Fairfax media


A growth story? What the candidates for Fairfax told ACSI

If there is a growth and a renewal story for Fairfax, it needs to be found soon. The Board has made it clear it wants to recruit media experience. Where will it turn?

Sad tales from the opening of Melbourne’s new Fairfax building

Margaret Simons was at the “soft opening” of the new Age building in Melbourne. What’s a “soft launch”? It is the launch you have when the Board is dysfunctional and the Chairman doing the honours has been forced out.

Expansive James Packer goes the full half hour

The man who used to like two-minute chairman addresses went on for half-an-hour at yesterday’s Crown AGM, boasting of PBL’s recent performance and making some pre-emptive attacks against the anti-pokies lobby.

Corbett’s Fairfax still a leaky boat, says analyst

The latest Fairfax skipper, Roger Corbett, is going have to row mighty hard and with a “titanic” weight on his shoulders, writes Roger Montgomery.

Fairfax board: what happened to the other three candidates?

The papers are full of news and views about the elevation of Roger Corbett as chairman of the Fairfax Media Board. But what has happened to the three candidates who have already nominated?

Guy Rundle: A memo from incoming Fairfax chair Roger Corbett

A memo from the new chair of the Fairfax board has fallen off the back of a delivery van. Guy Rundle reports:

Fairfax recruit highlights new employer’s no-vacancy rort

The so-called no-vacancy rule makes getting on a public company board impossible for outsiders. Forcing institutions to disclose how they vote will further expose the old boys’ network, starting with Fairfax.

Travelling through Rural Press country

Sometimes you can see the nature of organisations more clearly from the periphery than from the heart — although, of course, rural NSW is the heart of the old, pre-Fairfax Rural Press. And unfortunately, the regional papers aren’t looking too crash hot.

When will News expose the Evans/Fairfax conflict, Terry?

With a Murdoch associate on the Fairfax board, the hands of News Limited commentators are tied, which is why commentary on Ron Walker leaving has been particularly quiet.

New blood jostles for Fairfax control

Was there ever a company more clearly in need of fresh talent than Fairfax Media? Sadly, the Fairfax board is better at perpetuating itself than reinventing and reinvigorating.

Gerard Noonan: Why I’m running for the Fairfax board

Veteran Fairfax journalist and editor Gerard Noonan makes his pitch for election to the board of Fairfax Media in an attempt to end the company’s “childish corporate bickering”.

Fairfax falls further into the abyss

The Fairfax Board needs people who understand media — and in particular, what a media company needs to be in the internet age. Ron Walker has never understood media, let alone new media.

Bartholomeusz: Walking the plank

Fairfax Chairman Ron Walker’s declaration of his retirement intentions to the AFR was the final straw for shareholders, who weren’t big fans of his in the first place, says Stephen Bartholomeusz.

Dear Fairfax: Martin Bryant’s mother set to sue

Crikey has obtained a copy of a letter from Slater and Gordon to Fairfax Media on behalf of convicted serial killer Martin Bryant’s mother Carleen Bryant.

Will Fairfax subsidise their flagships for the health of democracy?

Are Fairfax Media prepared to fund the papers at, or close to, a loss in the interests of Australian democracy?

Fairfax, AWB and co. bury bad news in the budget build-up

Fairfax Media was in good company yesterday as it tried to hide a sharp profit downgrade under the cloak of the Federal Budget.

Media briefs: White House plane detained, Phuket, let’s pun and more

China detains White House media plane: A charter airplane carrying the White House press corps was detained for nearly three hours Friday at Beijing’s international airport not long after President Bush arrived to attend the Olympic Games. The flight crew of the Northwest Airlines 747 had been expecting to park at a VIP terminal, but […]

Clock ticking for Jaspan

Things move fast and late at Fairfax when it comes to executive appointments, writes Margaret Simons.

Not so fast AFL. Who will pay for (or watch) this northern expansion?

In all their enthusiasm for the AFL northern invasion story, Fairfax media and the AFL seem to be studiously ignoring the realties of TV advertising and viewing patterns in NSW and Queensland, writes Glenn Dyer.

The re-formatting that Fairfax forgot

Last April Fairfax was all abuzz, with news that its unwieldy broadsheets would be trimmed down to look like the sleek New York Times. Nine months later and it appears that the readers could be disappointed, writes Andrew Dodd.

The Fairfax CEO’s guide to Christmas Party etiquette

The Rural Press/Fairfax merger has been a disaster, things aren’t going well, but make sure you behave at the Christmas Party. Fairfax has its priorities right…

To pay or not to pay: the Fairfax online dilemma

Well done to The Age today for gently undermining sister Fairfax publication, the Australian Financial Review, and for exposing some of the battles being waged in the disputed territory of business online media.

Need a good CEO? Use the Fairfax model, try an All Black

It continues to amaze what a strong, front foot player for a CEO can do to a company’s standing in the markets. Or a former All Black captain and halfback. Glenn Dyer reports.

Media briefs and TV ratings

New director for Fairfax Media … Diana, Origin and Sea Patrol should give Nine a rare ratings win … Dancing Daryl going back to the future? … Last night’s TV ratings.