Canberra Times goes compact; Fairfax Media to cut 12 full-time editorial positions across ACT

Fairfax Media is set to restructure The Canberra Times, moving the print paper to a compact format and ditching the broadsheet style, as well as cutting 12 full-time editorial positions across the ACT.

The redesigned compact weekday, Saturday and Sunday Canberra Tunes will be introduced in the second half of 2016 and will be the same size as the Australian Financial Review, The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age. Fairfax Media ditched the broadsheet format for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age in early 2013.

The changes were announced to staff today, with a proposal to call for voluntary redundancies of about 12 full-time equivalent positions, mostly from editorial. Fairfax’s Federal Parliamentary bureau in Canberra is not affected.

The job cuts follow on from Fairfax Media announcing its plans to cut 120-full time jobs from its Sydney and Melbourne newsrooms earlier this month. The proposed job cuts at The Canberra Times is separate as the masthead is part of Canberra Times Australian Community Media (ACM) division.