In June, Fairfax CEO Greg Hywood announced a dramatic plan to shed 1900 jobs in a bid to slash the company’s costs. Applications for voluntary redundancies have closed and it’s clear an enormous amount of talent — and experience — is leaving the company.
Crikey is compiling a list of editorial staff who have announced or confirmed their departure, and we’ll be keeping it updated as the names roll in …
The Sydney Morning Herald / The Sun-Herald
- Peter Fray (editor-in-chief)
- Amanda Wilson (editor)
- Mark Coultan (deputy editor)
- Peter Kerr (executive editor — leaving in October)
- David Marr (senior writer)
- Adele Horin (columnist and journalist)
- Malcolm Brown (journalist)
- Judy Prisk (readers’ editor)
- Andrew Stevenson (education editor)
- Jen Rosenberg (education reporter)
- Hamish McDonald (Asia-Pacific editor)
- Greg Bearup (Good Weekend feature writer)
- Fenella Souter (Good Weekend feature writer)
- Janet Hawley (Good Weekend feature writer)
- Nikki Barrowclough (Good Weekend feature writer)
- Eliza Compton (Good Weekend chief subeditor)
- Joel Gibson (opinion editor)
- Cynthia Banham (diplomatic editor)
- Greg Hassall (The Guide editor)
- Doug Anderson (TV reviewer)
- Bruce Elder (popular culture writer)
- Ian Verrender (senior business columnist)
- Scott Rochfort (“CBD” business columnist)
- Elisabeth Sexton (senior business writer)
- Leonie Lamont (business reporter)
- Annette Sampson (personal finance editor)
- Vita Palestrant (Money editor)
- Matthew Moore (urban affairs editor)
- Geesche Jacobsen (legal affairs reporter)
- Deborah Smith (science editor)
- Clare Morgan (arts editor)
- Lynne Dwyer (arts journalist)
- Joyce Morgan (arts journalist)
- Wendy Frew (arts journalist)
- Charles Purcell (arts journalist)
- Julie Robotham (health editor)
- Mark Metherell (health correspondent)
- Julian Lee (media writer)
- Matt Buchanan (senior writer and Diary editor)
- Fiona McGill (News Review editor)
- Mari Gibson (Domain journalist)
- Elicia Murray (Spectrum deputy editor)
- Debra Jopson (senior writer)
- John Huxley (senior writer)
- David Humphries (senior writer)
- Paola Totaro (former Europe correspondent)
- Helen Greenwood (food writer)
- Kelly Burke (journalist)
- Steve Meacham (journalist)
- Catharine Munro (journalist)
- Robert Wainright (journalist)
- Ellie Harvey (journalist)
- Emily Dunn (journalist)
- Jennie Curtin (deputy chief of staff)
- Jennifer Cooke (former legal affairs reporter)
- Daniel Dasey (special reports editor)
- Sacha Molitorisz (feature writer)
- Chris Henning (leader writer)
- Josh Rakic (sports journalist)
- Greg Prichard (sports journalist)
- Michael Cockerill (sports journalist)
- Michael Cowley (sports journalist)
- Greg Growden (chief rugby correspondent — leaving after football finals)
- Craig Young (racing journalist)
- Greg Bakes (designer)
- Rob Mills (page editor)
- Nadia Jamal (deputy editor – The Sun Herald )
- David Knox (senior editor – The Sun Herald)
- Mari Gibson (Domain editor – The Sun Herald)
- Jim O’Rourke (journalist – The Sun Herald)
- Terry Smythe (journalist – The Sun Herald)
- Quentin Jones (photographer)
- Jon Reid (photographer)
- Steve Christo (photographer)
- Simon Alekna (photographer)
- Dom Postiglione (photographer)
- Mags King (features photo editor)
- Jessica Irvine (economics writer; moving to News Limited and understood not to have taken redundancy)
- Joshua Dowling (motoring editor; moving to News Limited and understood not to have taken redundancy)
The Age / The Sunday Age
- Paul Ramadge (editor-in-chief)
- Misha Schubert (political editor – The Sunday Age)
- Karen Kissane (Europe correspondent)
- Kirsty Simpson (media editor)
- Lorna Edwards (“Melbourne Life” editor)
- Ray Cassin (senior writer)
- Andrew Cooke (news editor)
- Tom Ormonde (senior subeditor)
- Ian Davidson (subeditor)
- Shaun Carney (associate editor)
- Carolyn Jones (foreign editor)
- Simon Mann (ex-Washington correspondent)
- Mike van Niekerk (weekday editor)
- Paul Millar (police reporter)
- Caroline Milburn (education reporter)
- Reid Sexton (state politics reporter)
- Patrick Smithers (executive news editor)
- Robin Usher (arts writer)
- Ken Merrigan (education editor)
- Seamus Bradley (associate editor – The Sunday Age)
- Tom Hyland (international editor – The Sunday Age)
- Rachel Gubby (senior editor – The Sunday Age)
- Roslyn Guy (associate editor)
- Raymond Gill (senior arts writer)
- Ian Munro (senior writer)
- Gary Munro (senior editor)
- Gabriella Coslovich (senior writer)
- Jo Chandler (senior writer)
- Gary Tippet (senior writer)
- Nicole Brady (senior writer)
- Julie Szego (senior writer)
- Martin Blake (sports writer — will leave after AFL Finals)
- Andrew Eddy (racing editor — will leave after Spring Carnival)
- Farah Farouque (Law and Justice Editor)
- Gerry Carman (senior journalist)
- Philip Hopkins (business writer)
- Ian McIlwraith (business writer)
- Fran Atkinson (Green Guide deputy editor)
- Veronica Ridge (Life & Style editor)
- Andrew Heasley (motor industry reporter)
- Frank Maiorana (artist)
- Judy Green (designer)
- Christina Carter (designer)
- Viki Lascaris (images editor)
- Craig Sillitoe (photographer)
- John Woudstra (photographer)
- Craig Abraham (photographer)
- Rodger Cummins (photographer)
- Mark Ellis (deputy arts editor)
- David Dick (iPad editor; will leave early next year)
- Andrew Murfett (Green Guide editor)
The Australian Financial Review
- Roger Johnstone (weekend editor)
- Deirdre Macken (columnist)
- Derry Hogue (foreign editor)
- Marguerite Winter (The Australian Financial Review Magazine deputy editor)
- Barrie Dunstan (columnist)
- Mark Fenton-Jones (special reports editor)
- Michael Fitzjames (illustrator)
The Canberra Times
- Ian Sharpe (cartoonist)
- Graham Downie (reporter, will leave in October)
- Diana Streak (arts editor)
- Gillian Lord (features editor)
- Gia Metherell (literary editor)
- Robert Messenger (sub and columnist)
- Richard Mihaich (chief sub-editor for 16 years, recently chief sub of features)
- Mick Seale (former world editor)
- Rossyln Beeby (environment reporter)
- Peter Mayoh (photographic department)
- Gary Schaefer (photographer)
*If you know any departures not on the list, you can contact us anonymously here
Is it time for a professional journalist led news cooperative? There is the medium. There are the experiments [“Crickey” for mine is actually a weekly with daily updates] that provide lessons. There is the reader demand away from the ludicrously self-important and Fox News-like bias of the “Australian”, the relative success of the opinion pages on the net, the willingness of people to source their news & opinion from the web, the need for the ascendancy of professional news gatherers to offset the loony element on the net, and the role of social media [not FB though] in highlighting news. I wouldn’t pay for the online versions of the newspapers [it’s still more prefeable in my view to read hard copy of the paper on the loo and it doesn’t break if you drop it on the floor] but I might look at paying for such a collective [I do for Crikey]. Just some thoughts….
I am shocked by this loss of talent at The Age newspaper. I dread what this will do to the product. Shaun Carney, Jo Chandler, are huge losses in particular. I also hope that there is an alternative developed- there is a wealth of great journalists and writers who could form an independent media outlet. I doubt that will be in print, unfortunately. Crikey in its present form does not really provide that alternative.
Everyone is leaving! What will the paper look like? I suppose Amanda bloody vanstone will keep writing for the Age. Perhaps they could get Gina Reinhart to do a column.
I have been assuming that I will succumb to the offer of the electronic SMH for some to-be-defined payment.
But I would like to see the list of people who will be left to produce the all new smaller SMH.
I would also like to know how many of the departed will be invited to sometimes produce copy for the SMH providing they have an ABN.
It’s a shame that the SMH didn’t see fit to get rid of Sheehan and Henderson…