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 said that three senior
editors from its leading mastheads will 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 departure of senior editors comes 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.
Write to Gavin Lower at gavin.lower@wsj.com