ABC managing director Hugh Marks has denied threatening or pushing out the national broadcaster's news director, as it prepares to announce its new hire.
Simon Robinson, the London-based executive editor at global newswire Reuters, will reportedly be imminently appointed to the chief editorial role.
He would replace Justin Stevens, a 20-year veteran of the ABC, who resigned as news director on Wednesday for "reasons both professional and personal".
Mr Marks appeared before senate estimates on Thursday, where Liberal communications spokeswoman Sarah Henderson said it "very much looks like he was pushed ... and was on the chopping block" for recent controversies.
In a tense hearing, where Mr Marks faced questioning over allegations of ABC bias, another recent firing and a gamut of other issues, Senator Henderson put it to the managing director that he threatened to terminate Mr Stevens' role.
