Michelle Guthrie: It’s about the content

In what some will view as a peace offering, newly-installed ABC managing director Michelle Guthrie has given her first print interview to The Weekend Australian.

The article, which canvasses views from friends, spans her work history and upbringing, tells us that at one stage she wanted to be Jana Wendt. But she settled on a career in management instead, including at News Limited and Google.

Amongst her thoughts on the ABC she says, “The way I think about it is, ‘What are we really good at?’

“We’re really good at being the home of ­Australian content, conversation and stories… being part of the national debate in news, making sure we’re part of every Australian’s life, whether that’s around information, entertainment or ­education. As commercial media organisations come under more pressure, whether it’s in regional areas or others, I think that content becomes even more valuable and even more important. So we’ve got to make sure that we encourage a creative ecosystem so people are coming to us with great ideas and then how it gets distributed is … who knows?

“The challenges we face are no different to those faced by any global media organisation in terms of fragmentation of audiences and massive availability of content. It means our content needs to be even more distinctive to hold people’s attention.”

You can read more here.