Fairfax implements new style writing courses and looks at hot-desking
Fairfax editorial editor Garry Linnell.
Staff at Fairfax Media’s broadsheet newspapers are to be given “refresher” writing courses ahead of a transition to a new newspaper format.
Mumbrella has learned that as part of the transition all reporters are being giving training in how to write with a “shorter, even more energetic style of writing”.
While some staff have expressed concern about the classes, which are being conducted by respected senior sub-editor at The Age Bruce Johnson, Fairfax editorial director Garry Linnell has defended the move.
The Financial Review is hotdesking, if it hasn’t already started then it’s starting soon, as AFR journos have already been briefed on this.
As to the style courses, well why not? You’re going to a smaller format, hence less page-space for articles, and that impacts everything from news items to features to double-page spreads. The Courier-Mail journos all noticed this when they moved form broadsheet to tabloid years back, it makes sense for Fairfax to ensure SMH and Age journos are prepared for this and write accordingly. Besides which, it never hurts to have a refresher course, especially for some that’ve been there for too long and are too used to churning out self-indulgent prosaic screeds rather than sharp, tightly-penned and constructed pieces.
It’s worth noting that the shorter, punchier style also works best in online/figital formats.
Their skills are fine, it’s their angles they gotta work on
.
Less editorialising in the leads would be a good start – and drop the personal bias.
Report in as ‘punchy’ a style as possible, but leave your agendas at home.
Why not indeed. Training is always beneficial and writing fr digital is definitely different than writing for print.
Hot-desking eh? Struth, next thing you know they will allow their journo’s to work from home… 😉
“The goal is a shorter, even more energetic style of writing …”
No.
“The goal is a shorter, more energetic style of writing …”
You don’t need the “even.”
Then again, they should have gone with “the goal is snappier writing”
Just sayin’
I can see how writing courses may be useful when this sort of drivel is served up daily: http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/kill.....2dobg.html
“Inspector Nuttall said police had not yet received the results of those tests, but the accident appeared to be a terrible accident.”
Linnell needs a few lessons in basic PR though, he always gets caught repeating the negative
“It’s not a training course in writing for a down-market tablet, as your informant suggests,
i wince every time he plays into the hands of Mumbrella’s anti-trad media stories
‘They’ will NEVER allow their journos, or any other employee, to work from home even though it is manifestly in the company’s interest to save on infrastructure, power bills etc. Australia’s paternalistic/bullying workplace culture cannot conceive of losing that much control. Heaven forbid an employee should stop to go and make a cup of tea without bundying off…
The journalist used to write in a cold distant voice that spoke for the masthead of the press. Today we are seeing a more social “beating heart” style of writing where the journalist becomes storyteller and reveals themselves in their writing. It is all part of the move to personal branding as part of the social revolution. I like to see the older writers train to bring some life experiences to younger more socially minded audience.
Good topic, I blogged about it myself earlier on this week:
http://thoughtleaderscircle.co.....our-brand/
Hot desking has been in Australia for 15 years, no big deal
Newspapers have been running writing course forever. Sharing desks is also hardly novel. Whats the big deal?
My fear is that fairfax management has destroyed the brand online and abandoned the business in print that at least had a chance of paying the bills. Abd what has happened to the Fin? It mimics the oz of all things!
Hopefully the ad market will come back at some point but you would have to say that it will be too late for most of the Fairfax we know.
New style writing courses at Fairfax?
“People can foresee the future only when it coincides with their own wishes, and the most grossly obvious facts can be ignored when they are unwelcome.”
– “Fairfax Operations Manual”, 2013 – oops! – “1984” by George Orwell.
@Jaffabella
Then they are not a flexible employer then, if that is the case. Surely Fairfax must allow employees to work from home? They are a media company, not a bank?
9-5 could be a thing of the past as the lines continue to blur with technology and more and more systems moving into the cloud. Why on earth wouldn’t you allow your staff to work from home if it suited both parties? If the work gets done well, why not?
“EVEN more energetic” – SMH’s current style is a lot of things. Energetic isn’t one of them.
Digital staff at Fairfax are already hotdesking. It’s being slowly rolled out across all floors.
Have Opel just launched over here in Australia? I know that Holden is GM over here and all that, however:
I just watched an Opel advert on SMH, before a video???
Is that a network bodge or is the Opel brand coming to Australia?