ABC: The ABC has appointed the head of its Asia Pacific News service, Kate Torney, as the new director of the news division.

Ms Torney is the first woman to take on the role.

ABC managing director Mark Scott has also announced that Kate Dundas has been appointed the new director of radio.

Ms Torney takes over the director of news position from John Cameron and Ms Dundas slots into the position vacated by Sue Howard; Ms Dundas has been acting in the position in recent months.

Mr Scott says both have extensive experience in news and radio and a deep understanding of the ABC and will make them great contributions to the ABC leadership team.

"Kate Torney's experience managing the largest cross-platform international newsroom in the Asia Pacific region, responsible for over 60 journalists, together with her strong background in current affairs as the executive producer of Insiders and Offsiders, made her the ideal candidate to extend the opportunities offered by digital media into our ABC newsrooms," Mr Scott said.

Ms Torney says it is a great honour to be taking up the role.

"This is a time of change and opportunity for ABC News and it is also a time to focus on what sets us apart from our competitors. A commitment to journalistic excellence and independent reporting and analysis of local, national and international news must remain our priority as we explore new ways to deliver our content," she said.

She praised John Cameron for his efforts and says she is proud to be following in his footsteps.

"I look forward to continuing to work closely with the news executive team of John Turner, Craig McMurtrie, Alan Sunderland, Zahed Cachalia, Steven Alward and Lou Lander."

Mr Scott says Ms Dundas is an ideal choice for director of radio.

"She brings a depth of experience in the area of strategic reform and a solid knowledge of content creation and editorial policies in her previous role working with the ABC's national radio networks, making her an outstanding candidate for this position.

"The ABC is currently in a strong position and we want to maintain that leadership in digital media, capitalising on our strengths in the key content areas of news and radio - the work of the directors of news and radio will be integral in this endeavour."

Ms Torney will begin her role as the director of news on April 14 and Ms Dundas will begin her role as director of radio immediately.