The Australian newspaper company, Fairfax, is in financial trouble and is planning to make big changes to save money. These changes include changing the size of two major papers from broadsheet to tabloid, making readers pay if they want to read the paper on-line and cutting 1900 jobs. The reasons for the financial trouble are a drop in the number of readers and a drop in the number of advertisers.
How does this affect New Zealand? Fairfax owns Wellington’s Dominion Post, the Christchurch Press, the Waikato Times as well as newspapers in many smaller towns. At the moment, New Zealand papers do not have the same financial problems. This may be because we only have one main newspaper in each town or city whereas Australian cities usually have more than one so there is competition. In fact, New Zealand will benefit a little from the problems in Australia because some of the work, like sub-editing, will be done here instead of in Australia.
In many other parts of the world, print newspapers are losing money as more people use the internet.
Vocabulary
• broadsheet newspaper – large; 38 x 61cm
• tabloid newspaper – small like a free community paper; 30 x 40cm
• affect – influence, make a difference to New Zealand
• benefit – be good (for New Zealand)
• sub-editing – check there are no mistakes and write a headline
Questions
1. Why is a broadsheet paper cheaper than a tabloid one?
2. Will readers pay for on-line news or will they get their news from TV and radio instead?
3. Do we need news? Do we need newspapers?
4. Why will some work, like sub-editing, be done in New Zealand?
5. Are newspapers in financial trouble in your country?
6. What is the future for newspapers?
I think readers won’t pay money for online news.Too many free news on website in these days.Newspapers will disappear in NZ or australia.More poeple are reading news in internet.It is a trend.In my country,many small newspapers’ companies are facing same problem.