Fairfax Media to slash jobs as it restructures editorial across metro division
Fairfax Media is set to slash more journalist jobs across its Australian Metro Publishing newsrooms with the publisher proposing major structural editorial changes which will help it achieve $30m in annual savings.
Announced to the ASX this morning, Fairfax Media is asserting the major structural editorial changes are required to secure the futures of its metropolitan mastheads which include The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age.
Chris Janz, Fairfax Media managing director of Australian Metro Publishing, said in a statement: “With the proposed changes to The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, Brisbane Times and WA Today newsrooms announced today, we will have completed the major structural editorial changes required to secure our metropolitan mastheads.
Chris Janz: Changes ‘will prepare us for a stronger future’
“The primary focus of Fairfax Media over recent years has been to lay the groundwork for the creation of a sustainable publishing model. We are now within reach of that goal.
“Including non-staff costs the proposal is expected to deliver approximately $30m in annualised savings with the majority of these savings expected in the 2018 financial year.
“The changes announced today will prepare us for a stronger future, with a business focused on growth and innovation, and an unwavering commitment to quality, independent journalism.
“Our publications will be genuine digital businesses with the capabilities and cost base to best operate in the current media environment. We will be introducing an innovative mix of new products to deliver our audience focused, quality journalism and maximise our revenue opportunities. We will continue to print for many years, so long as our newspapers have an audience and advertisers.”
Mumbrella understands the staff consultation process will be concluded by the end of the month.
MEAA’s director of its Media section (representing journalists) Katelin McInerney said: “Fairfax journalists have delivered in spades for the company: more readers than ever and record digital subscription numbers. The announcement from the company today leaves more questions than answers. We are looking for a genuine consultation that draws on the expertise of the editorial floor and ensures any restructure enhances Fairfax core strength – its journalism.”
The restructure is the first move by Janz since he was appointed MD of the metro publishing division in February.
It follows on from 100 job cuts a year ago.
In February the publishing company re-committed to the future of the Monday to Friday print editions of The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age with CEO Greg Hywood stating its the “best commercial outcome for shareholders”.
Speculation over the past week has suggest Fairfax Media has been readying for a private equity bid.
Miranda Ward worked for Mumbrella from 2013 to 2017, eventually becoming deputy editor. Miranda joined Mumbrella in September 2013 from Sky News.
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I know it’s easy to bash management, but this feels a lot like the banking industry in the 90s when the banks slashed and burned frontline staff every time they needed to improve the bottom line and didn’t touch the executive floor.
They don’t seem to be addressing management bloat at all, and are cutting jobs at the coalface and in important areas like journos and sub-editing (I challenge you to find any issue of the SMH without a typo or literal in the last 3 years). This will only continue the erosion of the quality of the product, which is ultimately what they are judged on
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They could always try new and exciting ways to do the job, working and improving with many of the people they already have on hand.
Big cuts could be made to the very high end salaries, and a few heads lopped at the top……….lol no I am only joking, cut ruthlessly in the lower ranks, and lower standards, that’s the way to go, who knows, they may save so much, that they will be able to up the salaries at the top end.
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Matt B, I agree with you, I’ve worked for FF and in my inside info, they are cutting quality editors, or putting more pressure on the good ones to produce the additional content, to which those editors get exhausted and quit. Meanwhile, the upper echelon get fatter pay-cheques, the quality declines and the competitor smiles.
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$30m (more) in cuts? On top of the tens of millions of $ and hundreds of (mainly) editorial jobs they have already cut over last 5 years? Who will actually be left to produce all of this quality journalism? How can you have an “unwavering commitment to quality , independent journalism” when you cut to the bone – and beyond – the people needed to produce that journalism? Janz’s background is in running low cost (and low revenue), thinly resourced digital businesses (HuffPo, Allure etc) so seems apparent that’s what he’s been bought in to do at Fairfax. Can’t wait to see all of these new innovative products that will deliver loads of new revenue. Let’s hope they’re a lot better and more successful than Huffpo, Allure etc
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Who actually reads the newspaper? News Corp retrenched multiple people back in November. Now their agency 5 months later is feeling the effect and have started to cull staff. Sad but expected.
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The numbers tell the whole story and it is this: Fairfax today is solely about making Domain look like a competitor for REA. That’s the “strategy”. At some point, possibly when the “float” of Domain is resolved, it is safe to predict that this “strategy” was spin. But by then the awful decline of Fairfax editorial standards will have totally unhooked its once hugely valuable demographic support. It is sad and Fairfax leadership is a disgrace.
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No mention from News Corp of the 10 people made redundant at the Gold Coast Bulletin last week which followed on from redundancies there last September. Tremors across the Queensland newsrooms.
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Mmmm….I can’t quite put my finger on it, but this is all sounding very familiar for some reason….
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Not even trying to hide it anymore.
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“Growth”, “innovation” “quality journalism” blah, blah blah. Sounds very much like the “jobs and growth”mantra of the Federal Govt that no-one believes anymore. (if they ever did). NO detail on how Fairfax will achieve all of this — other than continually cutting costs, and as everyone knows, no business ever cut their way to success. What is the strategy, other than lower cost base and some vague promises about “innovative” new products and revenue streams? (And how overused/misused is that word “innovation”? Anyone who can set up a lemonade stand or a self-indulgent wordpress blog is labelled an innovator these days. Most big corporates, including Fairfax, wouldn’t know innovation if it fell over it)
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Too little, many years too late.
Talent on the floor will suffer, while incompetent executive management continues to pick up fat paycheques.
If they sacked the entire board and executive team today, and let editors and sales and digital managers run the place for a few months, they’d save the money they need and have a viable business.
But they won’t.
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What hasn’t been mentioned is that there have also been a huge number of redundancies and staff leaving across the product, technology and commercial teams in the past three weeks, with more to come.
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My neighbour who works there feels that turning left has help slash their marketshare?
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Ten at the Gold Coast Bully last week and the Courier-Mail face redundancies this week … 20-30 per cent of photographic staff and an unknown number of sub-editors. Meanwhile bloated middle-management survive again.
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Aha the plot is revealed: Let’s get rid of all those pesky journos so there’s only us bosses left in the shrinking, sinking ship.
Fairfax seems determined to drive SMH and Age down to the level of a suburban giveaway. Just a few politics, courts and finance stories won’t satisfy anyone in print or digital. It is the range of writing that sets a brand’s reputation and engages the consumer. Take away everything that observes the culture and character of the community and what’s left is a pale shadow of life.
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Since when has this anything to do with just newspapers… keep up. Editorial publish to mostly a digital audience.
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Gold Coast Bulletin once held a unique media position as both a daily newspaper and a unique ‘local’ paper for a huge incoming tourist readership. The leisure nature of tourists resulted in daily purchase as news agents still report. Excellent response for national and local advertisers, with outstanding figures. Yes, so makes sense to ignore data and chop up an excellent and unique medium.
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Err Peter – they have always been left.
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Why would you pay for a digital subscription to SMH when it is only about identity politics and opinion, a noticeable amount coming from overseas ? There is no journalism left.
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Someone really ought to ask Greg Hywood if there’s a conspiracy to eventually dissolve 200 jobs, and, whether he realises that we’re onto his approach of cutting ten here and there thinking no one will notice. For the middle managers spending much of their day on Facebook, your numbers might just come up sooner than you ever thought!
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So the new editorial “strategy” is fewer staff Journos, more contributors, more syndicated copy, fewer subject areas and more popular (read populist) content. Sounds like this is straight out of the playbook of those high-priced consultants that have been strolling the corridors of Fairfax for years. Also a direct replica of the low-cost model used at Huffington Post and Allure where Janz is from.
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No the SMH hasn’t always been Left. It was quite centrist until a couple of years ago before emulating The Age. But i agree with the ‘neighbour’ – the marketing strategy was doomed. The more the SMH and Age read like Green Left Weekly, the more readers it lost. You see, the seething mass of suburban voters in our beautiful democracy are sick and tired of being told what to do and how to think by urban media and political elites – the kind who like to influence public policy, but never have to live with its consequences.
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