ABC hires Reuters executive Simon Robinson to lead news division

The Australian Broadcasting Corporation has turned to Reuters executive Simon Robinson to lead its news division, a move that signals how seriously the public broadcaster is taking trust, newsroom discipline and the next phase of digital competition. ABC said Robinson will start as director of news and current affairs in September 2026, replacing Justin Stevens after his resignation and making him the first external hire to fill the role in decades.

Hugh Marks, the ABC managing director, said internal applicants were considered, but the broadcaster chose "a globally experienced executive" after an external hiring process. Marks also cast the change as a chance to "refresh and rejuvenate", a telling phrase for a newsroom that has spent years balancing impartiality pressure, audience fragmentation and the demands of a fast-moving digital news cycle. Donna Field, head of Regional, Rural and Metro News, will serve as acting news director until Robinson arrives.

Robinson brings a career built on international reporting and wire-service standards. He is currently Reuters executive editor, a post he took in October 2022 after serving as global managing editor and overseeing investigations and enterprise reporting across Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism says he has reported from more than 50 countries and helped steer award-winning coverage of Iran, Russia, corporate taxation, Greek banks and migration. Before Reuters, he spent 15 years at Time magazine, and he began his career at Who Weekly in Sydney. Robinson, who is based in London, said the appointment brings him "home" to Australia.

The appointment also closes a difficult chapter for Justin Stevens, who resigned after four years as news director. Stevens said he was leaving for "reasons both professional and personal" after what he described as "incredibly tough but immensely rewarding" years. ABC said his tenure included the broadcaster’s first election debate in more than two decades, the launch of ABC Your Say, ABC News Verify and ABC News Loop, the return of Stateline and a review of international coverage that led to a new correspondent in China.

The timing adds to the significance. ABC executives were appearing before Senate Estimates in Canberra on May 28, 2026, as the broadcaster faced fresh scrutiny over editorial bias and internal pressures. For a public-service newsroom under that kind of spotlight, hiring a Reuters veteran is more than a personnel change. It is a statement that institutional reporting rigor, digital reach and editorial credibility still sit at the center of ABC’s strategy.