Extract from The Guardian
Guthrie will take over from Mark Scott in 2016, becoming the ABC’s first female managing director
Michelle Guthrie, a Google executive who spent 13 years working for
Rupert Murdoch’s broadcasting empire, has been chosen by the ABC board
to succeed Mark Scott as managing director.
Guardian Australia has confirmed Guthrie’s appointment, first reported by the Australian Financial Review, but her position still has to be ratified by the government before being officially announced ahead of Christmas.
Guthrie will be the public broadcaster’s first female managing director in its 83-year history and will be responsible for continuing Scott’s transition of the organisation to a digital-first operation.
Scott, who has run the ABC for 10 years, is contracted until June 2016 but has not ruled out stepping down earlier. Guthrie will join the ABC in April.
Australian-born Guthrie has an impressive and varied CV. She graduated from the University of Sydney with a degree in arts and law, worked as a lawyer and then moved into broadcasting and business.
She does not have a background as a journalist or program-maker and has no public broadcasting experience.
When Scott was appointed he had experience as a journalist and newspaper executive, but had never worked in broadcasting.
Guthrie spent 13 years working for Rupert Murdoch, starting at BSkyB in London in 1994. She also worked as director of legal and business development at Foxtel in Sydney and rose to become chief executive of News Corp’s Star TV in Hong Kong in 2003.
She is currently based in Singapore as Google’s director of strategic business development for the Asia Pacific region.
Scott confirmed in September that he would step down from the ABC after his second, five-year term.
The ABC’s managing director is appointed by its board after a recruitment and interview process at home and overseas. The position usually goes to an external candidate.
The board is chaired by the former chief justice of NSW, James Spigelman, and seven directors: former CFO of Seven West Media, Peter Lewis; investment banker, Simon Mordant; workplace safety expert, Dr Kirstin Ferguson; former managing director of Ashgrove Cheese, Jane Bennett; research professor in the school of paediatrics and child health at the University of Western Australia, Dr Fiona Stanley; founder of DW Bottom Line Transition Strategists, Donny Walford; and staff-elected journalist, Matt Peacock.
Directors are chosen in a merit-based appointment process where the federal communications minister chooses from a shortlist put forward by a nominations panel.
The process has been criticised as politically tainted because former prime minister Tony Abbott appointed two arch conservatives to the nominations panel – the Australian newspaper columnist, Janet Albrechtsen, and former Liberal party minister, Neil Brown.
Both Brown and Albrechtsen have called for the ABC to be privatised.
There has been fevered speculation about the appointment of Scott’s successor. The Australian reported last week that the UK’s Channel 4 executive Jay Hunt was the frontrunner. But Guardian Australia understands the Australian-born executive was never interviewed for the position.
Scott took over running the ABC from Russell Balding in 2006, following a disastrous period under Jonathan Shier which ended in his sacking by the board in 2001. Brian Johns ran the ABC between 1996 and 2000.
Guardian Australia has confirmed Guthrie’s appointment, first reported by the Australian Financial Review, but her position still has to be ratified by the government before being officially announced ahead of Christmas.
Guthrie will be the public broadcaster’s first female managing director in its 83-year history and will be responsible for continuing Scott’s transition of the organisation to a digital-first operation.
Scott, who has run the ABC for 10 years, is contracted until June 2016 but has not ruled out stepping down earlier. Guthrie will join the ABC in April.
Australian-born Guthrie has an impressive and varied CV. She graduated from the University of Sydney with a degree in arts and law, worked as a lawyer and then moved into broadcasting and business.
She does not have a background as a journalist or program-maker and has no public broadcasting experience.
When Scott was appointed he had experience as a journalist and newspaper executive, but had never worked in broadcasting.
Guthrie spent 13 years working for Rupert Murdoch, starting at BSkyB in London in 1994. She also worked as director of legal and business development at Foxtel in Sydney and rose to become chief executive of News Corp’s Star TV in Hong Kong in 2003.
She is currently based in Singapore as Google’s director of strategic business development for the Asia Pacific region.
Scott confirmed in September that he would step down from the ABC after his second, five-year term.
The ABC’s managing director is appointed by its board after a recruitment and interview process at home and overseas. The position usually goes to an external candidate.
The board is chaired by the former chief justice of NSW, James Spigelman, and seven directors: former CFO of Seven West Media, Peter Lewis; investment banker, Simon Mordant; workplace safety expert, Dr Kirstin Ferguson; former managing director of Ashgrove Cheese, Jane Bennett; research professor in the school of paediatrics and child health at the University of Western Australia, Dr Fiona Stanley; founder of DW Bottom Line Transition Strategists, Donny Walford; and staff-elected journalist, Matt Peacock.
Directors are chosen in a merit-based appointment process where the federal communications minister chooses from a shortlist put forward by a nominations panel.
The process has been criticised as politically tainted because former prime minister Tony Abbott appointed two arch conservatives to the nominations panel – the Australian newspaper columnist, Janet Albrechtsen, and former Liberal party minister, Neil Brown.
Both Brown and Albrechtsen have called for the ABC to be privatised.
There has been fevered speculation about the appointment of Scott’s successor. The Australian reported last week that the UK’s Channel 4 executive Jay Hunt was the frontrunner. But Guardian Australia understands the Australian-born executive was never interviewed for the position.
Scott took over running the ABC from Russell Balding in 2006, following a disastrous period under Jonathan Shier which ended in his sacking by the board in 2001. Brian Johns ran the ABC between 1996 and 2000.
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