It’s been a busy week for Fairfax Media, with rumours of multiple internal changes swarming the publishing house. The company is looking to switch up its production for metro newspapers, as well as welcome a handful of big media names to its newly-formed content studio.
The publishing house has announced it is moving production of metro newspapers back to Pagemasters, with 70 jobs in danger of being shed by the company. The proposal will see sub-editing and layout of papers including Sydney Morning Herald divided between Pagemaster in both Australia and New Zealand. Editorial director Sean Aylmer informed staff in an email, explaining the move is “based on a variable pricing model – a story and page rate – providing us additional flexibility and savings”.
The move to Pagemasters follows the 2014 switch Fairfax Media made to have its production completed in New Zealand to save money - a decision that has come under fire for slipping standards. “Our colleagues in NZ have worked collaboratively with the teams here since 2012 to help produce our newspapers and websites and support the transition of our newsrooms. We are confident that Pagemasters here and in New Zealand will continue to support our quality journalism and newsrooms as they take shape for the future,” reports Aylmer.
But Fairfax’s movements don’t just related to the publishing industry, with the company unveiling its first steps toward a fully fledged in-house content studio. The division - titled MADE - was created to cater to the growing native content space. It has appointed a slew of senior positions as of late including former Sun-Herald editor Kate Cox as editorial director, Mike Thomas as creative director, and David Rogers in the role of commercial director.
MADE managing director Simon Smith says audiences should expect an impressive offering from the publisher’s latest development: “MADE by Fairfax Media has a world-class team to offer advertisers and agencies a range of content solutions, from publishing via owned channels to creating brand messages to engage and entertain the Fairfax audience.”
