Hundreds of jobs to go as News Corp confirms restructure

News Corp has confirmed sweeping changes to its Australian newspaper portfolio, with hundreds of jobs to go, the closure nearly 100 community and regional print titles, a range of which will move to digital-only.

The Australian Financial Review previously revealed News Corp Australia’s plan to close a large range of community and regional print editions in favour of digital only models, something the company has been experimenting with since 2018, launching 16 digital-only titles.

The company announced on Thursday that the bulk of News Corp’s community and regional titles would go digital only and the company will invest in "digital advertising and marketing solutions".

On Wednesday night, the Financial Review reported between 650 and 1000 jobs could go as part of a major restructure of News Corp Australia.

“COVID-19 has impacted the sustainability of community and regional publishing. Despite the audiences of News Corp’s digital mastheads growing more than 60 per cent as Australians turned to trusted media sources during the peak of the recent COVID-19 lockdowns, print advertising spending which contributes the majority of our revenues, has accelerated its decline,” News Corp Australasia executive chairman Michael Miller said in a statement on Thursday.

“Consequently, to meet these changing trends, we are reshaping News Corp Australia to focus on where consumers and businesses are moving and to strengthen our position as Australia’s leading digital news media company.

"This will involve employing more digital only journalists and making investments in digital advertising and marketing solutions for our partners.”

Mr Miller confirmed that from Monday June 29, the bulk of News Corp’s community and regional titles would go digital only.

Mr Miller said more than 375 journalists will cover regional and community news. There were previously between 1200 and 1300.

It followed conversations about a potential sale of the regional and community portfolio to Australian Community Media, which is owned by Antony Catalano and Alex Waislitz, also revealed by the Financial Review.

“Over the past 19 months News has launched 16 new digital only local mastheads. In total we will now publish 92 digital only regional and community mastheads, each offering readers rolling coverage, electronic alerts and newsletters, richer audio and video content and deeper local sport coverage and community debate,” Mr Miller said.

“At the same time, News Corp’s major mastheads in Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide - The Courier-Mail, The Daily Telegraph, the Herald Sun and The Advertiser – will now become more state focused with increased regional content and will partner with our regional and community local titles in their states to ensure we deliver compelling journalism to Australian consumers regardless of where they live.

"Subscribers wherever they live will now have access to the best of News Corp's local, regional, state, national and international news, sport, features and columnists.”

As revealed by the Financial Review earlier this month, community print titles Wentworth Courier, Mosman Daily and North Shore Times, will resume print editions. They remain valuable marketing tools for News Corp's majority-owned property classifieds business REA Group.

Major regional titles which will continue to print will include The Hobart Merucry, NT News, Cairns Post, Townsville Bulletin, Gold Coast Bulletin, Toowoomba Chronicle and Geelong Advertiser.

Regional titles to become digital-only in Queensland include Mackay Daily Mercury, Rockhampton Morning Bulletin, Gladstone Observer, Bundaberg News Mail, Fraser Coast Chronicle, Gympie Times, Sunshine Coast Daily, Queensland Times, Warwick Daily News, Central and North Burnett Times, Central Queensland News, Chinchilla News, Dalby Herald, Gatton Star, Noosa News, South Burnett Times, Stanthorpe Border Post, Western Star, Wester Times, Whitsunday Times, Whitsunday Coast Guadria and Bowen Independent.

News Corp said the majority of its community titles in NewsLocal in NSW and ACT, Leader in Melbourne, Quest is Brisbane and Messenger in Adelaid will come digital only.

On April 9, News Corp Australia suspended printing its 60 community newspapers across NSW, Victoria, Queensland and South Australia, turning them into digital mastheads only, amid the COVID-19 pandemic and its dramatic effects on the economy and advertising market. This did not include News Corp's regional titles.