Community newspaper selloff puts 60 jobs at risk
Media company Stuff is planning to sell or close some of its smaller community and rural newspapers, in a move that could affect 60 jobs.
Chief executive Sinead Boucher said that 28 mastheads would be affected, while reiterating plans to grow Stuff’s digital business.
The company was still working through plans for each of the titles and consultation with staff would occur over coming weeks, she said.
Greg Hywood, chief executive of Stuff’s Australian parent company Fairfax Media, warned last year that its New Zealand business would go into ‘‘consolidation mode’’ if its proposed merger with rival publisher NZME did not get regulatory approval.
But yesterday he stopped short of blaming the sales or closures on the Commerce Commission, saying it was ‘‘hypothetical’’ whether they would have happened anyway, had the merger gone ahead.
‘‘The business has to sustain its earnings and if there are parts that aren’t doing their bit we have to … rationalise them.’’
Asked whether there might be more cuts, Hywood said the world was clearly going through a period of ‘‘print to digital’’.
‘‘We will make decisions on a publication by publication basis about whether they are adding value to the business or not.’’
Boucher emphasised the changing nature of the business.
‘‘Our strategy is focused on achieving a business model where digital revenue growth outweighs declines in print,’’ she said.
The sales or closures are expected to happen over the next six months.
Boucher said Stuff had stepped up its consideration of the future of the papers in question over recent weeks. There were already expressions of interest for some of the papers, she said.
The 28 mastheads make up about 35 per cent of Stuff’s print titles but the Kaikoura Star is the only paid newspaper affected.
E tu spokesman Sam Gribben said the union would consult with members to get a fuller picture of the changes before commenting.
Yesterday, Stuff’s Australian parent company, Fairfax Media, reported that its net profit for the six months to the end of December fell by more than half to A$38.5 million (NZ$41 million).
The company said its ‘‘underlying’’ profit for the period was down by 10 per cent at A$76m.
Locally, Stuff’s revenues fell by 5 per cent to NZ$160m, as 33 per cent growth in its digital revenues failed to offset a decline in print advertising. Operating expenses were 1 per cent lower.
Its operating profit fell 24 per cent to NZ$21m, representing a decline of 15 per cent after onetime items and its investment in Stuff Fibre were excluded.
Tourism spend hits $10.6b
Overseas tourists spent a record
$10.6 billion last year, with increased flights from the United States helping to boost the figures. The latest international visitor survey from the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment said total expenditure was 5 per cent up on the previous year. This lagged behind arrivals, which rose 7 per cent for the same period. Increased competition on air routes between New Zealand and the US contributed to an an 18 per cent jump in spending from that market to
$1.3b. That put American spending in third place behind Australian ($2.6b) and Chinese ($1.5b) visitors. The average amount per visitor dropped slightly to $3190, the ministry said.