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.

[Anthony Eales · Rating 5 out of 5]

A comprehensive account of Fairfax Media’s demise from the days of the rivers of gold classified advertising days to the beginnings of Fairfax Media implementing their first digital paywalls at The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald.

Many mistakes were made by Fairfax but I’m glad to see since the 9 acquisition that they seem to be on a healthier footing.

Some of the accounts of the massive job cuts across Fairfax and News Ltd (as it was known at the time) make for harrowing reading. I just wish Australian newsrooms employed the amount of journalists today that Fairfax and News did pre job cuts.

The reports of The Age website becoming very salacious I think are interesting. But I don’t get the sense of that as much these days. And it’s great there is still excellent investigative journalism being carried out by the likes of Nick McKenzie and Adele Ferguson.

The 9 papers and News Corp Australia papers have a considerable amount more digital subscribers than when this book was published over a decade ago. I think the author would have been surprised if he was still with us. With that, RIP Ben!

[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.