Job cuts have been front of mind for all media members for the past few years, after a tumultuous series of cuts at most major publishing houses. Bauer New Zealand CEO Paul Dykzeul has revealed his thoughts on the changing mediascape to StopPress.
Dykzeul believes re-evaluation is essential for the company - primarily for it to remain as effective as possible. By having multitalented staff members who can work across a handful of different publications, the corporation can maintain its varied slew of titles, something that Dykzeul argues is important for the integrity of Bauer.
“The truth is that there are titles in the building that don't make anywhere near what the other titles do. It's not cross-funding, but they play a different role in the company. They say something about what we as a company are and what we believe in. … The range of magazines that we do is wide and varied. And we treat them all independently.”
Dykzeul is adamant that it is the mediascape that is changing rather than the corporation, and that Bauer, like many other companies, has fewer resources at its disposal. In response, compromise is inevitable. Dykzeul explains of the shift: “We don't have a lack of resources, but we've got fewer resources. You've got to be clever.”
“There's no doubt that in those halcyon days, we were all pretty bloody inefficient. Everyone had PAs, we were indulged in every way. We weren't running efficient businesses. Media has learned a lot of very painful lessons as a result of having to be a hell of a lot more efficient… I think you can argue that we were a bit lazy and the money just rolled in the door. It doesn't anymore, but that doesn't mean that it's less enjoyable.”
But Dykzeul is firm in his belief that this does not directly result in editorial cuts; rather, he says that now, it is important for editorial staff to juggle multiple publications in the single position. He says: “Certainly in the time that I've been here we've trimmed back," he says. "But the trimming back has not largely been in the editorial team. We've said, ‘okay, you have an editorial assistant on a magazine, why can't an editorial assistant be across two magazines?’ You save one body. 'You've got a fashion editor, why can't we have a travel editor working across a travel hub?’ Those are the kinds of efficiencies that you can bring.”
