"The first thing I found when I started at the ABC was that people were fearful of making decisions, of making mistakes" he told Cassandra Parkinson and Carol Stuart when he met with them in September.

It's a message he returned to at a dinner hosted by ABC Friends NSW/ACT in Sydney on 2 October.

"There was a fear of what might happen. And I think you all know where that comes from. That's the result of relentless years of external pressure and I guess a failure by the organisation to own its future and have hope."

So, how can you change a culture from fear to courage, he was asked.

"Protect your team," he said. "And allow them to fail without fear of punishment."

Changes afoot

Content is king

Mr Marks is big on content and will continue to support co-productions between the ABC and other organisations. He talked of innovation, creativity, and the need for the ABC to capitalise on its strengths when entering into rights agreements.

He is pushing for more podcasts and sees Radio National as the home for in-depth storytelling. However, younger audiences are looking for short form content and the ABC must also respond to their preferred methods of accessing and consuming news and entertainment.

"It all points to a welcome embrace of change, and support for new ideas and innovation."

ABC localisation strategy

With 56 offices around Australia, the ABC has long sought to meet the needs of all Australians, regardless of where they live. Providing that service is more important than ever because parts of Australia are becoming media deserts. In something like 27 council districts the ABC is now the only media voice.

Marks wants to give local journalists more opportunities to compete with national teams to get their content into the system. He is interested in delegating greater editorial responsibility for local stories to local teams, rather than having to go through national teams.

"It's part of re-imagining the role of the ABC, not just as the ABC but as a content provider," he told Senate Estimates.

He hopes the model will help foster local talent who will gain a greater sense of engagement with the local communities and a sense of satisfaction from their roles.

Hugh Marks' strategy will enable audience members in local regions to choose a localised version of the digital news service as opposed to simply receiving the national version of news stories. In other words, they can preference stories related to their communities in their feeds.

At the dinner Marks announced that the ABC would make available its emergency broadcasting information to any other regional or rural broadcaster that wants to access that information and draw upon those resources.

Thus, the role of the ABC as providing an essential service takes on a deeper meaning. It becomes a community service for news, emergency services, and original content.

As media networks withdraw from many regions, and so much news and entertainment can only be accessed from behind paywalls, the role of a free and accessible ABC will become more important than ever.

Cassandra Parkinson
National President
ABC Friends