Fairfax to slim down papers

FAIRFAX Media has announced it will significantly reduce the size of the country's two oldest broadsheet newspapers, The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald, as the company cuts staff in a major shake-up of operations. Read the Fairfax statement

FAIRFAX Media has announced it will significantly reduce the size of the country's two oldest broadsheet newspapers, The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald, as the company cuts staff in a major shake-up of operations. Read the Fairfax statement

In an announcement released to Fairfax staff yesterday morning, the company's chief executive, David Kirk, claimed the company's broadsheets would become "narrower and more reader-friendly" from early next year, a move analysts said would save millions of dollars.

Staff at Fairfax's Sydney operations held a stopwork meeting late yesterday, after Mr Kirk announced plans to cut 30 to 35 production staff in its Sydney operations.

The plans provoked a motion of no confidence in Mr Kirk, and scathing criticism from staff. Gerard Noonan, co-convener of the Fairfax house committee in Sydney, told The Australian last night: "It seems like every time the company's got a management problem, it pathetically reaches for the blunt instrument of redundancies. That's not management."

The Herald and The Age will shrink in size by about 16 per cent under the proposed changes, to a width of 34cm, with the papers' depth likely to remain unchanged. However, advertising rates are likely to stay the same, despite the fact advertisements will be smaller in the new format.

Advertiser and media buyers called yesterday for advertising rates to be cut equivalent to the reduction in page size.

"The logic of it would suggest there would need to be a commensurate reduction in the cost of advertising," said Mark Buckman, executive general manager of branding, marketing and advertising at the Commonwealth Bank, a major print advertiser.

The managing director of Fairfax Media in NSW, James Hooke, said the price of advertisements was unlikely to change, saying ads achieved "slightly more recall in a narrower format than in a broadsheet format".

He said the aim was to appeal to readers - who had said the existing broadsheet format "was just a little too big and unwieldy on planes, trains and buses".

Media analysts said the main incentive would be to save on printing costs, which it is estimated accounts for more than $185million a year. With the size of the papers shrinking by 16 per cent, this could potentially lead to savings of as much as $25million.

Planning for the format change began a year ago, Mr Hooke said.

It will leave The Australian as the only full-sized broadsheet newspaper in the country.

Editor-in-chief of The Australian Chris Mitchell said: "The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age have long been confused about whether they are tabloid or serious broadsheet newspapers," Mr Mitchell said. "This decision shows they still can't make up their minds."

The move proved Fairfax papers were "heading downmarket", Mr Mitchell said. "The Australian now confirms the position it has held for many years as the nation's only serious broadsheet newspaper."

Meanwhile, Fairfax staff expressed concern over the rationalisation of Sydney production operations - which will see the Herald and The Sun-Herald's sub-editing, design and graphics staff integrated.