Via The Australian:
Former Fairfax Media senior executive Glenn Burge has launched an extraordinary attack on the publisher’s strategic direction and chief executive Greg Hywood, saying Mr Hywood has “no plan” for the future of journalism at the company.
Speaking publicly about Fairfax for the first time since leaving the company in 2014, the one-time editor-in-chief of The Australian Financial Review slammed recent comments made by Mr Hywood who said a fresh wave of job cuts was necessary to maintain “high quality journalism.”
“Firstly, I would say it’s ridiculous for Greg Hywood to stand up and say cutting the equivalent of 120 full-time employees is necessary to sustain high quality journalism,” he said. “That’s just laughable. He should be called out for that. It’s completely contradictory.”
“Normally it’s those higher experienced journalists that have other opportunities they could pursue with their lives, which often included going across the road to News Corporation (publisher of The Australian), and obviously the redundancy packages on offer are more significant,” Mr Burge said. “The fact is they’re aiming to take out the more experienced, higher-paid journalists and they’re normally the ones that win the Walkley awards and produce the high quality, investigative journalism that is so important.”
…“I think it’s the last ringing of the bell for Fairfax in terms of being a significant player on the content sides of things.”
There is a plan for Fairfax just not one that involves “journalism”. The plan is obvious in its financials:
In short, Domain generated 41% of Fairfax EBITDA and by the looks of the other divisions roughly 80% of group EBITDA growth as papers and New Zealand media galloped backwwards, while radio and digital lifted a little.
Domainfax is now a fully fledged real estate business with a loss leading propaganda arm attached in its “journalism”. Inquiring minds are a liability in that business.
