Kirk on the cover

Fairfax CEO David Kirk is on the cover of BRW with the sensational line "Stop the presses!".( The union will love that one… ) Adele Ferguson has written a good yarn about the biggest challenge facing one of Australia’s most dominant media organisations. And a disclaimer, Fairfax is my employer. Sure, it’s a bit of an eyebrow raiser to see the boss of Fairfax on a Fairfax magazine, but hey, remember all the Kerry Packer tributes that graced the cover of PBL publications? Anyway, here are the opening lines (the story is hidden behind the cost wall):

David Kirk is on a mission. Five months into the top job at John Fairfax Holdings, Kirk is hell-bent on repositioning the company away from the market perception that it is a fuddy-duddy, old world, low growth, poorly managed newspaper business that has a botched online strategy and is a sitting duck to be taken over and broken up. Instead, Kirk wants the company to be seen as a vibrant, new-age digital business, combining print and online, with a solid growth story.

The basic issue, which is a preoccupation here at filtered, is how do you grow online revenues without cannibalising print revenues?

One interesting factoid that feeds this discussion is from Fairfax CFO Sankar Narayan: "We are trying to create the best possible newspaper environment and retain as much advertising as possible. This includes smart marketing and creating the right vehicles. Margins are good online. They are in the high 20s, which is comparable to newspapers."

It’s interesting because I think most pro-new media types are quick to write off newspapers because of the well-worn story that many are in circulation declines, and parts of the advertising base like car, employment and real estate ads are moving online. But the fact remains that it’s a high margin business.

Meanwhile, the article goes on to argue that Fairfax needs to focus on one major acquisition to hedge against a takeover or the sale of different business units.

Go get a copy of the magazine, or buy it online if you dare. I’d be really interested to know your thoughts on Fairfax’s ability to execute its online vision.