UK newspaper outsources subbing to Sydney

Tim Burrowes

January 10, 2009 3:30

One of the UK’s best-known newspapers is now having several of its sections copy edited and laid out in Australia. The Telegraph Media Group has given the business to AAP’s Pagemasters production house, based in Rhodes.

Raw copy is sent from London to Sydney, while Pagemasters sends back finished pages.

The Daily Telegraph is the UK’s last broadsheet daily national paper, other than the Financial Times. The group – previously controlled by ex-Fairfax owner Conrad Black – is now in the hands of the Barclay Brothers. The newspapers have moved into a purpose built multimedia hub, but also seen significant cost-cutting.

The move potentially makes good economic and practical sense for the Telegraph’s owners – pages can be worked on overnight London time without having to pay overtime. Journalists in Australia also tend to earn lower salaries – because of the weak dollar, currently about half to two-thirds of the UK.

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Tim Burrowes

Tim Burrowes is the publisher of Mumbrella and Unmade. He co-founded Mumbrella in 2008 and sister title Unmade in 2021. He's worked in the UK, Middle East, Asia & Australia and has specialised in writing about the communications world for the last 25 years. He wrote the book Media Unmade, published in 2021, and became the presenter of MediaLand on ABC Radio National in 2025.