Unlike the other candidates, Tingle didn’t request an endorsement from the media union and told colleagues she could not be independent if she was backed by the Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance.

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“There are clear obligations for directors of any board to be independent and while I would obviously listen to all staff concerns, I feel it would be detrimental to simply be perceived as representing the interests of one sector of our workforce,” Tingle said in a note to staff last month.

The ballot for the staff-elected board position included Ziffer, Compass host Indira Naidoo, The Drum co-host Dan Bourchier, Middle East correspondent Tom Joyner and head of Indigenous, Diversity & Inclusion Kelly Williams.

Ziffer beat Tingle on first preference votes, attracting 615 votes to Tingle’s 568, but the 7:30 mainstay and former political editor of The Australian Financial Review won the position by 30 final preference votes.

Tingle and the ABC declined to comment on the news on Friday.

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