Media reports this morning claim the potential list of candidates to replace the ABC’s outgoing managing director Mark Scott has been whittled down to a final five.
And if the reports are true then some at the ABC are set to be rather upset with just one female candidate set to make the final list.
It is believed the search for Aunty’s new boss has gone global with executive recruiter Egon Zehnder employed to uncover suitable candidates. There had been reports that senior staff from BBC in the UK had been approached.
According to reports in Fairfax Media the final candidates include former News and Foxtel chief Kim Williams, SBS chief executive Michael Ebeid and News Corps director of community publishing Brett Clegg. Although it has been reported that Clegg may have withdrawn his application.
There are two internal candidates – the ABC’s director of digital, Angela Clark, and its director of strategy, David Anderson.
The final candidate will be decided by the ABC board who, it has been reported, had hoped for stronger representation from women.
Current boss, Mark Scott, will reportedly be quizzed about the hiring process and his replacement when he goes before Senate Estimates in Canberra on Monday.
It will also be interesting to see which way the Board will lean in its decision. As an example, Channel Nine’s new boss, Hugh Marks, comes with a far stronger content background than his predecessor – something many believe is imperative in this changing media landscape.
Candidates such as Williams and Ebeid certainly come with the business acumen, while Clarke and Clegg – both former journalists – would presumably bring a stronger focus on content.
