Josie Mason-Campbell.
Josie Mason-Campbell is departing the ABC after three years as head of entertainment and factual amid a management restructure of the content divisions.
Responsibility for entertainment and factual, the genres which are bearing the brunt of the $5 million a year reduction in local commissioning, is being split as part of the measures announced today by ABC MD David Anderson.
The specialist division is being renamed factual and education headed by Aidan Laverty, currently head of specialist.
The drama, comedy and Indigenous unit headed by Sally Riley becomes drama, entertainment and Indigenous, uniting the comedy and entertainment teams.
Michael Carrington, director entertainment and specialist, told IF: “Josie has led our entertainment and factual team to great acclaim across award-winning and outstanding programs.
“In recent months, she has also been acting head of distribution, guiding our programming and scheduling across multiple channels to bring high-quality content to audiences when and how they want it.
“Her dedication and drive have delivered diverse and distinctive Australian content to people right across the country and we remain committed to the programs across her slate. The ABC is a better place thanks to her hard work and unfailing enthusiasm for local talent and creativity. We wish her the very best.”
Mason-Campbell said: “I have been privileged to work with the ABC and to lead a ridiculously talented and creatively brave factual and entertainment team and more recently, the programming team.
“Over the past three and a bit years, I have been proud to deliver a slate of factual shows to the Australian public including Old People’s Home for Four Year Olds, Mojo with Russel Howcroft, Back in Time for Dinner, Chasing the Dragon with Ben Law, Revelation with Sarah Ferguson, Australia’s Ocean Odyssey and Miriam Margoyles: Almost Australian, as well as the upcoming Shaun Micallef’s On the Sauce, Fight for Planet A, Big Weather and Back to Nature with Aaron Pedersen.”
The exec also touted the entertainment slate including stalwarts Mad As Hell, The Weekly, Gruen, Julia Zemiro’s Home Delivery, Spicks and Specks and Sammy J and new commissions such as At Home Alone Together and Reputation Rehab.
“I’m a passionate supporter of public broadcasting and its place in the national conversation. I wish Aunty all the best as she deals with a reduced budget in uncertain times,” she concluded.
Prior to the ABC, she served for four years as head of production and development at Foxtel, where she oversaw the non-scripted slate including Gogglebox, The Great Australian Bake Off and Coast Australia as well as original productions The Pacific with Sam Neill, Local Justice, The Archibald and Lawless.
She also supervised lifestyle factual series including Grand Designs Australia, Village Vets, River Cottage Australia and Selling Houses Australia.