ABC boss Kim Williams defended the decision to dump popular radio presenter Sarah McDonald before attacking former presenter Phillip Adams and sacking presenter Antoinette Lattouf.
Williams, who succeeded Ita Buttrose as president of the national broadcaster in March, said he fully supported McDonald’s sacking as ABC Radio Sydney’s morning presenter as the ABC looks to reinvigorate its radio division under head of audio Ben Latimer .
“Changes in the media are part of life,” he told the National Press Club in Canberra on Wednesday. “They are part of the programming fabric of all organizations.”
ABC staff were shocked by the move when it was announced alongside a raft of sweeping changes to the taxpayer-funded service last Thursday, greeting the news with a round of boos at its Sydney headquarters.
McDonald, who joined ABC as a cadet and has spent more than three decades at the broadcaster, announced his departure on air last week.
However, Mr Williams insisted that McDonald, who is well-liked and respected across the industry, was not fired but rather her job had been given to someone else.
“It is inaccurate to say that Sarah McDonald has been fired,” he said.
‘His role has not been renewed. They are different conceptually.
ABC chairman Kim Williams says he “fully supports” the shocking decision to fire popular radio host Sarah McDonald.
‘Similarly, management has determined that it wants to take that service in a different direction.
‘That decision is a management decision, and I fully support our management in making relevant decisions regarding the direction and content of the services the ABC provides.
“So yes, I support that decision.
“I support the idea of refreshments in the different services offered by ABC.”
ABC has reportedly been inundated with complaints since McDonald revealed she had been fired live on her show Thursday morning.
“Well, here’s news from me in terms of disappointment,” he told his listeners.
‘I’m not going to be on the radio with you next year, the ABC has decided not to renew my contract here at Mornings.
‘I’m proud of what I’ve done. The ratings have gone up.”
McDonald broke the widely criticized news to his listeners live Thursday morning.
Acknowledging the internal and external backlash against the decision, Williams said it was impossible for the station to evolve without making difficult decisions.
“The public reaction would actually say that you can never change anything, ever, unless the person affected by the change is completely okay with that change,” he said.
“And I think in a media work environment, that’s a very impractical worldview.”
He made the same distinction when it came to Lattouff, who was fired by the ABC midway through a week of informal radio presenting shifts last December.
Lattouf is suing ABC in federal court, claiming the broadcaster violated its employee enterprise agreement by “terminating her without proper basis and without due process.”
However, Williams insists she wasn’t fired either.
“The matters with Ms. Latouff are, of course, currently the subject of legal dispute, and we have maintained an impeccable silence on the matter, unlike Ms. Latouff and her representatives, who appear to have taken to regularly sharing with the media communication,’ he said.
‘On that matter… we will continue to persist in the goal of making a respectful and constructive resolution possible between ABC and Ms. Latouff.
But I must correct you: Mrs. Latouff was not fired.
Antoinette Lattouf sues ABC for illegal firing, but Kim Williams insists she was never fired
‘I had a five-day contract and… the contract ended at the end of the third day.
‘So it affected the last two days of that contract which, of course, were paid.
‘She keeps showing up, saying she was “fired.”
‘I don’t know where that leaves us. They didn’t fire her.
The media executive’s claim contradicts a Fair Work Commission decision that found in June that Lattouf had indeed been fired, rejecting the argument that she was not fired because she was paid for the full five days.
Williams also criticized Adams, who signed on as host of ABC Radio National’s Late Night Live show in June after an incredible 33-year reign.
The outspoken media veteran, who once hired Williams while he headed the Australian Film Commission, has widely criticized Williams’ appointment as ABC chairman.
After his retirement, he told Amanda Meade of The Guardian that he was “not a big fan of Kim Williams.”
Phillips Adams has been an outspoken critic of ABC president Kim Williams’ appointment.
‘Kim and I have a lot of history. “I’m not happy that I got the big job,” he said.
“While Kim wouldn’t have been my first, second or third recommendation, I wish him the best in his attempt to save the joint. It’s in very bad shape.
Asked about claims that Adams had actually “endorsed” him to run for ABC CEO when he was just 28, Mr Williams laughed before saying: “What an interesting question!”
‘Philip Adams never supported me for the position of CEO of ABC. “This is part of the continuous fiction that is Philip Adams,” he said.
“Certainly, when I was 30, I applied for the CEO position at ABC.
“And when I came back from the application when I was 30, Philip Adams and the board of directors of Philip Adams at the time appointed me chief executive of the Australian Film Commission.”
Kim Williams maintains she has no interest in taking over as CEO of ABC
He said he no longer harbored any ambitions to take office and was not interested in succeeding incumbent David Anderson, who announced his resignation in August and will step down as soon as a replacement is found.
“I am not and would not accept being a candidate for CEO of the ABC now, because I don’t think I will pass the pub test,” Mr Williams said.
“I have a very clear view of the difference between the responsibility of governance, which involves setting policies and priorities, and advocacy, I might add, compared to the day-to-day operational execution by the people charged with running the place.
“I am not looking to move from the governance strategic prioritization and advocacy role to the operational role.”