Fairfax pulls down job ad for ‘sales rep & journalist’ position saying it was posted in error
Fairfax Media has withdrawn a job ad for a “sales representative & journalist” in its local paper division claiming it was posted as a “combined role” mistakenly.
Overnight the publisher, which has the company motto ‘independent always’, drew criticism online for the advertisement with its Australian Community Media division which appeared to cross the division between editorial and sales.
After Mumbrella contacted Fairfax the job ad was quickly taken down with a Fairfax spokesperson saying: “This position at a small weekly paper in regional NSW has been mistakenly advertised as a combined role.
“It should have been two part-time roles, one for sales, another for editorial. It is not our intention to have one person performing both functions.”
Fairfax’s local newspaper division is shedding some 80 full-time equivalent positions across Victoria in a move that would see reporters file, edit and subedit their own work across the publisher’s regional Victoria newsrooms, under the NewsNow system.
CEO of the journalist’s union the Media Entertainment and Arts Alliance (MEAA) Paul Murphy said they were concerned about Fairfax blurring the ‘church/state’ divide between advertising and editorial.
“Blurring the lines between advertising and editorial is a concern at Fairfax and one that has been raised repeatedly with the company, most recently in the context of NewsNow being implemented across the regions,” said Murphy.
“We have grave concerns about the path the company is taking with its NewsNow roll-out. The response from the company to date has not been satisfactory, which is why we’re seeking the assistance of the Fair Work Commission in a hearing scheduled for tomorrow.”
The ad drew attention on social media with Stephen Murray tweeting “Fairfax not making a distinction between church and state (sales and editorial) in regional press”.
Nic Christensen
The job ad posted by Fairfax Media:
at least they’re being honest about it – every newsroom journo has faced this test.
the good ones are never allowed to write a real estate yarn again.
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The explanation beggars belief. A functional publisher would not publish a job ad until it has clearance at least from finance, HR and the line manager over the role and its description.
I did say “functional,” though.
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That ad’s quite an elaborately written “mistake”.
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if it really is a “mistake” and was meant to be two ads, two roles then someone has gone to a lot of effort to blend both job ads and roles together …..methinks the only “mistake” was that they got busted.
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Of course it’s a real ad. The question is: how did anyone think that thought????
There is clearly some seriously fucked up thinking going on in that place. Aside from the hypocrisy, it’s simply not a job any sane person could do. In fact I can’t wait for Hywood’s next AGM speech on how Fairfax is built upon the integrity and reliability of its famous editorial values. FFS!
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Fact is, if Fairfax had taken this approach ten years ago, the company wouldn’t be as fucked as it is now. What are we calling it these days? Content Marketing or some such bollocks.
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I think this is a great ad – sales people get to learn about content, and content types get to know what it means to pay for their wages….Hopefully a sign of the times, sales people always get the raw deal in the content world….
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Busted.
As stated by other posters, nothing like this gets placed unless approved up and down the corporate reporting line.
Lying toads.
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This could not possibly be a mistake – “the sales/rep/journalist will display the highest of ethical standards…” This sentence would not have been necessary if the dangers of merging the two positions were not so bloody obvious. It is deliberate. A high ethical standard is inherent in any journos job.
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Long-time readers of the Age will recall ICPOTA. These pages often carried what we would call content marketing or sponsored content, often written by freelancers (including Age staffers under pseudonyms). This is going back decades. For those who would like a troop down memory lane: http://www.alexanderstitt.com/.....cs-03.html
http://www.theage.com.au/ftima.....87875.html
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The day us journalists have to sell ads in order to write our feature articles will the day I will stop being an international news correspondent.
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A commercially minded journo, who is one of the ‘good guys’ (honest, integral, transparent and balanced), is very hard to come by. These rarities are few and far between. Back in the day these people would make great publishers. They understood the delicate balance between editorial and revenue streams and put the audience first.
Now, if you found the above person, however they were over heavily commercially focused or too editorially focused the business would suffer. It is about the fine line and knowing your audience.
There are a few people out there who can sell and can pen. They were / are worth their weight in gold.
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@Nate: ICPOTA was a classifieds promo. And in those days the editorial copy on real estate was written by people whose careers were over.
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It’s like any trade publication. When will publishers realise that people read when the content is relevant and beneficial to the reader, not the advertiser?
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It was deliberate and they were busted. Either that, or they are incompetent employers and don’t know how to write job advertisements. I suppose they only want to employ females too. that what some community papers do in NZ, a total breach of the Human Rights Act. .
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Katrina, surely this is misguided – trade journals are for busy people with real jobs and they flick a publication whilst having a coffee ….A full page ad showing the latest and greatest tool/machine/ ect is as important to them as any rehashed press release…Top content would be job’s, people moves, competitors, and as equal a bloody good double page spread about the latest tool/machine…
When will content writers ever get the picture, it’s not the Wall Street Journal – it’s a trade rag…
No Ad’s, no audience and no publication…. Content is secondary ….Use Google for that
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The copy was way too ‘busy.’ Which means management wrote it.
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