Axe for Lateline

ABC boss Michelle Guthrie has taken the axe to the public broadcaster’s news division, dumping the long-running

Lateline and approving sweeping changes to the work of its biggest paid stars.

Stan Grant, hailed as the channel’s first indigenous affairs editor when poached from Sky News last year, has been moved to a new role as chief Asia correspondent as well as host of a new nightly news discussion show on the ABC News channel.

Lateline host Emma Alberici has been repositioned as chief economics correspondent, while a special unit of 10 reporters around the country will produce investigative stories for 7.30, Four Corners and online platforms.

ABC news director Gaven Morris described The Link, Grant’s current affairs show given little profile and also axed in the latest changes, as “a bold experiment that has done wonderful, creative work,” adding “this proposal is no reflection on the excellent work of the program teams ... but with audience habits changing, we can deploy these resources more effectively.”

Consultation on the proposed changes is under way with staff and unions, already resistant to Guthrie’s move to tighten spending.

A half-hour late edition national news bulletin at 10.30pm will replace Lateline on the ABC’s main channel.

John Lyons, the ABC’s new head of investigative and indepth journalism said in a statement: “The establishment of the largest investigative daily (TV) news team reflects the ABC’s growing commitment to journalism for television, radio and digital audiences.”

The broadcaster’s funding has been a thorn in the side of the Turnbull Government, after One Nation threatened to vote against key budget measures unless the ABC’s funding was slashed.

Recent media law reform saw One Nation give its support for the bill on the condition the ABC committed to “fair and balanced” news coverage.