Job cuts across community papers. Community newspapers in Melbourne and Sydney are facing more cuts, with both News Corp and Fairfax announcing redundancies this week. Fairfax will close six of its community papers in Sydney, making 11 jobs redundant, and will make seven staff redundant at The Weekly Review in Melbourne. To replace the newspapers in north-west Sydney, Fairfax has announced it will launch a new magazine. News Corp is reducing its editorial staff at the Leader community newspaper group by 13 positions. MEAA media director Katelin McInerney said the redundancies were a “cruel blow”. “The subsequent massive reduction in resources also means that for those staff that remain behind, their already massive workload will most likely increase to unrealistic levels,” she said. A Fairfax spokesman said: “Our priority at the moment is our staff and consulting with them about the proposed changes. Details of the title, content, format and distribution strategy of the magazine are still being finalised and we will talk more about it at the appropriate time.”

Peacock’s farewell. Senior 7.30 journalist and staff-elected director Matt Peacock has announced he is one of 11 people to take a voluntary redundancy from the ABC. Peacock told staff in an email he would be leaving in early February:

“It’s been a very tough five years, as everyone in the ABC knows, with cutbacks, attacks from the ABC’s enemies, reorganisations and redundancies — as all the while those of us remaining continue to get quality programs to air and online. Hopefully we are about to enter a better period of increased Australian production, less over-management, more creative and specialist content and engaged workforce.”

The revolving door. Walkley Award-winning Fairfax photographer Andrew Meares has announced he’s retiring from his Canberra press gallery job. Speaking to ABC Sydney’s Mornings presenter Wendy Harmer yesterday, Meares said he’d decided to leave on his own terms, but said he’d still be active and involved, and keep taking pictures. Meares’ last day will be next Friday; he wanted to see the result of the same-sex marriage survey announced.

Daily Tele runs the gamut on Manus. The Daily Telegraph had the exclusive pictures this morning of the decommissioned Manus Island detention centre, where 580 men are refusing to leave. The confronting pictures were dropped to the Tele by controversial activist group GetUp, and the story written by business editor Jennifer Sexton rather than political correspondents. It’s the second lot of pictures the Tele has published from Manus Island of accommodation — last week a story about closing the centre included photographs of the new accommodation by political reporter Kylar Loussikian, saying, “The photographs show clean, newly renovated living facilities.”

 

Glenn Dyer’s TV ratings. Only one program mattered last night — The Good Doctor which lifted its audience from last Thursday, just as Tuesday’s episode lifted its audience from a week earlier. Last night, The Doc managed 1.568 million up from 1.490 million with the metro audience rising to 1.005 million from 950,000. With a solid night for Seven’s Instant Hotel — 1.088 million — it was Seven’s night and week.

Gogglebox on Ten did well with 830,000 national viewers and lots of cheeky focus group comments for the networks. Cram though an hour earlier on Ten at 7.30 was nothing to boast about — 504,000 nationally and just 363,000 in the metros. Ten’s 2018 launch yesterday has this one returning next year. That’s a call too soon. Last night’s ep went on and on and on and has to be cut to half an hour and tightened up. — Read the rest of TV ratings on the website