The ABC has appointed content executive and creative Jennifer Collins as inaugural Head of Factual & Culture within its Entertainment & Specialist (E&S) division, to lead the development and production of innovative content across genres such as arts, religion, science, education, health, history and social affairs.
Jennifer is one of Australia’s most experienced creatives across commercial and public broadcasting, including senior roles previously at the ABC as Head of Development, Head of Factual and Head of Entertainment.
ABC Factual & Culture, which was announced in June as part of the ABC’s Five Year-Plan, brings together E&S Factual content makers into a single team across television, radio and digital, including Radio ³Ô¹ÏÍøÕ¾, podcast creation hub Audio Studios and flagship programs such as Compass, Catalyst and the ABC’s acclaimed arts documentaries.
Michael Carrington, ABC Director Entertainment & Specialist, welcomed Jennifer’s return to the national public broadcaster. “Jen is well known and respected by ABC people and partners alike and her unique skills across multiple platforms will help drive our transition towards digital content and services,” he said.
“Australians love and trust the ABC’s Factual content, from our feature-length arts programs to long-form audio documentaries. In a world of bombast and bluster, the values of creativity, clarity and intellectual rigour are more important than ever. Jen’s experience and expertise will ensure the ABC remains the trusted home of big ideas and beautiful stories across multiple genres and platforms.”
Jennifer said she was looking forward to delivering the ABC’s distinctive and engaging content across Factual & Culture. “I’ve always been deeply committed to public broadcasting and value the ABC’s unique contribution to Australia’s cultural life,” she said.
“I’m delighted to be back at the ABC to lead the Factual and Culture team, where I’ll be working with Australia’s best creative talent to deliver a rich and diverse slate of programming.”
Jennifer returns to the ABC from her most recent role as Director of Content at Fremantle Australia, where she had responsibility for the development and production of scripted and non-scripted content.
From 2013-2018, she worked as Head of Non-Fiction at Screentime, where she led the content and digital strategy across the non-scripted slate. Her credits as Executive Producer included the ABC programs Anh’s Brush With Fame, Stop Laughing…this is serious and Making Child Prodigies, along with The Secret Life of 4 -Year-Olds and Testing Teachers.
As ABC Head of Factual, from 2009-2012, and ABC Head of Entertainment, from 2012-13, she oversaw the development, commissioning and production of programming such as Julia Zemiro’s ³Ô¹ÏÍøÕ¾ Delivery, The Checkout, Shaun Micallef’s Mad As Hell, Dirty Laundry Live and the Digital Emmy award-winning series #7 Days later. She introduced Costa Georgiadis to the Gardening Australia team and created the ABC iview Fresh Blood Initiative to unearth new comedy talent.
As ABC Head of Development for arts, entertainment and comedy, from 2008-09, she started initiatives with funding bodies and screen agencies to foster new talent and creative teams.
Other career highlights include working as Series Producer on the Opening and Closing Ceremonies of the 2000 Paralympic Games, Executive Producer on The Chaser’s War on Everything and Producer on Club Buggery with Roy & HG.
