ABC to slash dozens of jobs ahead of restructure

The ABC is abolishing its standalone arts team for the first time in its history, including its digital arts editor. The team will be distributed across the newsroom.

While some cuts to TV are also expected, local radio is expected to avoid any impact amid its ongoing review into its capital city and regional stations.

A senior journalist who asked not to be named, said: “We know what ‘restructure’ means and involves, but we’re deflated by more cuts to editorial staff.”

The Media Entertainment and Arts alliance called on the ABC to provide clarity around the restructure, which MEAA media director Cassie Derrick said had been “poorly communicated by ABC management, which has caused days of anxiety and anguish for ABC employees”.

“The ABC has been running on empty for the past decade and we are concerned about how it can continue to deliver quality public interest journalism with even fewer staff following these proposed redundancies,” Derrick said.

“The recent enterprise bargaining agreement was a chance for ABC management to reset its relationship with the workforce. It hasn’t got off to a good start.”

In November last year, Anderson told ABC managers of his plan to rewire the broadcaster to improve its processes around the commissioning and delivery of content to audiences, including a further focus on its digital platforms and later to combine its regional and metro news teams under one roof.

Chris Oliver-Taylor was later hired from Netflix as its first chief content officer, reporting to Anderson and heading up its new content division, which combines the entertainment and specialist, and regional and local divisions. Justin Stevens will continue to lead the news division.

The ABC initially hoped to restructure by April but a delay in appointing Oliver-Taylor pushed it back to July 1. The shift is the biggest structural change to the ABC since 2017, when former managing director Michelle Guthrie reorganised the broadcaster into three teams focused on topics: news, analysis and investigations; entertainment and specialist; and, regional and local. Anderson was head of entertainment and specialist when the structure was changed.

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Last month, Treasurer Jim Chalmers promised $6 billion to the ABC over the next five years in an announcement, which the ABC said, “provides financial stability and allows the ABC to continue delivering on its charter.”

Budget papers show it has an average staff of 4213 full-time equivalent positions.

Meanwhile, the ABC’s NSW state political reporter, Ashleigh Raper, has been appointed as Network 10’s network political editor, replacing Peter van Onselen.