Which media people did new MD compete with for ABC role?

The chair of the ABC Ita Buttrose has announced the appointment of David Anderson as the new managing director of the ABC.

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,” Buttrose said.

Media reports said the other “impressive candidates” included TV producer Anita Jacoby and former SMH editor-in-chief Darren Goodsir. The Australian's Nick Tabakoff has reported the final two candidates left standing were Anderson and former Age editor-in-chief Paul Ramadge.

In accordance with the ABC Act, Anderson will be engaged for a term of five years and as managing director he has ultimate responsibility for all editorial content.

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,” Anderson said.

Before stepping into the role of acting managing director in September last year, David Anderson 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 Anderson 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, Anderson 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.

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Top Photo: Ita Buttrose with David Anderson