An email sent to West Australian staff by ABC Managing Director Hugh Marks has announced the appointment of former Seven Network Perth News Director Howard Gretton (pictured) as Manager of ABC Western Australia.
The announcement appears to restore the role previously known as State Director after those jobs were axed in 2015 due to budget cuts. It is the only state to have that role restored. Previously the roles reported to the Managing Director, working across all the output divisions.
Previous WA State Directors include Geoff Duncan, who was in the role for about 10 years. After his retirement Mark Yates took the job until the roles were abolished in 2015. After those cuts, the State Director role within each state fell to the Local Radio manager. Sarah Knight departed the Local Radio manager role a year ago and was replaced by Danielle Bender.
Hugh Marks’ email to WA staff said:
We have established this role to lead the ABC’s presence in WA, driving engagement with stakeholders and the community, representing the ABC’s views and interests and providing support and advice to local teams.
Currently chief advisor to the Governor of WA in the role of Official Secretary/CEO at Government House, Howard brings four decades of experience in media, communications, government and executive management.
He previously worked as Director, Media and Corporate Communications in the WA Police Force, where he also held the role of State Emergency Public Information Coordinator.
Prior to that he was Deputy Director and then Director of News at Seven Network Perth from 2000 until 2018. His career in journalism began when he joined the ABC as a cadet reporter in 1981.
Perth was the only metro state to see improvement for the ABC in the recent GfK Radio 360 Survey 2, but from a low base. The only daypart that decreased was Gary Adshead on Drive who left 6PR for the national broadcaster in October 2024.
Gretton is likely to be tasked with the role of rebuilding connection with local listeners after ratings slumped to just 4.2% for all audiences 10+ in the last survey of 2024. His communications and executive experience and a long professional relationship with ABC Board member Mario D’Orazio, who was also a previous Managing Director of the Perth Seven Network, should assist the transition.
ABC Radio Perth currently broadcasts on 720 AM, but is preparing for a switch to FM, perhaps waiting until the results of the last weekend’s Federal Election and then the appointment of the new state manager.
Howard Gretton commences his new role on July 1.