News Corp closes over 100 print papers

Over 100 of News Corp’s regional and community titles will no longer produce print editions and will move to digital-only formats. 14 titles will cease to exist and there may be over 500 job losses.

In April, the media company said it was temporarily suspending 60 community print titles in the wake of COVID-19 and falling advertising revenues.

News Corp’s Australian executive chairman Michael Miller said the portfolio review highlighted that many of its print mastheads were challenged, and the double impact of COVID-19 and the tech platforms not remunerating local publishers had made them unsustainable publications.

“COVID-19 has impacted the sustainability of community and regional publishing. Despite the audiences of News Corp’s digital mastheads growing more than 60 per cent as Australians turned to trusted media sources during the peak of the recent COVID-19 lockdowns, print advertising spending which contributes the majority of our revenues, has accelerated its decline,” Miller said.

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