The ABC has written to Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton asking for any police action into two of the broadcaster's journalists to be dropped, but Minister Dutton has rejected the ABC's request, saying "nobody is above the law."

ABC managing director David Anderson (pictured) told staff in an email that the national broadcaster preferrs "to break news rather than be the news."

Judith Whelan has been confirmed as Director of ABC Regional & Local, replacing Michael Mason.

She has been acting in the role since Mason retired last November.

ABC Managing Director David Anderson says Whelan’s considerable experience in senior media roles at the Sydney Morning Herald and more recently managing television, radio and digital content at the ABC, has made her the perfect choice for the role. 

Retired Gold Coast journalist Ross Thompson has revived his 40-year search for a copy of his radio call of the first State of Origin match at Brisbane’s Lang Park in 1980.
 
Thompson was the lone commercial radio caller to broadcast the match through Tweed station 2MW after all metropolitan stations in Sydney, Brisbane and country areas decided the match would be little more than an exhibition game or a picnic outing for NSW.
 

2018 recipient of the AFTRS/ABC Selwyn Speight scholarship, Pariya Taherzadeh, has produced a feature for the ABC’s History Listen called Escape from Iran.
 
She was awarded the scholarship which is made available through a bequest from the late, distinguished ABC journalist Selwyn Speight.

Speaking at a pre-election event yesterday in Melbourne, jointly organised by ABC Alumni and ABC Friends, ALP leader Bill Shorten said, “The Liberals have to learn, ‘Hands off the ABC’.”

David Anderson has been confirmed as the ABC's new Managing Director.

Veteran reporter Sean Dorney has given his name to a $10,000 journalism grant, to be awarded annually by the Walkley Foundation commencing in 2019.
 
The Sean Dorney Grant for Pacific Journalism will support a significant work of Australian journalism about an under-reported issue or development in the region.