ABC Chair Ita Buttrose has announced the appointment of Anita Jacoby to lead the ABC Advisory Council.
Anita’s extensive experience in the media spans a 35-year career in which she has created award-winning content across multiple platforms. She has occupied senior management and production roles across all Australian broadcasters including the ABC, SBS and commercial channels, and brings to the role a deep understanding and appreciation of the critical nature of public broadcasting and where it sits in our changing media landscape.
Ms Buttrose said, “Anita has worked closely with the ABC over many years and has a demonstrated understanding and application of the ABC’s core values.
“Her passion for broadcasting and media in all its forms will ensure that the Advisory Council continues to be an effective advocate for the ABC’s diverse audiences and an important conduit between the ABC Board and the Australian community.”
Anita replaces outgoing Advisory Council Chair, Nicole Sheffield.
“I am honoured to be appointed to the role,” Anita said. “As the independent home and source of Australian conversations, arts, culture and stories, the ABC is rightly our most trusted and loved media organisation.
“With its mandate to provide all Australians with a unique range of services designed to educate, entertain and inform, this represents an exciting opportunity to enhance the ABC’s essential role and future impact in the community.”
Anita boasts an impressive track record in the creation, growth and business management of companies in the independent production sector. Most recently she was managing director of ITV Studios Australia, the production company for Shaun Micallef’s Mad as Hell.
Before this, she co-managed Zapruder’s Other Films with Andrew Denton, one of Australia’s most successful independent production companies responsible for some of the ABC’s most iconic series including Enough Rope, The Gruen Transfer, Elders, Hungry Beast, Country Town Rescue, Angels & Demons and God on My Side.
Since 2013 she has also been an Associate Member of the Australian Communications & Media Authority (ACMA). The role’s valuable insights into regional media diversity is particularly relevant to the ABC’s ongoing commitment to generating more content and stories from regional areas.
ABC Advisory Council
Established under the ABC Act 1983, the role of the ABC Advisory Council is, either on its own initiative or at the request of the Board, to advise the Board on matters relating to the Corporation’s broadcasting programs.
