In a move similar to one made by its Australian counterpart, Fairfax New Zealand has announced the potential for staff changes due to a growing interest in its digital presence.
Fairfax Media’s group executive editor Sinead Boucher told media that the company will be introducing modern newsroom practices and editorial product innovations to cater to digital audiences. To do this, there will be several staff changes enforced, particularly in regional areas.
While these remain unclear at present, Fairfax has insinuated that it will de-establish seven editors’ jobs and introduce 12 new senior opportunities.
A series of changes have already been unveiled in previous months as a result of this digital focus. The company has updated its content management system, run digital campaigns, purchased a stake in Neighbourly and Pricemaker, and trained staff on how to incorporate their smartphones to broadcast.
Fairfax has already made the change on Australian soil, with the business confirming 80 redundancies for full-time staff across Victoria. The company commented to mUmBRELLA at the time that the staff changes were essential for “adopting more efficient ways of working, new systems, digital-first editorial production practices, and a vastly better local sales approach".
