Minister for Employment and Member for Bendigo East, Jacinta Allan, has hit out at a Fairfax Media proposal to sack 80 full time staff from regional newsrooms across Victoria.
Fairfax Media announced the planned cuts yesterday, which include more than 60 editorial staff.
Ms Allan said the move to making reporters file, edit and subedit their own work would put undue pressure on hard-working journalists and compromise the ability of newsrooms to investigate and document the issues that matter to regional Victorians.
Country mastheads have been the historical record of local communities for more than 100 years.
Ms Allan said journalists and editors are a strong voice for country Victorians, and sacking them will hurt local communities.
Quotes attributable to Minister for Employment and Member for Bendigo East, Jacinta Allan
“Cutting staff will not only hurt regional newsrooms, it will hurt regional Victorians.”
“I grew up reading country papers and know how important they are. They are part of the fabric of local communities and have a long and proud history of giving a voice to country Victoria.”
“Fairfax needs to reconsider its plans to sack journalists and editors and maintain a strong presence in regional Victoria.”
Reviewed 19 August 2020