Yesterday’s unsubstantiated tips and rumours included a doozy about the Courier-Mail
in Brisbane. Inter alia, it said: “Various sections have been earmarked
for execution. Starting with the Home Magazine – possibly the best read
of all inserts it’s being shut. Then there’s the travel section, the
daily features section, perspectives, entertainment etc and various
columnists are being closely examined to see if they will survive. In
the background are a number of senior journalists who are also likely
to face the chop. Editor David Fagan at a staff meeting denied there
would be job cuts instead choosing to spin it along the lines of people
are going to be doing different jobs. Which raises the question will
50-year-old reporters be doing late night police rounds, I don’t think
so. Wait for the sackings er.. I mean redundancies.”

Sorry? The
money-making Home magazine is being shut? What a good idea! Who needs
money? And travel? Well, no one travels these days. Features,
perspectives? Entertainment? Why on earth would a compact newspaper
want an entertainment section?

Yes, of course columnists are
being thought about. The approach of a compact is likely to be a bit
different. And yes, people will be doing different jobs – but name any
newspaper where occasional changes don’t happen.

Redundancies? Not many, if any.

A curious thing about this tabloid/broadsheet argument is that The Age
in Melbourne now publishes more tabloid sections a week than the Herald
Sun. Yet columnist Lawrie Money continues to snipe at “the little
paper.” (That’s the one that outsells The Age 550,000 to under 200,000.)