Fairfax Media’s restructure of its publishing operations in Newcastle and the Hunter will result in fewer job losses than originally proposed, the company has told staff.
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Fairfax’s suburban, regional and rural publishing business Australian Community Media (ACM) announced plans in August to revitalise its newspapers and websites in the region with new digital-first publishing technology and new equipment and training for journalists and sales staff.
Employees were briefed on Thursday on the final shape of ACM’s Newcastle and Hunter operating structure after a period of consultation with staff and the community.
Publications involved include the Newcastle Herald, The Maitland Mercury, Newcastle & Lake Macquarie Star, Port Stephens Examiner, Lakes Mail, Cessnock Advertiser, Lower Hunter Star, Dungog Chronicle, Singleton Argus, Muswellbrook Chronicle, Scone Advocate, Hunter Valley News and the Hunter Valley and North Coast Town & Country.
Led by group business manager Jason King, group managing editor Chad Watson and group sales manager Jo Dryden, the restructured editorial and sales teams will deliver new-look newspapers, more digital content and enhanced advertising solutions.
As a result of feedback, journalist positions have been added to the structure originally proposed, and some journalist, sales and administration resources have been reallocated across the group.
The company expects voluntary redundancies of about 65 full-time equivalent positions from its Newcastle and Hunter operations. This includes about 42 full-time equivalent positions from editorial, four less than originally proposed.
Publishing changes in the coming months include changing the frequency of the Maitland Mercury from five days a week to publish Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, and the Singleton Argus from twice a week to a weekly edition.
Some existing offices will be vacated or sold and staff relocated.
The Newcastle Herald, which is planned to move to new offices at Honeysuckle later this year, will continue to be printed at Beresfield.
Mr King said the final plan outlined to employees on Thursday would help make the region’s local newspapers more sustainable.
“The constructive input from our staff has helped fine-tune the changes we need to make as we position our business for the future,” Mr King said.
“In editorial, we have bolstered our staffing to ensure trusted mastheads like the Herald and the Mercury continue to deliver award-winning journalism online and in print.”
Director of ACM John Angilley thanked Newcastle and Hunter staff and community members for their constructive feedback.
“It is heartening to see that our communities care as much as we do about our journalism, our local content and our trusted mastheads," Mr Angilley said.
"With the continued support of our audiences and advertisers, this plan for the future will help our newspapers and websites remain sustainable and vibrant local voices.”
Staff were briefed on the voluntary redundancy program, new roles created in the restructure and the implementation schedule for new technology and training.
“Our staff will adopt more efficient ways of working and new technology to improve how they provide news and information to their communities, with our journalists and photographers continuing to do what they do best - telling local stories," Mr Angilley said.
“This is a substantial upgrading for our newsrooms with new systems, digital-first editorial production and quality-checking processes plus a vastly better local sales approach.”
The restructure of the Newcastle and Hunter operations follows the introduction of new technology and new ways of working at more than 40 ACM mastheads in Queensland, Victoria and the Illawarra, South Coast and south-west regions of NSW.
The ACM network includes hundreds of newspapers and websites serving regional, rural and suburban communities in every Australian state and territory.