Fairfax to move Pagemasters sub editing contract to New Zealand
Fairfax Media has announced it is ending the sub editing of its newspapers by Pagemasters, in a move that will see up to 40 journalist positions moved from Australian to its New Zealand.
The decision to move the subediting of many of its news pages was announced today to staff by Sydney Morning Herald editor-in-chief Darren Goodsir who said in an email: “We have decided not to continue with Pagemasters and will transition the work to Fairfax’s specialist editorial production unit, Fairfax Editorial Services, over the next six months.”
Fairfax has been gradually outsourcing subediting of its newspaper operation in New Zealand, which Fairfax sources have told Mumbrella has a headcount cost around half that of its Australian operation in terms of subeditors.
The New Zealand operation already does some subediting for The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age and The Canberra Times, as well as copy-editing for The Australian Financial Review. Fairfax Editorial Services also does page layout and copy-editing for The Newcastle Herald and The Illawarra Mercury.
Fairfax: “Our error’s arent bad enough yet”.
Why bother with copy editors at all? Site they might fix grammar but people in Auckland are unlikely to notice that the PM is not from Mudgee or Gina Rinehart a pop singer.
A grim time for the workers at Pagemasters. The strength of the Aussie dollar and reduced pagination haven’t helped.
Expected, though unpalatable, news adding to Bruce Davidson’s AAP woes.
He has the newsroom which his owners (mainly Fairfax and News) love and fully utilise but aren’t keen to over pay for. He has Medianet with a fall in press release over-the-wire traffic of around 20% in the last five years and now this.
The more work Fairfax contracts out the lower the quality gets. You just can not get other people do your thinking for you.