ABC corrects Black Saturday date in broadcast on bushfires

ABC has issued a correction concerning its “I Was Actually There” episode aired on October 7, acknowledging that the end card misstated the date of the Black Saturday bushfires. The card claimed they occurred on 28 February 2009, when the correct date is 7 February 2009 — the episode itself had correctly stated 7 February at its start.

That error turned the closing frame of a documentary into a factual misstep — the difference between “February 7” and “February 28” may seem small, but such calendar mistakes can erode trust in historical reporting. Especially in public memory journalism, where dates anchor narratives of disaster and remembrance, precision is essential.

In the context of commemorative and documentary reporting, a wrong date can shift symbolic meaning: the emotional gravity tied to anniversaries, public recall, and cultural resonance relies on correct chronology. ABC’s swift correction, updating the end card on iView and future broadcasts, restores the historical anchor and helps maintain trust in its archival storytelling.

By revising the record and publicly acknowledging the mistake, ABC reaffirms that even small temporal errors in historical segments warrant correction- because in memorial journalism, every day counted is part of collective memory.