ABC Radio chief Ben Latimer says there is “always something more to do” on diversity after replacing Chris Bath with a male presenter at ABC Sydney, leaving the station with an all-male lineup from breakfast to drive in 2026.
Bath, who announced his resignation on Monday after just one year, will be replaced by Thomas Oriti in the key Drive slot, which was vacated by veteran broadcaster Richard Glover after 26 years.
A popular television personality, Bath was a big hire for ABC, which needed a well-known presenter to replace Glover. His short tenure has surprised the audience.
Announcing her departure on Monday, Bath said she was stepping away from the drive “to pursue some passion projects and different opportunities away from the news cycle that has been going on for years.”
Guardian Australia understands Bath also raised concerns about the production support it was given for the three-hour live radio. Baath declined to comment.
Internally, staff are appalled by the lack of female presenters on the main station, particularly in the wake of the angry reaction from listeners and staff last year when Sarah Macdonald was dropped from Mornings and replaced by Hamish Macdonald.
The core Sydney local radio roster is now made up of Craig Recastle on Breakfast, MacDonald on Mornings, James O’Loughlin and James Valentine on Afternoons and Ority on Drive. Valentine has been on sick leave since June and Katherine Robinson is taking one day off a week.
Latimer, who was promoted to executive position when she was made director of audio last year, told Guardian Australia that women are “playing a central and high-profile role in the ABC’s audio services” and listed women presenting on other networks, including Radio National presenters Sally Sarah on RN Breakfast and Sabra Lane on AM.
“At the same time, we believe there is always something to do,” he said. “Our aspiration is continuous improvement, so our presenters, stories and line-up reflect the full diversity of the Australian communities we serve.”
Latimer said that Bath had “made a personal decision about the demands of daily radio and the balance she wanted in her life”.
“We fully support her choice and we are pleased that she will continue to be part of the 702 team on Sunday,” he said.
Dr Helen Vatsikopoulos, professional fellow at the University of Technology Sydney, journalist and academic, said she was surprised by the presence of all the men.
Vatsikopoulos said, “ABC, while it continues to push its various diversity objectives, has completely forgotten half the population.”
“Well, here was the place to bring back the popular and much loved Sarah MacDonald…or dare I say Antoinette Latouff.
“It’s another own goal for the ABC. There needs to be some deep strategic thinking in ABC Radio management. They may have too many people in their top ranks.”
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According to the ABC’s Diversity and Inclusion annual report, 55.8% of the ABC’s workforce is women.
“The ABC has achieved gender parity across its executive group, with 57.1% of executive positions held by women,” the report said. “This is against the target of 50%.
“The ABC has increased the representation of women technologists from 24.5% to 27.2% by August 2023, achieving the target of 25% by 2026.”
But there is a gender pay gap at the ABC, with men paid almost 10% more than women, according to the latest Commonwealth figures.
Sources who were not authorized to speak publicly said ABC Local Radio has long suffered from a lack of resources and presenters are troubled by a contingent workforce, with producers coming and going on short-term contracts. There are no dedicated panel operators and little technical support.
Former 7pm ABC News presenter Juanita Phillips has posted on social media that the ABC has an “entrenched culture”.
“The disappearance of smart, capable women over 50 from ABC screens and airwaves has been going on for years,” she said.
“Three years ago (before my disappearance) I tried to get management to take real action on this, but it’s an established culture.”
New South Wales Greens upper house MP Kate Fehrman said on social media that the ABC “cannot be serious” about replacing Bath with a man.
“It’s not 1982,” he said on the threads. “This is not one of those blokey shock jock commercial stations that we would probably expect to have this type of programming. This is our public broadcaster that should know better.”
Host of the national breakfast program on ABC NewsRadio and background briefing on ABC Radio National, Oriti is an experienced presenter and has been a senior reporter on the ABC’s major current affairs programmes.
Bath will host a Sunday morning show broadcast in NSW on ABC.
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