diff --git a/redbot/cogs/admin/admin.py b/redbot/cogs/admin/admin.py
index 3be869424..66be22796 100644
--- a/redbot/cogs/admin/admin.py
+++ b/redbot/cogs/admin/admin.py
@@ -265,7 +265,7 @@ class Admin:
         """
         if channel is None:
             channel = ctx.channel
-        await self.conf.guild(ctx.guild).set("announce_channel", channel.id)
+        await self.conf.guild(ctx.guild).announce_channel.set(channel.id)
 
         await ctx.send("The announcement channel has been set to {}".format(
             channel.mention
diff --git a/redbot/cogs/admin/announcer.py b/redbot/cogs/admin/announcer.py
index 377ddb222..93ba95340 100644
--- a/redbot/cogs/admin/announcer.py
+++ b/redbot/cogs/admin/announcer.py
@@ -43,7 +43,10 @@ class Announcer:
             channel = guild.get_channel(channel_id)
 
         if channel is None:
-            channel = guild.default_channel
+            channel = guild.system_channel
+
+        if channel is None:
+            channel = guild.text_channels[0]
 
         return channel