Incoming ABC chair Kim Williams says the role is “probably the hardest job in media in Australia”, in his first comments since being named to follow Ita Buttrose.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese named Williams as Buttrose’s replacement at the head of the board of the national broadcaster on Wednesday morning.

He described Williams, a former chief executive at News Ltd and Foxtel, as “a perfect fit for the role, it’s almost as if he was made for it”.

Williams’ appointment comes after Buttrose announced late last year she would not seek a second term as ABC chair.

As well as many years at News and Foxtel, Williams has held executive positions in organisations across the creative industry from the Australian Film Commission to Fox Studios. He is also a prominent administrator of the arts, having chaired the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, the Australian Film Finance Corporation and the Sydney Opera House Trust.

Williams has also dabbled in sports and was a long-time AFL commissioner.

He thanked Albanese and Communications Minister Michelle Rowland for his appointment, which begins in March.

“The role of chair of the ABC is clearly a solemn responsibility,” he told Sydney ABC radio on Wednesday.

“This is certainly a role which is not without burden. They’re burdens that are wholly constructive and necessary in terms of our nation. The ABC is such an important institution.”

But Williams warned the broadcaster should not “bathe in past glories”. Instead it should focus on being “innovative and comprehensive in the 21st century” and inform the national identity.

“I have an uncompromising view that the ABC is the Australian campfire and I’m very firmly wedded to the notion that it needs to reflect on what the charter means in terms of having contemporary relevance,” he said.

But he said much of the ABC’s content was “bland” and criticised it for frequently ignoring the arts.

Asked about the broadcaster’s responsibilities in reporting on the Middle East, Williams reaffirmed his commitment to independence.

“At the core of all journalism at the ABC is the imperative of being absolutely, verifiably independent,” he said.

“Offering at all times true journalistic integrity and to the extent possible in human affairs, having an aspiration to freedom from bias.”

In a later interview with ABC TV, Williams hinted at a cautious start to his five-year term.

“I think it is best that I take extensive soundings with the workforce of the ABC, with my colleagues on the ABC board, and obviously, with the editorial and general leadership group at the ABC before I venture into the various potholes with dealing with responses to current news and current affairs coverage,” he said.

His appointment comes as the ABC endures a PR storm with journalist Antoinette Lattouf launching an unlawful termination lawsuit after her contract was allegedly discontinued over a Human Rights Watch post about Gaza.

Several high-profile journalists from diverse backgrounds, including Stan Grant and Nour Haydar, have also left the ABC in the past 12 months.

Since then, unionised ABC staff members passed a vote of no confidence in managing director David Anderson. The board rejected that motion on Tuesday, with Buttrose releasing a statement saying it had passed its own unanimous motion of confidence in Anderson.

Albanese said he had full confidence in Anderson and Buttrose, as he paid tribute to her.

“She has shown steady leadership for five years as she has maintained a strong defence of the ABC’s independence,” he said.

“She was the right chair for the right time and we wish her well in all her future endeavours.”

On Wednesday, the journalists’ union, the Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance, published an open letter demanding that Williams “immediately move to restore the reputation of the national broadcaster by addressing concerns about the impact of external pressures on editorial decision-making”.

“Public trust in the ABC as an organisation that will always pursue frank and fearless journalism has been damaged, and management under Mr Anderson has not demonstrated it is taking these concerns seriously,” acting MEAA chief Adam Portelli wrote.

“We are optimistic that the incoming chair … will bring a more collaborative approach to dealing with issues of cultural safety and editorial integrity than has been witnessed under Ms Buttrose.

“He must understand that nothing less than the reputation of the ABC is at stake here.”

-with AAP