The Maitland Mercury will be published three days a week instead of five under proposed changes presented to staff yesterday.
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Employees at the Mercury and other Hunter mastheads, including the Newcastle Herald, Cessnock Advertiser and Dungog Chronicle, were briefed on Fairfax Media plans to restructure the Newcastle and Hunter operations of its Australian Community Media (ACM) division.
Under the proposal the Mercury will move from publishing Monday to Friday to publishing three days a week and the Singleton Argus will move from publishing twice a week to a weekly edition.
The proposal includes a new digital-first publishing system for newsrooms and new equipment and training for journalists and sales teams.
The Mercury, established on January 7, 1843, is one of Australia’s oldest regional newspapers and has been published every week day since January 1, 1894.
The mayor of Maitland, Cr Peter Blackmore, said he was very disappointed with news that the Mercury would no longer be published every weekday.
Despite a move toward a stronger digital platform, Cr Blackmore said he believed people still valued the printed newspaper product.
“It has been referred to as ‘the bible’ in Maitland,” he said.
“It is very much a part of our community and has given many people the opportunity for recognition.”
If the proposal goes ahead ACM expects to call for voluntary redundancies of about 69 full-time equivalent positions across the region.
This includes about 46 full-time equivalent positions in newsrooms, involved mainly in editorial production, management and photography, with the balance from administration and sales.
The Newcastle and Hunter operating group is led by business manager Jason King, who presented the plan to staff yesterday.
“We have no choice but to adapt and evolve our business in response to how audiences are consuming news and information – and the new ways advertisers connect with our valuable audiences,” Mr King said.
Maitland MP Jenny Aitchison urged the community to support the Mercury through the change.
“I pay my respects to all staff of the paper who have worked so hard to tell the stories of everyone in our community in what must be such difficult circumstances,” she said.
Mr King said a final decision on which days of the week the Mercury would be published would be made after consultation with staff and key advertisers.
Director of ACM John Angilley said the proposal was based on a detailed assessment of the company’s needs across the region.
“Our mastheads in Newcastle and the Hunter must embrace change to ensure they remain the most trusted source of news and information for years to come,” Mr Angilley said.
“We are committed to providing coverage of the local communities we serve and by better focusing our resources we will strengthen our newspapers and websites for the future.”
