AAP saved but some job losses
Around 75 editorial roles likely to be offered by consortium headed by former Foxtel CEO Peter Tonagh.
- Published by David Knox
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- Filed under News
Long-running wires Newswire service AAP is set to be saved but with some job losses still involved.
CEO of AAP Bruce Davidson has emailed staff advising that a consortium of impact investors and philanthropists, including former News Corp and Foxtel CEO Peter Tonagh, have reached commercial terms and will now enter negotiations to complete a binding sale contract by the middle of June 2020.
But there will also be job losses. Without the revenue from News Corp or Nine, it will not support the current complement of journalists, photographers, producers and associated staff. Around 70 – 75 editorial roles are likely to be offered by the consortium, with 85 – 95 roles in total, as well as freelance and contributor opportunities.
The consortium will also continue the AAP FactCheck service.
Davidson stated he “had several discussions with members of the consortium and… can report that they are very committed to the continuation of the Newswire. They see this as a philanthropic venture and will have the patience to work on new commercial opportunities to aim for long-term viability.”
The AAP Board has decided to keep the Pagemasters, Racing, Medianet, Mediaverse and Directories business, which will continue to operate under the current shareholding.
MEAA Media section federal president Marcus Strom said: “The proposed purchase will see the retention of up to 75 editorial jobs that just a week ago looked to be lost. Unfortunately, this change of ownership as a result of the decision of Nine Entertainment Co. and News Corp to no longer use AAP’s services will still lead to a loss of a number of jobs.
“AAP plays a very necessary role in news coverage for all Australians. Had we lost AAP, then we would all be the poorer. AAP Newswire provides journalism coverage in the areas that the other major news outlets either cannot or choose not to. Without it, our communities would be less informed and vital stories – from the courts to sports, images and breaking news plus many other areas – would not be told.
“MEAA said that it was short-sighted for AAP’s major shareholders to not fully appreciate the importance and value of the business they had owned for decades. It is fortunate that there were others who did recognise AAP’s worth which has led to today’s announcement,” Strom said.
“MEAA will be consulting with our members and will seek a meeting with the consortium’s management team to discuss the transition process so that we can continue to look after the interests of all our members across the AAP business.”
3 Responses
Actual news doesn’t get issued by media release. Does anyone cover that any more? Everything else is publicity or has another agenda.
Fantastic news for all Australians who value independence in the reporting of news. It is unfortunate that the two ex major Nine and News Ltd will not be taking part, by not paying for the content that they don’t cover. Says a lot for the two organisations who will do their own thing.
As AAP say its philanthropic not a commerical decision. News Corp and Nine understand the economics better than anyone. The news business has been reduced to exclusive op-ed and interpretation of press release and social media posts. AAP was trying to keep afloat selling a service to convert your corporate spin into new headlines, and measure their effect on the newscycle. Social media site are now spinning the news to suit their staff and consumer biases.
There are only a very small number of fact based journalism services left, and they are charity cases, depending donations from wealth idealist supplemented by ads through google. They are being swamped by social media posts, merical clickbait, activist journalism and foreign state propaganda operations.