Jack Matthews to head Fairfax Media’s metro operation
Fairfax Digital boss Jack Matthews has emerged a winner from the company’s restructure, appointed as head of the company’s metro division with the brief of uniting the front and online operations of the Sydney Morning Herald and The Age.
His appointment was revealed in today’s SMH.
The paper quotes Fairfax Media’s new CEO Greg Hywood as saying:
‘”Jack has been a driving force within Fairfax Media and Fairfax Digital,” said Mr Hywood. ”We looked across the world and the home market and decided we had the right person for the job already here.”
It is the second time in recent weeks that Fairfax has combed the world before deciding it had the right man on the spot. Hywood spent a lengthy time as interim chief executive before the Fairfax Media board made his role permanent.
Matthews is seen as a charismatic leader, however questions were raised over whether he had sufficient newspaper experience for the role as he comes from a mainly digital and TV background. But in Hywood, the company has a CEO whose experience has been almost entirely in the company’s print products, meaning Fairfax can argue that the two have complementary experience.
Fairfax is due to announce its half yearly earnings later today.
The Fairfax Media restructure was announced three months ago by former CEO Brian McCarthy.
The new divisions were announced as:
- Metropolitan media, including both print and online editions of the SMH and The Age and a national sales team
- Australian regional publishing
- Financial Review Group
- Fairfax Radio Network
- New Zealand media
- Agricultural publishing
- Printing
- Digital transactions
- Trade M
The metropolitan media division is seen as the most important one within the group, arguably making Matthews de facto deputy CEO. It was also unlikely any other role would ahve been big enough for him.
Tim Burrowes founded Mumbrella in 2008. He worked on Mumbrella until 2021. At various points he was editor, content director and editor-at-large.
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Smart move….would have never happened under McCarthy. Hywood has got his head screwed on
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The digital results reported continue to be too good to pass up JM on this role. It would have been odd after numerous consecutive qtrs of growth led by digital and transactions to have not given him the media gig.
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Matthews is regarded by some within Fairfax as anti-print, the suspicion being he’d love to do away with paper completely and make Fairfax a digital-only operation.
It’ll be interesting to see how he goes about integrating the two divisions — whether he values the sort of journalism produced by the print journos or thinks Fairfax should move towards down-market, click-driven/populist “journalism”.
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Very good staff in digital
average leader
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Where does regional media fall in the restructure? Agri publishing??
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What happens to Don Churchill?
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Congrats to Jack! His experience in digital will help the metro brands navigate the evolution to digital and new platforms. Good choice.
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The Salad approves!
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Watch out print, FD is run on the smell of an oily rag it’s about time print is as well!
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It is almost impossible to read the Age without wincing. I’d suggest Matthews and Hywood hire themselves a proper editor and
1) re-position the paper to appeal to “middle Melbourne”, not just inner city pseuds
2) continue the Saturday revamp by featuring better writers. The new Saturday edition looks good, but is the same old names and the same old boring content.
3) Hire some adults to staff the back bench — adults who are prepared to throw sloppy copy back at reporters and tell them to fix the holes and errors
4) Improve the subbing. There are at least three howlers per day in the Age. How can it be taken seriously when it thinks people “steal” themselves for ordeals?
5) Lift the ban on journos now writing for Catalano’s weekly. Any freelancer who does any work for The Cat is immediately shown the door at the Age; much talent is wasted, but the paper suffers more.
Possible editors:
1/ Poach Garry Linnell from the Sydney Telegraph. He started at fairfax, editted the Sunday and Sport section, knows Melbourne backwards and is fine writer who understands good writing and reporting.
2/ Bruce Guthrie, who made the Herald Sun an interesting paper before getting himself sacked for annoying Murdoch family friends.
3/ Put Gaye Alcorn in charge. The Sunday is a better rag than the daily and she has a record of increasing circulation.
What not to do:
1) Promote to editor anyone already working at the Age. The culture is poisonous, the talent pool shallow. They need a new broom and they need it quick.
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