Australia’s ABC managing director David Anderson has announced his intention to resign after almost six years at the helm of the national broadcaster, saying he feels “it's time for renewal in the position.” Anderson was first formally appointed as managing director in 2019 after serving in an acting capacity, and was reappointed in August last year for what was set to be a five-year term. The executive will remain in the role until a new managing director is appointed, a process that could take until early 2025.
Anderson, who first joined the broadcaster in 1989 and has led a number of ABC divisions, said his decision to step down just a year into his second term was not an easy one. "I am still very much committed to the importance of the ABC to the nation," he wrote in an email to ABC staff. "I believe it is the right moment for leadership renewal for the next stage of the ABC's continued evolution. To have the opportunity to serve the Australian public and lead such talented and dedicated people across the country, and overseas, for what is approaching six years is humbling."
Speaking to ABC News' Ros Childs after the announcement, Anderson said he had been in discussion with ABC chair Kim Williams about resigning for some time, and Williams had attempted to talk him out of the decision. "But look, when you know, you know, and I've made my decision," he said. "Looking ahead, I just feel it's the right time for renewal and I think it's the right time for me. I'm feeling quite comfortable in my decision."
Kim Williams, who took over as chair in March this year, released a statement shortly after Anderson's announcement, praising his service to the ABC and predicting he would be "treated generously in the overwhelming body of commentary about his decision.” He then added: "I have observed to my ABC Board colleagues that my admiration for David and his commitment to the ABC is undiminished and my respect grows ever greater," Mr Williams said. "He is exemplary in his spirit of public service generally and in his deep abiding commitment to the Corporation."
Anderson's time as managing director was marked by significant change at the ABC, including a further transitioning of the broadcaster's operations to digital media and heightened scrutiny of the news division's journalism during the Indigenous Voice referendum and Israel's invasion of Gaza following the October 7 attack.
Following Hamas's terrorist attack on southern Israel in October last year and Israel's subsequent invasion of the Gaza Strip, Anderson found himself under scrutiny regarding the ABC's journalism and approach to reporting on the conflict.
Moreover, ABC members of the journalists' union, the Media Entertainment & Arts Alliance, passed a vote of no confidence in his leadership in January following the sacking of Antoinette Lattouf in the middle of a five-day presenting stint with ABC Radio Sydney, alleging ABC management had failed to protect the ABC's independence in the face of external pressure. The ABC board passed a unanimous vote of confidence in Anderson's leadership the following day.
Speaking to Ros Childs, Anderson said in addition to the times he was called to defend the ABC's journalism, he was particularly proud of the broadcaster's expansion in regional and rural Australia, as well as some of the entertainment programming that had begun or continued on his watch. "[From] the joy that 'Bluey' brings to people, to when we tell stories through other means, whether that's comedy or local radio … it's hard to pick any one thing that I can say that I'm most proud of," he concluded.
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