Williams takes his shot at ABC

ABC chairman Kim Williams has taken his big opportunity to recast the organisational culture of the public broadcaster and it must not go to waste. The good news is that Hugh Marks, who was a unanimous choice for ABC managing director, has a solid background in the media industry; he formerly worked as chief executive of Nine Entertainment during the period that included the consolidation of Nine and Fairfax. As editor-in-chief of the ABC, Mr Marks must harness that experience to bring much-needed discipline to the public broadcaster’s news judgment and editorial decision-making processes. This will be vital to addressing the sharp decline in ABC audience numbers, particularly across its metropolitan radio programming.

Much of the decline in ABC engagement with the public can be traced to an obsession within the organisation with issues that are out of synch with the concerns of many Australians. Gone are the days when morning ABC radio and nightly current affairs programs would set the public debate. As a public broadcaster, the ABC has a duty to serve the public. It must do more with the $1bn it receives each year from taxpayers than retreat into a comfort zone of special interests. Mr Williams has declared himself a fierce supporter of the ABC but also has made it known he expects more rigour in its editorial decision-making and standards. The appointment of Mr Marks is an opportunity to break from the timid status quo that was entrenched under former chairwoman Ita Buttrose and outgoing managing director David Anderson.

Mr Williams has put his stake in the ground in the pursuit of revitalisation. He has been rewarded by the federal government with a $40m increase in funding and a new five-year funding cycle.

The ABC chairman said Mr Marks was the standout candidate from an international search, “not only for his experience across every facet of the media but for his strong track record of leading media organisations and driving substantial and sustained audience engagement”. He said Mr Marks’s experience would be critical to the ABC’s quest to “further strengthen our reach and engagement with the Australian community”. Mr Williams’s advice to Mr Marks was to be a keen listener and get to know the organisation from the inside “rather than purely having an external viewpoint”. This can be a double-edged sword. Mr Marks’s bigger mission is to reconnect the ABC with the outside world. An outsider’s view may be exactly what is needed most.