After a tumultuous week which included the exit of its top editors, Fairfax Media has unveiled a new newsroom model to help the business face a digital future.
The model emphasises a cross-platform approach, removing the silos which previously separated the digital and print functions. The changes reinforce the restructure announced by Fairfax last week as the media owner struggles with a declining print circulation and dwindling ad revenues.
The newly-installed editors-in-chief of The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age, Sean Aylmer and Andrew Holden respectively, will now sit above print and online and are the ultimate arbiters in the newsroom. News directors in Sydney and Melbourne, Darren Goodsir and Steve Foley, are effectively the heads of content.
Platform editors will be responsible for their mediums and will no longer commission content from reporters. Reporters will be grouped under topics - such as federal, state, business and so on - and will report directly to topic editors. Reporters from the weekend papers and magazines will be integrated into the general newsroom while a small dedicated team will remain in place in the transition period.
The newsroom will work on a seven-day, 6am to midnight roster and it will adopt a digital-first approach to content and work processes.
Fairfax has also outlined a greater focus on video content with video editors to be involved in news briefings and planning meetings. Social media will also be integrated into the work process and a social media editor will be appointed.
Fairfax Metro Media editorial director Garry Linnell said in the staff information pack: “The blueprint will fundamentally change the way we work. It is a new operating model that will deliver our unique and independent journalism to rapidly expanding digital audiences while continuing to ensure our newspapers remain centres of excellence.
“The new model means our newsrooms will be based around our audiences. It will allow more flexibility, more sharing and more transparency about how we work.”
The Editorial Newsroom Review kicked off in November last year and the final report was endorsed by management on 12 June. Twelve senior editors were involved in the review with the aid of over 100 editorial staff. The success and failures of initiatives in overseas newsrooms were taken into account in the review. The changes will roll out from 2 July.
Last week, Fairfax announced it was undergoing a wide-scale operational restructure of its business which will involve the retrenchment of 1,900 staff over three years as well as the closure of its Chullora and Tullamarine printing plants. The cost-cutting measures are expected to save the company $235 million.
Earlier this week, The Sydney Morning Herald editor-in-chief Peter Fray and editor Amanda Wilson, as well as The Age editor-in-chief Paul Ramadge resigned from their posts.
ABC Online reported 140 editorial staff are expected to be made redundant across the mastheads as a result of the new model.
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