Fairfax Media
Nine Entertainment Co. | |
Headquarters | , Australia |
---|---|
Area served | Australia New Zealand |
Key people | Greg Hywood (CEO) Nick Falloon (Chairman) |
Products | Newspapers Radio Magazines Websites |
Revenue | AU$1.73 billion (25 June 2017)[1] |
AU$142.6 million (25 June 2017)[1] | |
Number of employees | 5,122 full-time employees 658 part-time and casual employees (25 June 2017)[1] |
Website | Fairfax Media (archived) |
Fairfax Media was a media company in Australia and New Zealand, with investments in newspaper, magazines, radio and digital properties. The company was founded by John Fairfax as John Fairfax and Sons, who purchased The Sydney Morning Herald in 1841. The Fairfax family retained control of the business until late in the 20th century.
The company also owned several regional and national Australian newspapers, including
The group's last chairman was Nick Falloon[2] and the CEO was Greg Hywood.[3]
On 26 July 2018, Fairfax Media and
History
John Fairfax purchased The Sydney Morning Herald in 1841.[4] Several generations of the Fairfax family continued to control the company. Fairfax Media was founded by the Fairfax family as John Fairfax and Sons, later to become John Fairfax Holdings. The Fairfax family lost control of the company in December 1990. It was renamed from John Fairfax Holdings to Fairfax Media in 2007.[citation needed]
1950s to 1999
In 1987,
2000 to 2009
In 2003, Fairfax acquired many of New Zealand's highest-profile newspapers when it bought the publishing assets of that country's Independent Newspapers Limited, whose cornerstone shareholder was News Corp Australia. In July 2005, Fairfax acquired the RSVP dating site for A$38 million.[11] In August 2005, Fairfax's general classifieds site created in March 2004, Cracker.com.au consistently exceeded 500,000 unique visitors a month.[citation needed] In December 2005, Fairfax acquired Stayz Pty Ltd[12] for A$12.7 million.[13] This investment proved to be successful as Stayz was sold on 27 November 2013, for $220 million, exceeding its estimated net debt of $154 million.[13] In September 2007, Fairfax acquired online funds management business, InvestSMART, from founders Ron Hodge and Nigel Poole for A$12M.[14][15] In August 2013, Fairfax sold the InvestSMART business to Australasian Wealth Investments Limited, now called InvestSMART Group Limited,[16] for A$7M.[17][18]
In August 2005, Fairfax ended its 16-month search for a new chief executive officer with
On 7 December 2006, John Fairfax Holdings and
On 7 March 2007, Fairfax Media announced a new website for Brisbane, called the Brisbane Times. The website initially employed 14 journalists and was an attempt by Fairfax to break into the South East Queensland market.[citation needed] On 20 March 2007 Fairfax Media launched a new business website, BusinessDay.com.au that aggregated feeds from the other news vehicles in the Fairfax stable as well as "from the world's most respected news sources". It featured breaking news updated "every 15 minutes".[citation needed] Also in 2007 Fairfax Media bought the radio assets of Southern Cross Broadcasting. Macquarie Media Group purchased Southern Cross for A$1.35 billion and onsold these assets to the Fairfax Group.[21]
On 26 August 2007, Kirk and Deputy CEO Brian McCarthy announced that 550 staff would be cut as part of a "business improvement" programme. The staff reductions would take place in both Australia and New Zealand, with the latter country bearing the brunt of the cuts, with 160 full-time employees losing their jobs.
As of May 2008 Fairfax Media had a market capitalisation of over A$5 billion.[citation needed] The number of printed edition readers has fallen since 2006 and the group's stock price has declined by more than 60 percent since 2007, to less than A$2 billion by September 2011, and by 85 percent at June 2012.[citation needed]
On 11 July 2007, Fairfax Media acquired the former radio assets of Southern Cross Broadcasting (on-sold from Macquarie Media Group's purchase of SCB):
Fairfax also acquired Satellite Music Australia (SMA) as part of the SCB deal, who provide music channels to retailers, as well as Foxtel and Austar[25] (where it is branded AIR). MyTalk, a datacasting channel, was officially purchased from Southern Cross Broadcasting on 5 November 2007,[26] and ceased broadcasting on 25 February 2008.[citation needed]
2010 to 2013
In late 2011, John B. Fairfax and his family investment company, Marinya Media, sold their remaining 9.7 percent stake in Fairfax Media for A$189 million. The sale came after an earlier dispute between John B. Fairfax and
In 2012, mining billionaire Gina Rinehart became Fairfax's biggest shareholder, purchasing a 14 percent stake in the company. Rinehart also sought a position on the Fairfax board.[31] By June 2012, Rinehart had increased her stake in Fairfax Media to 18.67 percent, and was believed to seek three board seats and involvement in editorial decisions.[32] There were reports that Rinehart sought to increase her total share to 19.99%, the maximum allowed before a takeover offer must be made. But provisions in Fairfax Media's insurance policy denied cover for directors owning more than 15%, so Rinehart had to sell down to 14.99%. Rinehart was denied a place on the board because she would not agree to Fairfax's charter of independence, and sold her stake in 2015.[33]
On 18 June 2012, as part of evolving to a sustainable model for its news media business, Fairfax Media announced it would cut 1,900 staff and begin to erect digital paywalls around its two main metropolitan news brands, The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age. It also announced it was shifting to "compact" or tabloid-sized editions of the broadsheet newspapers from March 2013, and that its two printing facilities at
In 2012, Fairfax Media acquired Netus Pty Ltd, a technology investment company which owned 85% of Allure Media, and purchased the remaining 15% from minority shareholders. Allure Media own a range of websites, including the Australian licenses for Business Insider, Lifehacker, Gizmodo, and Kotaku.[citation needed]
2014 to 2018
In 2014, Fairfax Media founded online streaming company
In 2015, Fairfax created a partnership with
In March 2016, many staff from its newspaper divisions went on a 4-day strike over planned job cuts of 120 editorial staff from The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age and The Australian Financial Review. All printed and digital editions continued during the action.
On 26 July 2018, Fairfax Media and Nine Entertainment Co. announced it had agreed on terms for a merger between the two companies. Shareholders in Nine Entertainment Co. took a 51% of the combined entity and Fairfax shareholders own 49%.[42] Fairfax Media was delisted from the Australian Securities Exchange in December 2018.[43]
Products and divisions
Fairfax had a portfolio of print and digital media assets.[44] The Fairfax divisions cover:
- Australian Metro Publishing: includes masthead newspaper brands Nine Publishing.
- The Newcastle Herald and Illawarra Mercury, as well as free community papers. This was spun-off into an independent company in 2019.
- Printing: Printing facilities in Australia and New Zealand.
- Events: arts, cultural, business, entertainment and sporting events, including Good Food Month and City2Surf and City to Surf (Perth). This entity was sold to Ironman Group.
- Digital ventures: encompasses dating sites RSVP and Oasis, weather forecasters, including Stan.
- Radio: holds a 54.4% stake in , as well as music distributor Satellite Music Australia.
- New Zealand: The Dominion Post in Wellington and The Pressin Christchurch, as well as magazine titles and events.
Fairfax held a 60% stake in Domain Group, a digital real estate business containing Domain.com.au, which was a wholly owned subsidiary until it was spun off as a publicly listed company in November 2017.[50]
Properties
Australia
Newspapers
Fairfax Media published metropolitan, agricultural, regional and community newspapers, financial and consumer magazines. In Australia, mastheads include .
Fairfax published The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald. It also publishes a daily business tabloid, The Australian Financial Review.
Fairfax also owned papers in major regional centres, including the
As a result of its
On 30 April 2019, Nine announced the sale of Fairfax community papers to former Fairfax Media executive Antony 'The Cat' Catalano for $115 million.[51]
Magazines
Fairfax published a number of magazines, such as The Magazine (Sydney), The Age Magazine (Melbourne) and Good Weekend, which were distributed with their newspapers. In addition, the company published business-centered magazines including
Digital
Fairfax owned a profitable Australian online subsidiary, Fairfax Digital, which was once known as the F2 Network. Fairfax publishes web editions of most of its newspaper titles, as well as digital only news sites in
Rural Press owns a range of similar classifieds and local newspaper websites.
On 21 December 2012, Fairfax Media announced the acquisition of Netus Pty Ltd, a technology investment company. Netus owned 85% of Allure Media. Fairfax purchased the remaining 15 per cent of Allure Media from minority shareholders resulting in Fairfax ownership of 100 per cent of Allure Media.[53] Allure Media own a range of websites, including the Australian licenses for Lifehacker, Gizmodo and Kotaku.
Syndication
Fairfax Syndication[54] manages the commercial licensing and distribution of text, photographic and multimedia content to media companies and commercial clients worldwide. Fairfax Syndication has enabled instant online licensing and has developed a customised syndication application 'API' that allows existing and future syndication clients access to real-time content from multiple websites for immediate use on other platforms. The division also represents their image library and photo syndication service containing over 16 million images.
New Zealand
The New Zealand subsidiary was named Fairfax New Zealand Limited until 2018, when it was renamed Stuff Limited to align with the name of its flagship website. It was sold to its CEO Sinead Boucher in a management buyout for $1 NZD in 2020.[55] Parent company Nine retained most of the proceeds of the sale of Stuff's broadband subsidiary to Vocus Group, and maintained control of its Wellington printing press operation.
On 1 September 2011, Fairfax New Zealand announced the launch of the news agency Fairfax New Zealand News (FNZ), partly in response to the New Zealand Press Association (NZPA) closure, but also as part of its drive to improve its journalism. In December 2014, Fairfax entered a partnership with local social media platform Neighbourly.[56] In 2016, Fairfax Media sold a number of its key special interest titles, including Boating New Zealand and New Zealand Fishing News magazines.
See also
References
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- ^ "Nick Falloon confirmed as Chairman upon the retirement of Roger Corbett". fairfaxmedia.com.au. Archived from the original on 7 September 2015. Retrieved 16 September 2015.
- ^ Lee, Julian. "Fairfax chief executive quits". Brisbane Times. Australia. Archived from the original on 25 August 2023. Retrieved 6 December 2010.
- ^ a b "History of the Sydney Morning Herald". The Sydney Morning Herald. 2011. Archived from the original on 10 April 2013. Retrieved 12 November 2011.
- ^ "Rural Press Ltd. | Encyclopedia.com". Archived from the original on 9 June 2019. Retrieved 9 June 2019.
- ^ a b "Let battle commence". The Economist. 24 April 1997. Archived from the original on 29 June 2012. Retrieved 12 November 2011.
- ^ Gardiner-Garden, John; Chowns, Jonathan (30 May 2006). "Media Ownership Regulation in Australia". Parliamentary Library. Parliament of Australia.
- ^ Schatzker, Erik (18 November 2003). "Conrad Black quits". The Age. Australia. Archived from the original on 2 January 2011. Retrieved 12 November 2011.
- ^ Smith, Michael (11 December 2007). "Conrad Black's legacy in Australia". The Drum. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Archived from the original on 1 April 2011. Retrieved 12 November 2011.
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- ^ "Fairfax buys online dating service". The Sydney Morning Herald. 11 July 2005. Archived from the original on 15 January 2012. Retrieved 6 January 2011.
- ^ "Stayz Holiday Accommodation – Holiday Rentals". Stayz. Archived from the original on 29 November 2010. Retrieved 13 November 2010.
- ^ a b Johnston, Eric (5 December 2013). "Fairfax sells Stayz accommodation website for $220m to HomeAway". The Age. Melbourne. Archived from the original on 7 December 2013. Retrieved 5 December 2013.
- ^ Steffens, Miriam (11 September 2007). "Fairfax buys online fund management site". The Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on 25 August 2023. Retrieved 18 February 2020.
- ^ "Fairfax buys InvestSMART for $12m". The Australian. Australian Associated Press. 10 September 2007. Archived from the original on 22 July 2019. Retrieved 20 May 2021.
- ^ "ASX Announce - Name Change" (PDF). Australian Securities Exchange. 18 May 2016. Archived (PDF) from the original on 22 September 2020. Retrieved 20 May 2021.
- ^ Burrowes, Tim (13 August 2013). "Fairfax sells InvestSmart for $7m, after buying it for $12m". Mumbrella. Archived from the original on 5 August 2020. Retrieved 18 February 2020.
- ^ "Fairfax exits InvestSMART". Money Management. 12 August 2013. Archived from the original on 31 July 2020. Retrieved 18 February 2020.
- ^ "News Corp buys 7.5% of Australia's Fairfax", Financial Times, October 20, 2006. Archived 31 October 2020 at the Wayback Machine.
- ^ "Fairfax Name Change". 12 January 2007. Retrieved 24 March 2007.[dead link]
- ^ "Southern Cross Broadcasting sold for $1.35b". ABC News. Australia. 3 June 2007. Archived from the original on 10 December 2007. Retrieved 3 June 2007.
- ^ "Fairfax email to staff about job cuts". The Australian. Archived from the original on 2 September 2008. Retrieved 26 August 2008.
- ^ "A message from the Media, Entertainment & Arts Alliance (MEAA) – News". fairgofairfax.org.au. Archived from the original on 6 January 2016. Retrieved 16 September 2015.
- ^ Tabakoff, Nick (7 November 2007). "Fairfax to axe syndicated programs". The Australian. News. Archived from the original on 9 November 2007. Retrieved 12 November 2007.
- ^ "Interview: Colin Fraser". Australian Music Online. 2004. Archived from the original on 10 September 2007. Retrieved 12 November 2007.
- ^ "Southern Cross falls to Mac and Fairfax". The Australian. 3 June 2007. Archived from the original on 9 November 2007. Retrieved 3 June 2007.
- ^ Bartholomeusz, Stephen (10 November 2011). "Fairfax ends the romance". Business Spectator. Archived from the original on 12 November 2011. Retrieved 12 November 2011.
- ^ Dick, Tim (11 November 2011). "End of an era as Fairfax family calls it quits". The Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on 11 November 2011. Retrieved 12 November 2011.
- ^ "Marinya Media divests ownership of Fairfax Media" (PDF). The Australian Financial Review (Press release). 10 November 2011. Archived (PDF) from the original on 5 April 2012. Retrieved 12 November 2011.
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- ^ Walters, Kath (17 May 2012). "Rinehart's pitch for Fairfax board: why it's going wrong". Leading Company.
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- ^ "Recipes, Restaurant Reviews & Food Guides from goodfood.com.au". Good Food. Archived from the original on 29 April 2016. Retrieved 28 April 2016.
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- ^ "Essential Baby: Parenting Information For Mothers, Fathers, Parents & Parents to be". Essential Baby. Archived from the original on 25 April 2016. Retrieved 28 April 2016.
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- ^ Ryan, Peter; Davis, Jessica (30 April 2019). "Nine sells Fairfax community newspapers to Antony Catalano". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Archived from the original on 12 September 2021. Retrieved 30 April 2019.
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- RNZ. 25 May 2020. Archivedfrom the original on 25 May 2020. Retrieved 15 October 2021.
- ^ "Neighbourly and Fairfax Join Forces". 10 December 2014. Blog post from Neighbourly management: "... today we are excited to be announcing a very special partnership; Neighbourly has joined forces with Fairfax Media NZ."
Fairfax archive collections
- Fairfax Media Limited Business Archive, documents five generations of Fairfax dynasty ownership of the company, 1795–2006. State Library of New South Wales MLMSS 9894
- Series 001: Minutes of the meetings of the Board of Directors of John Fairfax Limited, 1956-1985
- Series 005: Annual reports of The Sun Newspaper Company Limited, 1911-1919
- Series 006: Annual Reports of Sun Newspapers Limited, 1921-1930|
- Series 029: Index to the Minutes of the Meetings of the Board of Directors of Associated Newspapers Limited, 1937-1951
- Series 033: Rough Minute Books of meetings of Daily Telegraph News Pictorial Limited, 1927-1930
- Series 038: Consolidated Annual Accounts John Fairfax & Sons Pty Ltd and subsidiaries, 1927-1979