Hundreds more Fairfax journalists and other workers appear to be facing the sack after the publishing group said it will end publication of the weekday print editions of The Sydney Morning Herald and the Melbourne Age, two of the nation’s oldest and most respected newspapers.
CEO Greg Hywood said both papers – which have been in print since 1831 and 1854 respectively – would become weekend-only. Another Fairfax daily, The Australian Financial Review is likely to drop its weekend edition.
Hywood said the move “fits with what consumers want – 24/7 digital and print, with more lifestyle and contextual information on the weekend when there is more time to engage.”
He said the company would inevitably move to a new business model for its metropolitan news–papers, though this might be some time away. “The model will take shape over the coming years as our transformational journey continues,” he said.
As it looks to new fields for its revenue, Fairfax has paid $15 million for a 35 percent stake in Oneflare, an online service that connects customers with local tradies.
