★★★★★ 0/5

David Anderson appointed managing director of ABC

Acting MD assumes the position permanently, in what will be a popular choice with staff.

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David Anderson has been appointed the new Managing Director of the ABC by chair Ita Buttrose.

Anderson, who has risen through the ranks over 3 decades, became Acting Managing Director after Michelle Guthrie’s departure in September.

He was previously Director, Entertainment & Specialist, Director of Television and Director of Strategy & Planning. He will be a popular choice with ABC rank and file members.

Ms Buttrose said, “Mr Anderson is an exceptional media professional with strong content, digital and strategic experience.

“The ABC Board resolved unanimously to appoint David Anderson following a national and international search that produced many impressive candidates.

“With almost 30 years of service, David’s knowledge of the ABC is unsurpassed. He has a deep understanding of audience needs and the Board is confident he has the skills and ability to respond to the challenges of a changing media environment.

“We believe he is the right person to lead the Corporation at this time. David already enjoys the trust and confidence of the ABC leadership team and staff and he is ideally placed to continue to provide strong leadership and direction,” Ms Buttrose said.

Anderson will have full responsibility for all editorial content for his term of 5 years.

David Anderson said, “It is a privilege to be appointed to the role, overseeing one of Australia’s most loved and respected cultural institutions.

“I look forward to continuing to lead the ABC and allowing our talented teams to get on with what the ABC does best: serving the Australian people, delivering Australia’s finest agenda-setting news and current affairs, hosting conversations and telling stories that look and sound like Australia,” Mr Anderson said.

David Anderson has enjoyed a successful career at the ABC and has a strong track record in television production and commissioning successful programs across all genres.

Before stepping into the role of Acting Managing Director in September last year, David was the Director, Entertainment & Specialist, responsible for all ABC radio music networks (triple j, Double j, Classic, Country and Jazz), podcasts and specialist radio content (Radio National) as well as broadcast television networks (ABCTV, ABC Kids, ABC Comedy, ABC ME) and on-demand products and services (iview, ABC Listen, ABC Kids Listen, ABC Kids), and network websites and apps.

During his tenure David has held several senior executive roles, including Director of Television, Director of the ABC’s Digital Network and Director of Strategy & Planning. In his capacity as Director of Strategy & Planning, David worked to redeploy expenditure towards audience-focused content, products and services; and as Director of Digital Network he led the Corporation’s digital transformation by identifying ways to engage new audiences and creating a personalised and connected online network.

8 Responses

          1. Accusations of “bias” tend to reveal more about the bias of the accuser rather than the accused. While working for the ABC, I’ve been accused of being biased toward both the left and right – sometimes at the same time! The best comment, however, came from a well-known member of the NSW ALP who once said to me “I think you’re really one of us”.

          1. She’s a disgrace. Always notice the difference when she’s interviewing Labor Ministers compared to Libs. She barely even hides her hostility towards Labor, particularly Bill.

  2. I cannot see anyone not being happy with this choice…He has been doing a good job and often hear staff say nice things about him in different write ups…
    Looking forward to better and less turbulent times at ABC.

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