'Astonishing fail': ABC presenter Jon Faine slams Michelle Guthrie's legacy

ABC presenter Jon Faine has ripped into Michelle Guthrie's legacy, arguing her stint as managing director has been an "astonishing fail".

Faine made his remarks minutes after it was announced the ABC board had shown Guthrie the door, saying the former managing director had "no interest in journalism" or the "nuts and bolts" of the public broadcaster.

"She came in here, to the ABC, and was given the benefit of the doubt," he said. "Most of us were excited that a woman - a woman who had a history of media engagement in our region and a woman clearly on top of new media - was going to be at the helm.

"The first time I met her I thought she was very charming. She was clearly very smart. But the expiration of the first year it became clear she was only interested in a very small parts of what the organisation did.

"She would not take on her role as a champion for this organisation. It’s an astonishing fail on her part."

Faine added that morale has never been so low.

"She was obsessed with platforms, structures, flowcharts," he said. "Astonishing. Absolutely astonishing.

"It’s been intense behind the scenes at this organisation. She’s been all but invisible, I might say, for a very long time."

When contacted by Fairfax Media, Faine declined to elaborate on his on-air spray, saying: "I've said what I've said."

The Melbourne-based broadcaster hasn't been afraid to criticise his boss in the past. Earlier this year, he slammed Guthrie's soft diplomacy approach – arguing it was why the ABC had been "done over" by the Coalition government.

"I've been here since 1989... and quite frankly I'm sick of getting it ripped apart because of the failure of our managers," he said at the time. "[She] has been remarkably quiet and reluctant to engage in what she herself previously has described as megaphone campaigning.

"She says, 'No, the best way to protect the ABC is to work quietly behind the scenes.' That's obviously delivered a terrible outcome in the last budget round."

ABC broadcaster Jon Faine.Credit: Eddie Jim

Guthrie has delivered speeches in the past warning politicians against cutting the ABC's budget, pointing out trust in public broadcasters is much higher than that of politicians.

On Monday, the former managing director said she was "devastated" by the ABC board's decision.

"When I joined [the] ABC in 2016, I knew I had an enormous challenge in front of me to break down some of the internal barriers to progress as well as continuing to deliver quality programming for all Australians," she said. "While my contract permits the board to terminate my employment without cause and with immediate effect, I believe there is no justification for the board to trigger that termination clause.

"I am considering my legal options. At no point have any issues been raised with me about the transformation being undertaken, the investing in audiences strategy and my effectiveness in delivering against that strategy."