You probably missed this story, on page 15 of today’s Australian Financial Review, overshadowed by all the big media moves and staff cuts:
“The parliamentary bureau of the 86-year-old Canberra Times will close as part of the restructure of Fairfax Media … Journalists were told The Canberra Times’ ‘focus in future would be on more local news’.”
Let’s parse that news. The only daily newspaper in Australia’s capital city, where politics and government is the main industry, will no longer have its own bureau or its own dedicated journalists covering federal parliament and all its entrails.
Of all the white flags raised by Fairfax this week — closing printing plants, removing 1900 staff, hinting at fewer printed newspapers in the future — the decision to close the parliamentary bureau of the national capital’s proud newspaper is, in symbolic terms, one of the most depressing.
This is newspaper that, in its heyday, attempted to model itself on the Washington Post as a serious broadsheet that covered the capital’s local news and national affairs for a unique audience in the company town of politics. The newspaper that has as its motto: “To Serve the National City and Through it The Nation”.
The unravelling of quality journalism doesn’t get much closer to home for federal politicians than this.
I’m with you, editor, whoever you are. Local to Canberra by definition is parliament. CT might as well close completely and leave the news services to The Chronicle.
Does this also mean that Jack Waterford will also be neutered? Heaven help us. There goes any quality analysis.
Roy Bray
What a great financial idea. Instead of selling advertising to
the car yards etc. , the CT can now publish any PR handout
be it Government , Political Party, or Business in its unedited
entirety.It may cost a it bit of subbing in New Zealand or wherever
for the inevitable spelling errors. But ; the CT can charge issuers
of the handouts by the column cm. for the privildge to publish.
The CT could hold an auction for the cost per colomn cm.
Money, money, money.
I expect,soon to have my Times delivered free.
End Times indeed.
Dude…you are talking about The Canberra Times. Yes, they “attempted to model themselves on the Washington Post.” You can’t do that by using first year journos paid at the lowest rate.