SBS has appointed Mandi Wicks as its next Director of News and Current Affairs.
Currently SBS’s Director of Audio and Language Content, she will take on the new role from late September 2020.
Mandi will replace outgoing Director of News and Current Affairs, Jim Carroll, who announced his retirement in March and will work with Mandi to ensure a smooth transition prior to his departure later this year.
With a 30-year career in the media industry, Mandi has extensive experience working in news, editorial and management roles, including a decade at SBS. For the last nine years, she has been leading SBS’s Audio and Language Content division, responsible for delivering trusted and award-winning news and information, along with music channels, to Australia’s diverse communities in 68 languages, across digital platforms, as well as radio and digital television.
Mandi began her career as a journalist before moving into news management roles, working at the Macquarie Radio Network and Southern Cross Austereo. Prior to joining SBS, Mandi was General Manager of DMG Radio Australia (now Nova Entertainment) in Sydney, where she assisted in launching the Nova Network.
During her time at SBS, Mandi has led the transformation of SBS’s audio and language content offering, evolving its language services and delivery platforms to ensure SBS meets the changing needs of Australia’s multicultural society. She has driven the ongoing development of SBS Radio’s digital services, which has seen SBS’s in-language content reaching more Australians than ever before, and has also played an instrumental role in ensuring the unique stories of communities accessed by SBS Radio programs are shared with more Australians across the wider SBS news offering.
Mandi has established strong relationships with communities and engages stakeholders across the sector in delivering SBS’s language services, introducing initiatives such as the SBS Settlement Guide to assist new arrivals into Australia, and most recently, the SBS Multilingual Coronavirus Portal.
SBS Managing Director James Taylor said:
“Mandi is an exceptional leader and innovator, with an unimpeachable commitment to news, broadcasting and to serving Australian communities. Mandi demonstrates an unrelenting dedication to SBS’s purpose in everything she does. Mandi’s leadership of a diverse and complex team of over 300 staff – and their unrivalled connections with communities – is critical to SBS’s unique offering in the Australian media landscape. Her pursuit of excellence, trusted leadership and digital expertise will continue to be invaluable to SBS as we continue to strengthen our commitment to communities.”
On her appointment, Mandi Wicks said:
“It is a great privilege to lead the SBS News and Current Affairs team – a talented and dedicated team that delivers world-class and award-winning journalism, comprehensive and trusted coverage of local and international news and events, and distinctive stories that are inclusive of contemporary Australia. There is no other news provider that understands and reflects Australia like SBS, and I am thrilled to have the opportunity to ensure we continue to play a crucial role in providing diverse perspectives from Australia and around the globe, in service of the SBS Charter.”
On Jim Carroll’s retirement, SBS Managing Director James Taylor added:
“I’d like to once again thank Jim Carroll for his role in cementing SBS as one of Australia’s most trusted media organisations during his time as Director of News and Current Affairs over the last seven years. This position has been amplified in recent months as Australians have turned to SBS for reliable and comprehensive coverage of COVID-19 news and developments, and I’m grateful for Jim’s commitment, staying on with us longer than planned to steer the team through this unprecedented period.”
SBS will commence a recruitment process for the position of Director, Audio and Language Content immediately.
