--Editors of the Sydney Morning Herald and Age step down
--Fairfax names Sean Aylmer to succeed Peter Fray at SMH
--Editorial changes come a week after 1,900 job cuts
announced
(Adds new editorial appointments in fourth paragraph.)
By Gavin Lower
MELBOURNE--A week after revealing plans to cut 1,900 jobs in a
restructuring, Australia's second-largest newspaper publisher
Fairfax Media Ltd. (FXJ.AU) on Monday reshuffled some of its top
editorial management after three senior editors from its leading
mastheads decided to leave the company, the Sydney Morning Herald
and the Age.
Amanda Wilson, editor of the Sydney Morning Herald and the
newspaper's editor-in-chief Peter Fray will leave, the company
said. In addition, Paul Ramadge, the editor-in-chief of the
Melbourne-based the Age, will also step down.
"These are extremely challenging times for the media," said Mr.
Ramadge in a statement from Fairfax.
The company later said national business editor Sean Aylmer
would become editor-in-chief of the Sydney Morning Herald and
Sun-Herald while the editor of the newspaper's website, Darren
Goodsir, will takeover as news director for Sydney.
"In this newly designed role, Aylmer will be the first person to
have responsibility for the mastheads across digital and print
platforms as editor-in-chief," Fairfax said in a statement, with
the appointments to take effect at the end of this week.
It said editorial appointments at the Age will be announced
Tuesday.
The senior editorial changes come as Fairfax presses ahead with
restructuring intended to save 235 million Australian dollars
(US$237 million) annually by June 2015. The company recently gained
a new major shareholder, mining billionaire Gina Rinehart, who has
acquired a 19% stake. But Ms. Rinehart's interest has proved
controversial and provoked criticism by senior figures in
Australia's government.
Deputy Prime Minister and Treasurer Wayne Swan said last week
that Ms. Rinehart's intentions for Fairfax and its newspapers have
"very big implications for our democracy, I think we should all be
very concerned at this turn of events," he said.
Fairfax competes in Australia with News Ltd., the local unit of
News Corp. (NWS). The company, publisher of the Australian and the
Daily Telegraph newspapers, is also expected to announce job cuts
within the next few weeks, said a person familiar with the plans.
News Corp. also owns The Wall Street Journal and Dow Jones
Newswires.
Weekday circulation at the Sydney Morning Herald fell 14% to
180,960 in the first quarter, while at the Age, weekday circulation
fell 13% to 165,061 over the same period. Fairfax made a net loss
of A$390.9 million last year.
Fairfax shares touched a new all time low of 55.5 Australian
cents Monday before recovering slightly to close down 1.7% at 57
Australian cents. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 closed down
0.5%.
Write to Gavin Lower at gavin.lower@wsj.com