It was barely hours after April Fools Day when the global
giant sealed the deal on the multi-million dollar takeover of Federal
Publishing Company’s (FPC) 46 newspapers, magazines and online properties from
the Hannan family.
The acquired news titles include Wentworth Courier, Inner West
Courier, Northside Courier and South Side Courier, with the circulation of
several publications overlapping the coverage of the Murdoch empire’s local Cumberland papers in NSW.
Media academic and journalist Wendy Bacon said all media
takeovers potentially affect editorial diversity because companies are always
looking for economies of scale. “What they will do is to try to maximise their
advertising dollar compared to their expenditure on editorial,” Ms Bacon said.
“So, logically, you would have to expect that there will be
some rationalisation.”
Ms Bacon said suburban journalism is an important vehicle
for community discussion and for stories that are unlikely to receive coverage
in the metropolitan newspapers.
“There’s already masses of advertising and not much
editorial. So you only have to lose a little bit of that editorial and your
whole community group, or a whole controversy over a development, may not get
any coverage at all.”
The depletion of local information coverage is likely to
continue as media corporations gain in size and scope, an independent publisher
said.
“From a consumer point of view, basically, two big
conglomerates are the gatekeepers of all the information,” Alternative Media
Group Publisher Lawrence Gibbons said.
The publisher of Sydney City Hub argued that while the
Internet provides massive amounts of global information, local information at a
community level is becoming rarer, due to cost-efficiency issues. “How many
stories do you generate about a local council – particularly one that’s only of
importance to people in that local community?”
While concerns have been raised by media observers over
suburban editorial diversity, a spokesperson from News Limited told the Herald
that there will be no changes in editorial direction after the takeover.
“It’s business as usual. Aside from the ownership, there’s
little difference between the day before and the day after we took over,” the
spokesperson said.
In terms of staff movement, it was revealed to the Herald
that 17 FPC staff have been made redundant following the takeover due to duplication
of roles in the new business.
A journalist and an art director reportedly resigned in the
last month but the moves have not been attributed to the ownership changes.
It is also understood that senior FPC staffer Scott Abrahams
left his former role as editor-in-chief and has been offered a position in the
Hannan owned IPMG Interactive.
“There’s going to be a big change of culture for those
Courier guys,” Media Alliance NSW Secretary Richard Harris said. “They had a pretty
good team. And I am sad to say that the editorial management in Cumberland does not have
the same standing with its employees.”
Mr Harris pointed out that fewer independent news outlets
means journalists may feel the need to be more cautious to avoid falling out with
their employers. “You need more voices in the marketplace. For those who are
left behind, it’s an even greater responsibility on them to exercise their
duties ethically without fear or favour,” he said.
“It’s not the Australian Democrats who are ‘keeping the
bastards honest’, it’s the journalists.”
Source: South Sydney Herald May 2007 http://www.southsydneyherald.com.au/