Redundancies
While mass job losses are in some abeyance at present, redundancies have now begun to take hold at the newer digital media outlets.
There has been some abeyance in the mass redundancies at the larger media outlets. Disturbingly, redundancies have taken place at smaller digital workplaces as they transform from an initial establishment and growth phase only to find that advertising revenue is insufficient to maintain profitability. As a result, some digital-only new media businesses that had earned respect among their media peers are now making talented young journalists redundant.
In January 2019 BuzzFeed Australia said it would cut a quarter of its workforce as a result of a worldwide savings push. MEAA said: “These cuts at a digital disrupter like BuzzFeed — with a seemingly successful, diversified business model, a global audience reach in the hundreds of millions, innovative content strategies and a thriving focus on public interest journalism — highlight the crisis facing journalism around the world and the ongoing risks to public interest reporting if even those media players successfully engaging large and younger audiences feel they can no longer afford sizeable workforces or dedicated newsrooms.
“In a few short years, BuzzFeed Australia established itself as a key player on the national media scene, breaking key national interest stories, garnering four Walkley nominations for excellence in journalism, becoming a respected incubator of talent and a journalistic innovator.
“MEAA welcomes experiments and new initiatives aimed at finding financially sustainable models that fund public interest journalism. BuzzFeed is an important part of that mix. However, hardworking journalists in London, Sydney, LA and New York shouldn’t bear the brunt of the failed experiments of tech investors. We need an industry that employs, trains and supports journalists at startups.”[i]
MEAA members expressed anger and concern at the way these redundancies were being conducted. Several rival organisations sent messages of support to colleagues at BuzzFeed. MEAA called on the company to ensure all entitlements were paid in full to its “hard-working staff, who have demonstrated the utmost dedication to the BuzzFeed brand, and properly recognise those efforts with fair, reasonable and above-award redundancy payments, in line with what their colleagues overseas have received”.
MEAA noted that many journalists working for digital-only publications currently miss out on key protections enjoyed by their print colleagues. MEAA argued: “Journalists in the digital media deserve the same working conditions that many of our colleagues enjoy in more traditional media — conditions won and defended by union members over decades — and MEAA digital members are actively campaigning to extend those conditions in to their workplaces to level the playing field and ensure basic entitlements like the right to paid overtime, time off in lieu, shift penalties and payment for unsociable hours worked are paid to digital journalists.
For some time, MEAA has responded to the changes taking place in the industry by implementing its Good Jobs in Digital Media campaign.[ii] “Around the world, digital journalists are coming together to say they demand the same conditions as those working for older, print-first publications. Endless night shifts and daily bollockings do not have to be the new normal.
“Particularly in the United States over the past 18 months, there has been a wave of prominent online publications where journalists have organised with a union for better pay, conditions and respect at work. Huffpo and Vice are among the publications who have successfully unionised to secure pay and conditions that have been withheld for too long. As the union for Australia’s media workers, MEAA is committed to campaigning for a charter of digital journalist rights to be adopted at all digital media outlets.”
Job cuts still took place at traditional media outlets.
At Fairfax, in the wake of the takeover by Nine Entertainment Co it was announced that 26 journalists and other staff working for the group’s digital platforms would be made redundant.[iii] MEAA commented: “Digital media workers are sick of it — they are innovating and attracting new audiences and advertising dollars, and are angry at the lack of protections covering them in their workplace and the lack respect for the work they do. Digital workers are unionising to get a seat at the table with their management; to negotiate decent work conditions, good pay and to have input about the future of the companies they work for.
“Despite the job cuts announced today, digital media is growing — fast. And will keep growing. And digital journalists want a say in the direction these companies are going, to share ideas at the top levels and build a sustainable career path, with good pay, fair conditions and protections for workers in digital media.”
MEAA condemned the announcement from News Corporation via a statement to the Fairfax-owned Australian Financial Review that at least 30 editorial positions would be made redundant. The positions were a mixture of voluntary and forced redundancies. Journalists at leading metro mastheads as well as production staff would lose their jobs. Production positions would be shifted from News to the AAP subsidiary Pagemasters.[iv] MEAA noted that News had made sub-editors and other production staff redundant in the Northern Territory and South Australia just a few months earlier.
News Corporation did not consult with the affected staff or their unions prior to making the announcement — as required by their enterprise agreement. MEAA sought answers from News Corp management about the future of production positions in other states.
MEAA Media director Katelin McInerney said in a statement: “It is disrespectful to workers to read in a rival publication this morning that they will lose their jobs. The company should have been honest and upfront with its employees. News should have given its people the opportunity to look at other job options and ways to assist the company to meet its cost reduction targets. It’s outrageous that the company should treat loyal and long-serving specialist employees so shabbily.”
On April 30 2018 ABC News management announced it would axe 20 journalists out of local newsrooms.[v] MEAA said: “It appears the majority of those being tapped for redundancy are senior, experienced journalists. Staff who are on the chopping block are local journalists dedicated to local storytelling. Despite assurances from management that local coverage will not suffer, it is difficult to understand how axing senior, experienced journalists out of state newsrooms is not going to have an impact.
“While MEAA understands more digital-facing roles will be created in this move by ABC to cater to audiences moving increasingly to online, our public broadcaster has to ensure it doesn’t throw the baby out with the bath water,” McInerney said.
“The ABC has a poor track record of skilling their staff up adequately to meet the challenges of digital and online news production — the redundancy rounds in 2014–15 and subsequently have seen more than 130 talented, dedicated journalists made redundant, and have been marked by widespread under-investment in skills training and a dearth of opportunities to work in new digital areas to cement those skills.
“The ABC has a duty to their audiences to ensure their senior, often older and more experienced staff are provided with opportunities to gain the skills needed to pivot to online.
“We need experienced journalists in the newsrooms of our public broadcasters, journalists whose expertise in the business of newsgathering and in investigative journalism not only benefits their audiences but also the next generation of reporters coming up the ranks,” McInerney said.
After several years of pressure from ABC union members, management finally announced in late 2017 that it would create a dedicated annual budget for training staff. Prior to that there was no dedicated corporation-wide plan or budget for upskilling editorial staff. Staff regularly complain that access to training is incredibly difficult to balance with a 24/7 news cycle.
MEAA argued: “The ABC should be providing their senior staff, their most valuable asset, with the skills required to move news into new areas.”
Also during the year, AAP announced plans to make up to 25 editorial positions redundant before June 30 2018. It gave its staff just a week to consider their options.[vi] MEAA said: “The first staff heard of the need to reorganise and make savings was at a meeting today outlining the company’s pre-determined course of action to cut about 15 percent of its workforce.”
MEAA Media director Katelin McInerney said: “Staff are telling us they are outraged that the company did not consult with them before making this decision. But to then impose a deadline of Tuesday next week simply does not allow people enough time to receive a redundancy estimate, talk to their family, or to get financial advice on their individual circumstances.”
Staff said that given the scale of editorial job losses, it is likely to be an extremely tough road ahead for affected staff. The company has stated that it will force redundancies if its target is not reached through voluntary applications.
McInerney said: “MEAA members at AAP have told management that it must extend this ridiculous deadline and meet with employees to hear their feedback and ideas for alternatives to redundancy. Management must engage with its people earlier in future restructures so that employees are treated with respect and dignity.”
MEAA urged AAP to show compassion and courtesy by allowing staff more time to plan for their future without having an unrealistic deadline imposed on their decision-making.
Support for AAP journalists[vii] came from the House Committees of MEAA members at The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age and The Australian Financial Review newspapers. In a joint resolution addressed to their colleagues at AAP, MEAA members at the Fairfax Media metro publications (AAP is jointly owned by Fairfax 47 percent, News Corp 45 percent and Seven West Media 8 percent) said:
We condemn the endless cuts to journalists’ numbers on the ground. These are cuts that are eroding journalism in Australia and the ability of journalists to do our jobs and protect and inform the communities we serve.
We stand with our colleagues at AAP in the face of their management’s decision to cut between 20 and 25 journalist jobs, a cut that impacts us all.
The loss of such vital newsgathering people — at a time when our organisation relies so heavily on the skills and ability of AAP journalists to fill the gaps left in our newsrooms by year-on-year job cuts — is senseless and deeply damaging.
We call on Fairfax management and the other shareholders of the AAP business to reinstate these jobs so our audiences don’t lose out. Our communities count on us to keep them informed and provide them with the real story.
The national News Corporation House Committee endorsed this motion in support of their AAP colleagues:
We call on News Corp management, a part-shareholder in AAP’s business, to reinstate these jobs so our audiences — our communities that count on us to keep them informed and provide them with the real story — don’t lose out.
In August 2018 the Community News Group in Western Australia announced it would be closing five of its papers from early September. The papers concerned were: North Coast Times, The Advocate, Midland Reporter, Hills and Avon Valley Gazette and Comment News.
MEAA said coverage of local issues, particularly local council related matters, rarely get any coverage within the state’s only daily metro newspaper, and this should be of serious concern to readers seeking transparency of local government within these communities.
“As yet, there is no confirmation as to how many staff will be made redundant, and we are hopeful that a number of reporters will be moved across into other papers,” MEAA said.
“While a blow to the local communities affected, it is also a concern for younger journalists, as CNG has been a wonderful training ground. Many WA journalists got their start on the CNG papers, and have gone on to work in national and international newsrooms.”[viii]
In late March The Courier Mail announced the paper would be outsourcing production work. Back bench and sub-editors from The Courier Mail, Sunday Mail and magazines would be affected. All casual shifts would move to Pagemasters with the loss of nine full-time equivalent permanent roles.
In the same week, West Australian Newspapers announced it was seeking expressions of interest in voluntary redundancies. Management said its review of the company’s operations had revealed what it called “excess capability. The number of voluntary redundancies being sought was unclear.
There were also job losses at the major magazines groups. In May 2018 Pacific Magazines made five positions redundant as part of a restructure of its production hub process. In July Bauer Media also made changes to its production systems with 17 positions lost (11 redundancies and six vacancies not replaced).
[i] “BuzzFeed job cuts highlight crisis facing journalism worldwide”, MEAA, January 30 2019 https://www.meaa.org/news/buzzfeed-job-cuts-highlight-crisis-facing-journalism-worldwide/
[ii] “Good Jobs in Digital Media”, MEAA https://www.meaa.org/campaigns/good-jobs-in-digital-media/
[iii] “Nine’s redundancies at Fairfax web sites”, MEAA December 11 2018 https://www.meaa.org/news/redundancies-at-fairfax-web-sites/
[iv] “News Corp staff shown little respect in latest job cut announcement”, MEAA, September 14 2018 https://www.meaa.org/mediaroom/news-corp-staff-shown-little-respect-in-latest-job-cut-announcement/
[v] “Local coverage to suffer as ABC cuts journalistic experience”, MEAA, April 30 2018 https://www.meaa.org/mediaroom/local-coverage-to-suffer-as-abc-cuts-journalistic-experience/
[vi] “AAP to cut 25 editorial jobs”, MEAA June 5 2018 https://www.meaa.org/mediaroom/aap-to-cut-25-editorial-jobs
[vii] “Support floods in for AAP journos after job cuts announced”, MEAA, June 7 2018 https://www.meaa.org/news/supports-floods-in-for-aap-journos-after-job-cuts-announced/
[viii] “Community News Group WA closes five mastheads”, MEAA, August 10 2018 https://www.meaa.org/news/community-newspapers-close-five-mastheads/
