ABC’s elite applaud move to axe the broadcaster’s first female chief Michelle Guthrie
ABC news presenters openly rejoiced yesterday at the sacking of Michelle Guthrie, the national broadcaster’s first female managing director, after staff agitated against the “invisible” boss for at least two years.
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ABC news presenters openly rejoiced yesterday at the sacking of Michelle Guthrie, the national broadcaster’s first female managing director, after staff agitated against the “invisible” boss for at least two years.
A “devastated” Ms Guthrie said she was now considering legal action after being kicked out of her $900,000-a-year job just halfway through her five-year contract with Aunty.
Despite offering to make changes to her management style to keep her job, the 53-year-old was handed a letter yesterday morning informing her of her sacking.
High-profile on-air stars at the taxpayer-funded public broadcaster have been undermining and agitating against the former News Corp lawyer and Google executive from the moment she walked through the doors at Ultimo.
Many say they are furious she has not fought harder against government funding cuts of $80 million over the next three years.
Veteran Four Corners journalist Sally Neighbour tweeted that the sacking was an “excellent decision” while ABC Sydney news presenter Juanita Phillips added: “Whoever the next MD is, they need a deep understanding of the history, purpose and importance of an independent public broadcaster, and be ready to fight bare-knuckled to protect it.”
Outspoken ABC Melbourne radio host Jon Faine told listeners: “Staff morale has never been so low.”
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He said despite ABC staff initially being excited at the appointment of “a woman”, he lamented that “she was only interested in a few parts of the organisation.
“She wouldn’t advocate for us, which is an astonishing fail,” he said yesterday.
“She’s been all but invisible. Every time you tried to get something from her, it was all jargon.”
The ABC board’s decision to trigger the termination clause in her contract came over the weekend after she refused to resign.
Ms Guthrie said in a statement: “I am devastated by the board’s decision to terminate my employment despite no claim of wrongdoing on my part.
“I believe there is no justification for the board to trigger that termination clause. I am considering my legal options,” she said.
Lawyers will be arguing for a taxpayer-funded payout in excess of $2 million.
The Daily Telegraph understands Ms Guthrie had offered to make changes to her management style and even employ a coach in a bid to keep her job.
But from the outset ABC staff attacked her lack of journalistic knowledge and have made clear they prefer the man who has stepped into her shoes as Acting Managing Director, ABC veteran David Anderson.
Ms Guthrie alienated ABC staff by sacking more than 1000 people — including 200 middle managers — and reducing 14 divisions to just four. She was also panned for introducing thank you cards for staff with a Wiggles-style character called Larry.
And she also clashed with chairman Mr Milne with her open disdain for his pet Jet stream project, which will cost millions of dollars to turn the ABC archives into a giant online version of iview.
Mr Milne said in a statement the board felt “new leadership would benefit the organisation” and thanked Ms Guthrie for “her contribution to the ABC”.
But in a later ABC interview he refused to go into the detail of why the board chose to sack her.
“The board felt in the end that her leadership style was not the style that we needed going forward. We needed a different leadership style,” Mr Milne said.
Ms Guthrie has been criticised for spending more time in Singapore with her celebrity chef husband Darren Farr rather than dealing with the politicians in Canberra who cut the broadcaster’s funding.
“That is possibly an area that could have been better. I think that is fair to say,” Mr Milne said. “That said, I think Michelle tried hard.”
Mr Milne, a close friend of former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull from their days together at Ozemail, took over Ms Guthrie’s trips to Canberra in a failed bid to get more cash. “The government, I must say, has provided no pressure, no opinion, has not been involved in this decision. This is entirely a board decision,” he said.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison said he would not get involved in the sacking. “That’s their job to decide how well that show has been run.”