The further demise of media in New Zealand: Fairfax restructures and John Campbell is replaced with reality TV

Recently, "clickbait" made it into the dictionary. By definition this is "content whose main purpose is to attract attention and encourage visitors to click on a link to a particular web page."

It is most often used in relation to mainstream media articles that pull the reader into a piece that then gathers then advertising revenue. Also, it is generally associated with the demise in quality of reporting as the priority of the story becomes how sensational it may be, rather than how much interest the public may have in it.

Get used to it. Because we are going to see it increase.

This last week has seen two significant events that are going to further erode media quality in the country, in my opinion. The first is the demise of Campbell Live. Yes yes, I know the whole ratings argument, we'll get to that. The second is yet another Fairfax restructure locally, which promises to continue the doomed plan that has been rolling for at least the last seven years, if not 12.

The Campbell Live decision can certainly be seen as erosion of good journalism regardless of ratings. It has been replaced by Road Cops. So that definitely shows a marked decrease in journalism within New Zealand. Love or hate him, the show filled a niche that has been badly missing since the death of local content, largely thanks for Fairfax, and a couple of other corporate monsters. Replacing a high-rating current affairs show with an uninteresting reality show is disturbing.

But more interesting is Fairfax still attempting to carry out its digital strategy which sees somewhere in the region of 160 jobs being restructured.

"The proposal is not about reducing headcount. We are boosting our reporting capability in small and large communities, and by streamlining our print-focused production processes, increasing the ratio of content creators from just over half to almost two thirds." – Source

Of course they aren't actually ruling out reducing head count and you can be sure that those new roles will have different contractual conditions from the previous, which is more about reducing money. On top of that you can be sure that your best and brightest will just leave. NBR is growing, other independent news organisations are growing, and a lot of the older, more experienced journalists have already jumped into pure digital and are doing very well as freelancers.

The restructure also means the demise of local editors, those who were left, with reporters being put into some kind of national "pool."

Editors of local newspapers have been replaced with regional editors, responsible for supplying news to a national 'pool' for publication online, as well as in local papers. New editors were also appointed to specialist areas such as life and style, business, national news and sport.

It is a further erosion of local news. Having said that, there is also a good opportunity in the regions for those affected to go into direct competition with Fairfax. Bring back the local paper.

It's worth looking back at this strategy, which started well over a decade ago and has seen job losses, loss of local content, and a general demise in quality, in my opinion of course.

Fairfax’s commercial domination of the journalistic, print-based public sphere in New Zealand had major repercussions. The new regime centralised its activities across individual titles by establishing two new positions; group editorial development manager and sales and marketing manager (Rosenberg, September 2008, pp46–47). The net result was increases in advertising charges, advertising volumes and cover prices, cuts in staffing and a decline in local journalistic activity (King, September 2006, pB8; Steeman, February 2004, pB9). Nationalistic journalistic traditions were also undermined. During 2006, Fairfax withdrew from the New Zealand Press Association’s (NZPA) pooling system whereby member newspapers shared news content with each other (Kiwiblog, 7/4/11). In June 2008 Fairfax announced a new Auckland-based website, www.businessday.co.nz. - Source

This is an interesting article, so let's stick with it for a bit longer, noting I have edited it down a bit for brevity's sake, so you need to refer the original for all the detail.

Content was drawn from the Australian sister site The Independent, www.stuff.co.nz, theSydney Morning Herald, the Age and other non-NZPA sources. From July 2008 Fairfax established hubs in Wellington and Christchurch to centralise the sub-editing of features, world and business news across all major titles. In August of the same year they announced 160 New Zealand redundancies and introduced a new editorial management structure to oversee both the Sunday Star Times and the Sunday News (Rosenberg, 2009, p201–202).

Fairfax Media is trying to transform itself from a print news organisation to a digital one amid falling advertising revenues and boardroom battles over company ownership. Over the past three years the company has closed down non-core and unprofitable businesses, sold assets, outsourced jobs and reduced the overall workforce.

In 2012 and early 2013, it was clear that the ownership of New Zealand media companies was falling into the hands of financial institutions as well as media moguls. Financialised media ownership structures make the future of such companies uncertain as they confront the prospect of takeover or fragmentation (Myllylahti, 2012a).

The sub-text of this article, aside from the interesting analysis of how the 1% make money from media, is that the model is failing Fairfax. It’s my opinion that it seems in New Zealand at least, the last gasp will be twofold. It comes from following this digital strategy whereby reporters are under pressure to produce articles rapidly, often being their own editors, and, if we look at the Australian experience, we can also assume that content will become far more tabloid like. The second will be the introduction of paywalls.

In some respects, that digital tabloid content is actually what we want with studies showing that we spend less than eight seconds reading any page on the internet, on average.

Fairfax has been careful to steer all the conversation toward its digital strategy. You'd expect that, because you're dealing with a massive media machine that understands press. The NBR has been poking around the competitor and has a slightly different view again.

The reorganisation will affect staff in the Fairfax group nationwide. How many of Fairfax’s current 700 journalists will lose their jobs as result is currently unclear, although there’s intense media speculation it may be as many as 115. Other reports suggest 160 staff will be asked to reapply for their jobs.

However, a source has told NBR that “subeditors are toast,” with the subediting group, Fairfax Editorial Services, being disestablished. – Source

I get the feeling this is far less about a move to a digital future and far more about money. Regardless, we can expect this when a media empire is owned privately and the concept of free press is chronically ill. All of this will see extensive coverage no doubt of important stories about waterslides and kittens rather than local and national politics.

It does bode well for a more free-market approach to journalism, and this may be where Fairfax goes ultimately. Freelance is a well-established presence and more experienced journalists can expect to be able to create, and fund, their own online news stories. Bill Bennett is a good example of this in the technology space.

It will also encourage independent media like Scoop to make more of a push to pick up the slack. Already they cover local issues across New Zealand in a great deal of depth that puts Fairfax and others to shame. In addition, Radio New Zealand will also have to pick up the slack. Interestingly enough, its digital strategy is certainly paying dividends. It is heading in the right direction.

This move by Fairfax Australia on its New Zealand operation smacks of cost reduction and part of a long plan that has stretched over a decade, marketed as a bold step into the future (my words).

Time will tell if I am right.

IT consultant and blogger Ian Apperely posts at Strathmore Park.