News & Events

Fairfax cuts editor and staff at papers

Date posted:

27th August 2008

Newspaper owner culls editor among hundreds of cost saving measures

Media owner Fairfax has announced it will be cutting 550 editorial jobs in Australia and New Zealand, in a move that mirrors developments in the UK.

Crucially, it will be newspapers under the company's wing that will bear a significant amount of the job losses, and they are not restricted simply to lower staff but also reach Melbourne Age editor Andrew Jaspan, formerly an editor at the Observer and Scotsman.

Much like some moves in the UK which have attracted derision, the culls across the equator have been the subject of fierce criticism.

A Guardian report quoted a motion passed by staff in Sydney stating that they had "lost confidence in the Fairfax board and its ability to manage the company through these challenging financial times when its only strategy is to cut editorial staff again and again".

Such job cuts in the UK have been the result of a downturn in marketing revenue, although marketing recruitment has so far been protected.

With a heavy focus on outsourcing many aspects of the newspaper's production however, Fairfax's new and more zealous approach to staffing may well mean that UK owners such as the Telegraph Media Group also begin to take on a more blood thirsty initiative.

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