Just days after admitting to doctoring a photo of a prominent politician, the ABC's embattled news bosses have taken an extraordinary swipe at critics, arguing they are victims of a smear campaign.

In an email to staff, under-siege ABC News boss Justin Stevens complained criticism of the string of editorial failures occurring on his watch were actually "opportunistic", and claimed that commercial media was only scrutinising the taxpayer funded journalism because his organisation was a "threat".

In the email, reported in the Sydney Morning Herald, Mr Stevens specifically took aim at revelations by Sky News presenter Chris Kenny that the ABC's Four Corners program had deceptively edited a clip of President Donald Trump in a manner resembling the infamous BBC doctored vision scandal.

“(The

See Full Page