From Mumbrella:
Fairfax has made a number of redundancies in its marketing department, with marketing director Chelsea Wymer, who is understood to have taken voluntary redundancy.
The publisher is understood to be making yet another round of cuts as it looks to offset declines in revenues from its ailing print products, with at least three departing from its marketing function.
Yesterday Crikey reported on a strategy called Project Sunrise aimed at giving print focussed journalists more digital training, although the website also said there were concerns it had led to an increase in clickbait headlines on the Fairfax sites.
Crikey reported: “Fairfax’s commitment to this new strategy is such that it is offering those who do not want to get with the program a way out. At the end of the training, journalists are given one-on-one interviews with management about their skills and attitudes towards the new strategy. Those who are uncomfortable, unhappy or unequipped for the new strategy will be given the option of looking at retrenchment options. Of course, an offer to discuss options is no guarantee of a redundancy payout — Fairfax management has the final say on that.”
Coupled with the rise of Domain as a profit growth center, it gives you some idea of why the once great publisher has become the real estate pushing Dumbfax including:
- the endless worship of “confidence” economics;
- a clear bias towards feel good trivia and always seeking the ‘glass half full’ angle;
- click bait headlines;
- partial analysis favouring specific firms over markets, and
- a torrent of Domain-led spruiking.
All to keep you stupid, bubble-loving and levered to its advertisers.
