaped "significant public interest journalism" and led teams to numerous Walkley awards. "We wish Jo every success in whatever comes next," Field wrote.

Puccini's exit coincides with an escalating review of work by sacked Four Corners reporter Mahmood Fazal. Three of his programs have been withdrawn by the public broadcaster in recent weeks. The ABC Ombudsman is examining whether the episodes complied with editorial standards.

"It's now time for a new chapter in my career," Puccini said in a statement. "I'm proud of the journalism I've helped produce and the impact it's had on helping our audience understand the issues and events that affect them."

She joined the ABC in 2000 from the Seven Network. She started as a researcher on Media Watch, moved to Four Corners and won three Walkley Awards. Later roles included senior positions at Lateline, 7.30, the National Reporting Team and ABC Investigations.

The Fazal matter has tested the broadcaster's editorial safeguards. Fazal, a former member of the Mongols bikie club who became a crime journalist, was terminated last year after an internal investigation into his appearance on a podcast with a former underworld figure.

In recent weeks the ABC removed two Four Corners episodes – Cocaine Nation and Meth Highway – and a Background Briefing episode titled "Remy was 12 when she became a drug dealer." The broadcaster cited "concerns identified about the veracity of sources used in the three programs."

Media Watch reported Monday that the person behind "Remy" is self-styled Sydney rapper Charissa Habkouk. She told Media Watch she considered the role "an acting role and a favour to Mahmood." Her story, she said, was "a complete fable" with "no validity to it."

Media Watch also alleged the Mercedes-Benz featured in the Four Corners episode was hired by the ABC. The program implied it belonged to "Remy."

Fazal rejected Habkouk's claims. "I reject the suggestion that I fabricated, staged or knowingly published information that I believed to be false," he said in a statement. He said he stood by "the integrity of my reporting and the editorial processes that underpinned both programs."

Other senior managers who were at the broadcaster when Fazal's reporting aired have already left for unrelated reasons. They include Four Corners executive producer Mathew Carney, news director Justin Stevens and managing director David Anderson.

Puccini's departure came on the same day the ABC apologised to mining magnate Gina Rinehart for a Race Around the World episode. The episode featured contestant Kate McGuinness describing a fictional scenario involving a violent attack on Rinehart. The ABC Ombudsman found the film did not breach editorial standards. Managing director Hugh Marks said it "fell short of community expectations."

"The ABC apologises to Mrs Rinehart and to anyone else affected or upset by the publication of the film," Marks said.

Rinehart's company, Hancock Prospecting, wrote to the ABC Board on July 23 demanding the material be removed and calling for an investigation with "full accountability for those responsible."

McGuinness released a statement through the ABC last week apologising to anyone she offended. She said her sense of humour was "farcical" and that she had "no intention to promote violence."

"My writing is cartoonish and always satirical," she said. "Unfortunately, jokes do not land with everyone."