Sport, local government and business go DIY in wake of journalist job losses
Following Fairfax Media’s announcement of forthcoming editorial job cuts, Stuart Howie looks at how brands can create their own newsrooms and what they need to consider when doing so.
With another round of editorial job losses imminent at Fairfax Media in Australia, the continuing contraction in the industry supports the argument that if you want to get your message out, you might need to go DIY.
An increasing number of corporate and community organisations are setting up newsrooms to fill the void left by retreating traditional media – or to compete with what is left.
Fairfax has announced $30 million in cost cutting for FY18. Most of that is likely to come from axing staff in the newsrooms of The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age. This is my journo maths, but at the upper limit that represents about 200 staff, although expect it to be between 100 and 150 after some argy-bargy.
Many councils are unbelievably dysfunctional and corrupt. It will be a scary day when they control the news agenda.