Stop the Presses! How Greed, Incompetence (and the Internet) wrecked Fairfax

by Ben Hills

Investigative journalist and bestselling author Ben Hills takes readers on a lively journey through Fairfax's slow and painful decline.

Genres: Nonfiction

394 pages, Hardcover

First published July 1, 2014

About the author

Ben Hills is a Walkley Award winning Australian investigative journalist and author.

Reviews

[John Martin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this a much better read than Killing Fairfax - possibly because it goes closer to the coalface (quoting actual journalists) rather skirting the boardrooms of the rich and famous.

It left me feeling more pessimistic than ever about the future of the major Fairfax papers. The company has suffered at the hands of too many blinkered business people who cared more about making money than producing newspapers. It's infuriating they didn't see the internet coming.

I can't see enough qualified people left to operate the pumps.

I read a paper the other day from a journalists' forum in the 1970s, during which one of the keynote speakers said: "A newspaper is as important to a house as the front door."

Then they invented Windows.

[Alex Rogers · Rating 3 out of 5]

A personal account of the decline of Fairfax, it makes pretty depressing reading. But interesting and important, his access and information is first rate, and I always enjoy the journalistic style of writing. If you are interested in the history and likely trajectory of the press in Australia, this will give you a fascinating insight into his corner of that world.

[Tom Krause · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good history of Fairfax by Ben Hills (disclosure: he's a mate), who was recently inducted into the Melbourne Press Club Hall of Fame. Ben put a lot of work into this book and it's very readable. Recommended.