Media giant News Corp is preparing to shut down seven of its local Leader Community Newspapers by the end of the month, asserting that print ‘is not sustainable’ in its smaller markets.
On July 1, five to eight employees are expected to be shown the door as News Corp prints the final run of the Melbourne Leader, the Berwick Leader, the Brimbank Leader, the Free Press Leader, the Hobsons Bay Leader, the Melton Leader and the Wyndham Leader.
A News Corp Australia spokesperson confirmed the move and says the media mogul will instead focus on other profit making avenues.
The spokesperson said, “News Corp Australia continues to reshape its business to meet the needs of its audiences and commercial partners, and is confidently investing in areas that will provide returns over the long term.
“Leader Community News will be focusing its investment on brands which have strong audience engagement and solid advertising market share, and will be investing in, and rejuvenating, its portfolio of community titles.
“However, the reality is that in today’s fragmented market there is more competition than ever before and in some of our smaller markets, publishing a printed publication is not sustainable. Therefore we have decided to close the following seven Leader titles: Berwick, Brimbank, Free Press, Hobsons Bay, Melbourne, Melton and Wyndham.”
In April, News Corp joined forces with its competitors to promote the strength of regional news media using a print advertising campaign.
Launched by industry body NewsMediaWorks, the campaign featured series of print ads with the headline ‘Newspapers are the #1 source of local information’ in a bid to promote the strength of regional newspaper advertising to local business owners.
However regional newspapers have taken a hit in recent months after News Corp’s rival Fairfax Media announced a restructure of its Australian Community Media division and offered a bleak prediction on the future of printed newspapers.
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