There’s all sorts of talk coming out of Fairfax in the wake of departed CEO David Kirk.
Talk of how his $2.8-million-a-year deputy, Brian McCarthy, now acting CEO, has been out to get his boss since the Rural Press merge in May 2007. “He plotted from day one.”
Of how the fabled Fairfax “silos” that divided the business between print, online, magazines, radio, dating sites and more, actually represented divisions between the territorial claims of McCarthy and Kirk.
Of how we will now see McCarthy and the Rural Press “hard bastard” ethos in ascendency. McCarthy a man whose every second utterance is “what would I know, I’m just a boy from the bush” evinces a faux naivete that masks an utterly ruthless cutter and shaver.
Talk of how David Kirk took a business worth $7billion in the boom and reduced it to a $2.2billion husk. Of how all of a sudden Fred Hilmer’s reign looks almost like a golden age, with a share price that tipped $6.20 at one point and a circle of acolytes that have now dispersed — like Mark Scott and Alan Revell – into successful new incarnations. Of how Kirk loved his politics, New Zealand and the online business. How he never “got” the Fairfax newspapers, was never engaged by that facet of the business and handed it to McCarthy as a play thing.
Of how McCarthy never met with his editors and treated them with disdain — Andrew Jaspan in particular. Of how Kirk too simply failed to manage, was “utterly inaccessible” according to one current senior manager and at one stage had 16 directly reporting executives. Of how McCarthy ran Management Development Groups and used them as a forum to directly, openly, undermine Kirk and sell his vision of a streamlined, cost-conscious publisher — “the McCarthy Doctrine” said one attendee. Of how Fairfax digital boss, the smooth talking yank Jack Matthews — a Kirk man — is a lame duck. Chairman Ron Walker too.
This is how one senior Fairfax hand sees the morning’s events: “This is a great result for shareholders, but the end of Fairfax as we know it. This is a company that represents none of its former brand equity. It is a disaster. McCarthy will take over. And his crew. These are guys that boast about running newspapers with 95% advertising. That’s not a newspaper. That’s a brochure. That’s the future of Fairfax.”
Much to talk about at The Age Christmas Party tonight at swanky Federation Square eatery Zinc. And elsewhere.
Oh how sad. I didn’t had the opportunity to meet David Kirk or become familiar with his talents or lack thereof, but rest assure he was not the problem. He was setup to take a fall and what better timing with the world financial crisis playing out. Previously on this site, I read a story that described McCarthy as the “slash and burn king”, a description I couldn’t have worded any better.
Rural Press pre-merger, was run by a team of Senior Management that prided themselves on insecurity and standover tactics and for the majority of their careers were afraid of their own shadows. A team that was so intent on recruiting “yes” people they didn’t have time to stategise or prioritise. A team that displayed more politics than the House of Representatives, whose sole aim was to support and nurture only staff that couldn’t survive in the real world of talent, initiative, drive, determination and a job well done.
Now enough of the banter, the point here is Captain Kirk didn’t stand a chance. The “New” Fairfax will most cetainly be an advertising brochure, digital advertising will take a back seat, Senior Management salaries will increase, as will their disgraceful bonuses, editorial content and integrity will be a thing of the past due to a skeleton crew, and staff on all levels will be watching their own backs.
The only thing I would add to this comment is that McCarthy’s “disdain” for editorial staff was matched only by his utter contemp to the rest of the staff.
I have been so disappointed with Fairfax this week as much as any. Early this week I sent SMH, the AGE and the Australian journalists a tip off about corruption over visas within the Indonesian embassy.
Paul Maley rang me, Mark Dodd rang Freddie at the Romero centre and Hassan Ghulam the well known Afghan refugee advocate. Stephen Fitzpatrick visited the Australian funded concentration camp and found the heart breaking story of Gholam Ali who had survived the TAMPA, been sent to Nauru and forced home after 18 months. He had to leave again and has now been locked up in Indonesia at our expense for 8 months while his wife and kids live in hell.
Then today we have another horror story of a whole Iranian Kurdish family locked up just for trying to rejoin their Australian accepted son.
What did the stupid Tom Allard do? He believed the ridiculous story peddled again by the AFP about IOM saying their was a surge even though Michael Danby debunked that on Tuesday.
Now he is peddling some hoax about an Iranian “smuggler” being part of a gang “recruiting” victims.
Let’s get this clear. Refugees go looking for agents to get them safely away from danger, not the other way around so if things go right there are no f………..g victims here.
I wrote to Fairfax a number of times and got no response from Cynthia Banham, Jewel Topsfield or Connie Levett or the tip off desk where I sent the first tip off on 29 November.
Do others see what is wrong with this picture and did you see the killer front page on Thursday’s Australian?