Channel Nine has announced a major restructure of its news division, with every role set to be impacted and 20 positions on the chopping block.
Executive director of news and current affairs Fiona Dear warned all TV news staff would be affected, with every role facing changes, retraining or a title change.
The overhaul will dramatically simplify the newsroom structure, cutting more than 100 separate job titles across news and current affairs down to just nine broader roles.
Under the new model, staff will be grouped into multi-skilled positions such as story editor, digital story editor, rundown editor and multimedia journalist.
Staff affected by the cuts will be offered voluntary redundancies, with the Sydney and Canberra newsrooms to be hit first.
Dear said the job cuts are being driven by the replacement of outdated technology in TV newsrooms.
‘We are in the midst of a bold and ambitious multi-year transformation program that will differentiate Nine news and current affairs from our competitors and entrench us as a global news leader,’ she said.
‘This represents the largest investment in Nine news and current affairs in decades, with new technology, systems and workflows revolutionising the way we produce and deliver news.’
Nine News has announced a major restructure of its news division, with every role set to be impacted and 20 positions to be cut. Pictured: Nine News host Peter Overton
In November, Channel Nine announced 50 roles within the streaming and broadcast division would be cut and teams merged.
Nine’s head of streaming and broadcast Amanda Laing said at the time she could not rule out further redundancies.
‘That is a delicate dance. If you cut too deeply on the cost, you will injure the things that are required to drive the revenue,’ she said.
‘It’s not just a matter of, ‘Can we get more juice out of the fruit?’
‘It’s actually about growth. It’s about true growth, growing the subscribers, growing the revenue, growing the EBITDA contribution from these businesses.’
An internal email was sent to staff that month, where Laing revealed the operating model was being reviewed.
She said it was an attempt to ‘reduce duplication, drive greater collaboration and deliver commercial growth for the Nine Group’.
‘While only some teams and individuals are impacted by this, I ask you to be cognisant and mindful of your colleagues as we navigate this change,’ she wrote.
In November, Newcastle presenter Gavin Morris was let go, with the network choosing not to renew his contract
A Nine spokesman said the restructure would help align Stan, Channel 9 and 9Now more closely.
‘The new operating model brings together teams across Stan, Channel 9 and 9Now,’ he said.
‘It is designed to reduce duplication, drive greater collaboration and deliver commercial growth for Nine, while working to offset the challenging external advertising market.’
In the same month, Newcastle presenter Gavin Morris was let go, with the network choosing not to renew his contract.
SOURCE: dailymail.com.au