Fairfax Media has announced plans to restructure its North Coast operations and revitalise its newspapers and websites with a significant investment in new digital publishing technology and training for journalists and sales staff.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The company is more than halfway through an 18-month overhaul of its Australian Community Media (ACM) division aimed at building a stronger, more sustainable and modern media network of newspapers and websites serving regional, rural and suburban Australia.
Staff on the North Coast and Mid-North Coast were briefed on Thursday about the proposed changes at Bellingen’s Courier-Sun, Nambucca’s Guardian News, The Macleay Argus at Kempsey, the Mid Coast Observer, Port Macquarie News, Port Express, Wauchope Gazette, Camden Haven Courier, Manning River Times at Taree, Manning Great Lakes Extra, Gloucester Advocate, Wingham Chronicle, Great Lakes Advocate at Forster, Hibiscus Happenings, Macleay Valley Happynings and Mid Coast Happenings.
Under the proposal, the group’s total workforce will increase marginally but some roles, including editors, photographers, sub-editors and administration staff, will be affected by a new management structure and new ways of working in sales and editorial.
Consultation with employees is now under way.
Business Manager of ACM’s North Coast operations John Warlters will oversee the restructure, with Group Sales Manager Jason Ellem and Group Managing Editor David Coren leading the sales and editorial teams, respectively.
Mr Warlters said the North Coast operations were “adapting and evolving in response to how audiences are consuming news and information”.
“We are strengthening our business with new ways of working but our journalists and sales teams will continue to serve our communities through our North Coast mastheads,” Mr Warlters said.
Director of ACM John Angilley said the plan was based on a detailed assessment of the needs of the business in order to sustain the important work of Fairfax publications across the region.
See your ad here
“Our mastheads must embrace truly transformational change and better focus resources to ensure they remain the most trusted source of news and information for years to come,” Mr Angilley said.
The proposal includes investing in a new digital-first publishing system, equipping journalists and sales teams with new technology and skills, introducing new ways of working, and refreshing and redesigning the company’s stable of newspapers.
“Our journalists and our sales teams will work with new skills, capabilities and resources so they can continue to do what they do best - create quality journalism and connect advertisers to our audiences,” Mr Angilley said.
“Our NewsNow editorial model involves journalists reporting local news across multi-media as well as being trained to write headlines and captions and take photographs.
“Quality-checking processes and procedures are built into the system and our editors remain responsible for maintaining editorial standards.”
Thursday’s announcement follows the introduction of new technology and new ways of working at ACM mastheads in regional Queensland, Victoria, and the Illawarra, South Coast and south-west regions of NSW.
Mr Angilley said no final decisions had been made about the North Coast operating group.
“Our full focus and attention in the weeks ahead is consulting with our staff to ensure everyone fully understands the proposal and has the opportunity to share their feedback with us,” he said.
Fairfax’s ACM network includes hundreds of newspapers and websites serving regional, rural and suburban communities in every Australian state and territory.
The story Future of local news takes shape on the Mid-North Coast first appeared on Port Macquarie News.