Updated ,first published
ABC’s chief news officer, Justin Stevens, has resigned after four years in the jobwhile the search for a replacement is already complete.
Stevens, former executive producer of the current affairs program 7.30 and from 2022 director of news and current affairs, is leaving the ABC on Wednesday after overseeing a period of major change at Australia’s biggest newsroom.
With fewer than 2,000 staff in the news division, the role is the most scrutinized at the broadcaster outside of managing director Hugh Marks, overseeing news content published across the broadcaster’s television, radio and digital platforms.
The appointment of Stevens will be Marks’ biggest decision to date, and is expected to be announced next week, with candidates already interviewed, two sources with knowledge of the matter said on condition of anonymity. The successor is expected to come from outside the organization. The total package for the role, including superannuation, was $678,000 in the last financial year.
Informing staff Wednesday afternoon, Stevens said the decision was both professional and personal. “There is no harder-edged news organization in the country, no more scrutinized institution, and fewer with public expectations,” Stevens said.
“In that context, I have tried to strengthen and defend our journalism without turning a blind eye to our limitations; to meet the constant changes in the digital age; and to improve our culture in News to the point where we hold ourselves to the same standards as we do others in the wider society.”
Stevens, who is leaving ABC permanently, has not been on the job since last Thursday, sources said. He has been approached for comment.
Stevens, who was just 38 years old when he took over, has worked under two managing directors and two chairmen during his tenure, with both eras defined by their leadership styles and approaches to how the broadcaster should run its news operations.
His appointment by former managing director David Anderson in April 2022 was seen at the time as unexpected, as he had never held a top management post and beat out several top contenders.
Much of his time under Anderson was guided by a digital-first strategy, pushing the ABC towards its newest platforms and attracting criticism of the move away from the ABC’s core audience to broadcast services such as television and radio. Under Anderson’s strategy, more than 120 roles were made redundant, including the controversial removal of ABC political editor Andrew Probyn.
But since the arrival of Marks in early 2025, he has emphasized the continuing importance of broadcasting, with the nightly news report regularly attracting an average audience of 1 million viewers. However, this period was accompanied by more than 50 job cuts.
Director of news and current affairs at the ABC is one of the most controversial jobs in Australian media due to the political implications of being publicly funded. Editorial decisions and programs such as axing of Q+A in 2025 always attracts controversy.
Stevens is the latest in a long line of ABC executives to leave since Anderson’s resignation, including former head of content Chris Oliver-Taylor and head of communications Nick Leys.
Stevens has built the Local and Weather reporting teams during his tenure, transformed the ABC news program and brought all news reports under one banner.
He has also overseen extensive coverage of Israel’s war on Gaza, which began after the October 7 attacks in 2023, receiving strong criticism from News Corp media over perceived bias.
But one of the biggest controversies of his ownership was the departure of veteran reporter Stan Grantwho left in 2023 following an appearance during the ABC episode of King Charles’s coronation, in which Grant focused on Australia’s colonial past.
Grant later said he felt betrayed by ABC, after being invited to appear on the network’s broadcasts but not receiving public support for the comments he made.
ABC also had to board the result of the dismissal of Antoinette Lattouf that same year, although this was not a decision made by Stevens or the news division. Since Lattouf won his subsequent Federal Court case against the broadcaster, it has implemented new public opinion guidelines for its employees.
The ABC’s digital audience is set to grow by 7 per cent in the 2025 financial year, according to its annual report. The average audience for its nightly newscast also increased, as did that of its flagship current affairs programme 7.30.
ABC leaders will attend a Senate estimates hearing scheduled for Thursday.
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Calum Jaspan is a media reporter for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age, based in Melbourne. Reach him safely on Waves @calumjaspan.10Connect through X or email address.
