Overheard at GrodsHQ this morning while breakfast was taken to the strains of ABC Radio National’s breakfast program (that’s right — we’re wyld and krazy kidz in the GrodsHouse)…

McBec: This sports guy (Warwick Hadfield) shits me to tears with his smarmy little jokes and stupid puns and stuff.

The Editor: He’s not that bad. Although, I do love it when Fran or Steve interrupt him to respond to something he says and you can hear the anger and annoyance in his voice at being cut off and having to find his place in the script again.

McBec: He he. Yeah, that rocks.

There has been the usual chorus of righty indignation about another ABC on-air staff member (in this case ABC TV’s Melbourne sports reporter, Angela Pippos) being approached by the ALP to run for state or federal Parliament. And as usual it proves nothing more than the ALP is heading further and further into the world of celebrity politics at the expense of politics about, um, you know, policy.

Pippos has reportedly turned down the offer to run for Williamstown, but in line with ABC policy was forced to take leave as soon as she received the ALP’s offer. This is sensible since the ABC can’t dare show any hint of bias or else Andrew Bolt, Timmeh Blair, Piers Ackerman and Gerard Henderson would gorge themselves on righteousness. But it begs the question: how can a sports reporter show left-wing bias? If anything, the ABC shows a right-wing bias in its sports reporting if this morning’s Radio National piece is anything to go by. Entertaining sports presenter Warwick Hadfield called the AFL corporation the Soviet Communist Football association (or something similar) in a derogatory manner.

Ack! Right-wing bias at the ABC!