Chief executive buys Stuff

Stuff’s Australian owner Nine has agreed to sell the company to Stuff chief executive Sinead Boucher for $1. Nine said it expected to complete the sale by the end of the month. Nine will retain up to all of the proceeds of the sale of Stuff Fibre to telecommunications company Vocus, and ownership of Stuff’s Wellington printing press. Nine chief executive Hugh Marks said Nine had always believed it was important for Stuff to have local ownership. ‘‘It is our firm view that this is the best outcome for competition and consumers in New Zealand,’’ he said. Stuff Ltd employs more journalists than any other New Zealand media outlet, and owns brands including stuff. co.nz, Neighbourly and The Dominion Post.

Ajunior employee rising through the ranks and buying the company is common fodder for business fables. Yesterday Stuff’s chief executive, Sinead Boucher, who started with the company as a regional reporter in Rangiora in the 1990s, became one of those stories when she announced she had bought the company, which owns the Stuff news website and numerous print titles including The Dominion Post, Sunday Star-Times and The Press.

The buyout brings some welcome certainty for Stuff’s 700 staff and opens up a range of possibilities for business viability and growth. It comes hard on the heels of previous owner Nine putting a stop to messy negotiations over a sale to NZME, publisher of the New Zealand Herald.

It has been a torrid year for the business of news and entertainment. The media industry was struggling even before the restrictions imposed by Covid19 decimated advertising revenue. NZME axed 200 jobs, MediaWorks, which owns Newshub, was in desperate straits and trying to sell, and German company Bauer Media closed its New Zealand magazine operation. Overnight the New Zealand Listener and North and South were no more. Even yesterday, when Stuff returned to New Zealand ownership for the first time in about 30 years, MediaWorks said it was shedding about 130 jobs.

The finer details of the management buyout need more clarity and development, but some positives can be readily identified. Stuff can set its own destiny untrammelled by the demands of being a small cog in an Australian-based machine. Australian ownership has had its advantages, but they did not include sending profits to overseas shareholders and deferring to overseas managers.

Settling ownership will also improve the company’s prospects of getting Government help if needed, and provide more certainty to advertisers and customers. It ensures the healthy competition between Stuff and NZME continues.

In a staff address, Boucher said print publications remained robust and an important part of its audience offering. She said news of the move to New Zealand ownership had been positively received by advertisers.

One of her priorities was enshrining the independence of editorial (news direction) from ownership. ‘‘Our business is built on a long and proud heritage of great journalism. Some of our mastheads are more than 150 years old, and New Zealanders have turned to us for trustworthy news for generations. We will cement the independence of our editorial team for the future so we can continue to build on that trust.’’ Cementing editorial independence can be done before new investors are invited on board, and should be applauded by all journalists. The shareholding scheme giving staff more skin in the game should produce a better service for readers and customers. But staff share schemes are tricky, and Stuff’s will need to be carefully structured. Opponents argue they can entrench poor management and handicap competitiveness. Supporters claim they help companies take a more long-term perspective. With ownership comes responsibility and acceptance of losses as well as profits.

As Boucher said, the purchase does not mean ‘‘the road ahead is going to be easy’’. The aftermath of Covid-19 presents many difficulties, but Boucher’s purchase is an expression of confidence in the inherent strength of Stuff’s platforms, be it print media or digital, and the quality of its staff.

In a message to staff, Boucher referred to a phrase suggested by Stuff Ma¯ ori affairs reporter Carmen Parahi to support some editorial initiatives earlier this year. The phrase ‘‘Kia tu¯ peke te toa’’ means ‘‘Let the brave leap’’. Boucher’s move is certainly a courageous step. The trick will be to ensure the leap is onto solid ground.

Boucher’s purchase is an expression of confidence in the inherent strength of Stuff’s platforms ...