The Australian Broadcasting Corporation has selected a senior Reuters editor, Simon Robinson, to take charge of its news and current affairs division, the broadcaster confirmed on Thursday.
Robinson, who serves as executive editor at Reuters, is scheduled to begin his new role at the public broadcaster in September, according to a statement from ABC Managing Director Hugh Marks posted on the ABC's website. The appointment follows the sudden departure this week of Justin Stevens, who stepped down on Wednesday after four years as director of news and current affairs, citing personal and professional reasons.
Robinson is a London-based Australian national. At Reuters he will be succeeded by Nick Tattersall, who has been named global managing editor, newsroom, Reuters Editor-in-Chief Alessandra Galloni said in a note to staff.
Within Reuters, Robinson was appointed executive editor in October 2022. He joined the news agency in 2010 and prior to his current role oversaw investigations and enterprise reporting across Europe, the Middle East and Africa for just under seven years. During that period he edited several award-winning series covering subjects including Iran, Russia, corporate taxation, Greek banks and migration.
Robinson's reporting and editorial career extends back to the mid-1990s. Between 1995 and 2010 he worked for Time magazine as a correspondent and later as an editor, reporting from more than 50 countries across Africa, South Asia, the Middle East and Europe.
Alongside his journalism credentials, Robinson has published short fiction and written and produced an award-winning satirical feature film that explored themes around aid workers and journalists in Africa.
Reuters, the news organisation Robinson currently serves, is a unit of Thomson Reuters. The organisation employs more than 2,600 journalists operating from around 200 locations worldwide, and reports 50 million monthly digital users as well as hundreds of thousands of professional users through Thomson Reuters and LSEG products.
Context and implications
The appointment installs a senior editor with a long record in international investigations and enterprise journalism at the helm of the ABC's news operation. Robinson's move to the broadcaster comes amid an abrupt leadership transition and will be closely watched for how it affects editorial priorities and operations.