ABC relaunches audio division with renewed radio focus
New ABC chair Kim Williams has made good on his promise to reverse a board decision that reduced its radio footprint, breaking ‘Audio’ out from the ABC ‘Content’ division it was folded into last year.
A new Audio division will be headed up by the ABC’s head of audio Ben Latimer, and will oversee ABC Listen and podcasting, Radio National, ABC Classic, Triple J, Double J, ABC Country, ABC Jazz, and the various capital city stations.
“This new team reasserts Audio as a vital part of the ABC’s future and a key tenet of our connection with all Australians,” David Anderson told staff in an email sent Thursday afternoon.
“This is an important change which recognises the significance of audio to our audiences and the role it will play in the future of the ABC.”
It was Anderson himself that said last year it was “inevitable” that some of its AM radio audiences would fall away, and “we’ll look at rationalising that over time”. In May, the ABC’s audio division was rolled into a Content division, while regional news reporters were placed under the News division.
Kim Williams told The Guardian in August one of his first acts as chair would be to unwind that decision.
“It is not available to the ABC to simply withdraw a variety of broadcast services, like for example Radio National or ABC Classic or Triple J,” Williams said.
“They are part of our responsibility.”
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Nathan Jolly is the Features Editor at Mumbrella. He joined the team in July, 2023.
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