triple j's New Management Structure Revealed

It has been a tumultuous week at the national broadcaster this week with the departure of ABC Head of Music Meagan Loader and Group Music Director Richard Kingsmill.

In an email to staff seen by The Music, new ABC Head of Radio Ben Latimer has now outlined the new leadership structure and confirmed that a recruitment process was beginning ‘as soon as possible’ for the roles of Head of Music, Manager triple j and Content Director triple j / Double J.

It is expected that the roles may be filled from outside the organisation with Latimer stating he will “look forward to looking at talent from across Australia to join our Audio Executive team”.

Current Manager of triple j Lachlan Macara will move up to a new Head of triple j, Double J and ABC Country role, reporting to Latimer and providing some continuity from the previous team, while Chris Scaddan (with previous experience as triple j Content Director and Head of Music) will remain as Head of Audio Strategy Implementation. Kat McGuffie will oversee all aspects of ABC Classic and ABC Jazz, joining the leadership team.

It is understood that a heated meeting with staff in Sydney was held on Monday to outline the changes, with shock and disappointment voiced, particularly over the controversial redundancy of Richard Kingsmill’s role.

The changes are part of a larger restructure across the audio division with other changes including sport now being integrated with ABC Local Radio operations and a strong new focus on audio on demand.

The other new roles being recruited in the division include Head of Cap City Networks and Sport, Head of Audio on Demand and a True Crime EP who Latimer says will “oversee what will be a significant slate of True Crime content”.

In Latimer’s email, he explains that “the new structure is designed to elevate our key brands to improve their visibility while streamlining reporting and communication”.

In an interview with the Sydney Morning Herald earlier this month, Latimer called the national youth broadcaster an “incredibly important brand” to the ABC. He also admitted that the 18–24 demographic was difficult to capture with radio programming in 2023.

Latimer explained, “The challenge with triple j is that we’ve got this exceptionally engaged audience on the digital offering but a declining audience on linear [traditional broadcast radio].

“We are more than a radio station; we tell people this all the time; it’s a multi-platform youth network. But we must have a strong linear broadcast reach, and right now, the current five capital city share is 4.2 per cent, so clearly, we’ve got to do some work around that.”