The Australian Financial Review – which is published by Fairfax – reported this morning that Brian McCarthy chief executive of Fairfax Media held discussions with industry executives and confirmed the only two companies with whom Fairfax could share costs were APN News & Media and News Limited.

McCarthy told the AFR there was “an opportunity for the industry to work together in areas such as distribution,” however he also outlined that printing could be problematic with determining who used the shared presses last and therefore get the advantage of late deadlines.

Fairfax, which also publishes The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age, held “causal discussion” with Rupert Murdoch’s News Limited about working together in a number of areas four years ago but the talks did not lead anywhere.

McCarthy continues, “It’s a missed opportunity, one we need t grasp in the future. There are things publishers could do together although there are no firm plans at this stage.”

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