Fairfax consigned to history as Nine trumpets 'great content'

The Fairfax Media mastheads, including the Sydney Morning Herald and the Age, have become part of Nine, ending the historic newspaper brand after 177 years.

The Nine chief executive, Hugh Marks, told staff they were part of Australia’s largest locally owned media company, “evolved from two of the great heritage brands, Fairfax and Nine, who have served our community with the best entertainment, content, sport and news journalism for decades”.

“The Nine we come in to on Monday is the home of great Australian storytelling which engages millions of people every week and a business which collectively spends over $850m a year investing in Australian content,” Marks said.

Marks addressed the staff of the Sydney Morning Herald and the Australian Financial Review at their Pyrmont headquarters on Monday morning.

The media empire, which was approved by shareholders last month, will be divided into four divisions: television, the streaming service Stan, publishing and Australian Community Media and Printing.

The merger also made Nine the majority shareholder in Domain and Macquarie Media, the broadcaster of Alan Jones and Ray Hadley on 2GB.

“It’s business as usual at the newspapers as there have been no changes to the editorial side or redundancies to journalists under the new owners,” Marks said.

But Nine said last week that the merger would result in 144 jobs lost in the back office functions of the two businesses.

The Age moved to reassure readers that the high editorial standards established over 164 years would remain.

“When Nine Entertainment and Fairfax Media announced their intention some months ago to combine their assets, there were concerns about the outlook for the independent, public-interest journalism of the mastheads, including the Age, the Sydney Morning Herald and the Australian Financial Review,” the Age’s editorial said.

“Such disquiet is understandable, given global evidence of manipulation by some media proprietors, and is a welcome reflection of the value and trust our audience and the community at large place in our journalism.

“But the concern is misplaced. In the days after the merger bid was announced, the Nine board, unbidden, also endorsed the charter [of editorial independence]. Undermining the credibility of the mastheads would evidently be a value-destroying move. We will retain the bond with our readers by focusing on the news that matters to them.

“Corporate ownership of the Age has changed numerous times since that first edition in 1864. The independence and values of our journalism have not, and will not.”

Marks said Nine’s mission was to create great content and engage both audiences and advertisers.

“But the breadth of our opportunity to do so will increase significantly through the addition of the mastheads, their substantial print and digital footprints, and the ability to work cooperatively with both Domain and Macquarie Media,” he said.

“Great content means any number of things at Nine: it can be a TV show like The Block, which draws millions of viewers every night and captures watercooler discussion, or it can be ground-breaking journalism such as Adele Ferguson’s reporting of banking malpractice that drives community discussion on both a national and local level and forces the sector to reform.

“It can be great entertainment content like Young Sheldon or Billions, which is delivered to the device of the audience’s choosing on platforms like Channel Nine, 9Now and Stan, or can be radio programs such as Neil Mitchell’s on 3AW which sets the agenda and drives debate across an entire city like Melbourne.”