Australian Community Media (ACM),the publisher of titles such asThe Canberra Times,The Newcastle HeraldandThe Land,is asking staff to take their annual leave over Easter,a move which will reduce costs but also leave a skeleton staff for the days after the break.
In an email sent to staff on Monday,seen by this masthead,ACM managing director Tony Kendall told staff the business was in the process of selling seven titles in the NSW central-west and south-west regions after receiving an approach by Provincial Press Group.
Titles in this area include theForbes Advocate,Parkes Champion-Post,The Grenfell Record,Cowra Guardian,Boorowa News,Canowindra News andThe Young Witness. The agreement has been signed and transition should be by the end of the month. This would add to titles in South Australia and Queensland which were sold to regional newspaper company The Star Group last Saturday.
Kendall also told staff he planned to shut down Queensland community titles theJimboomba Times andRedlands City Bulletin and four Western Australian titles including theBunbury Mail,theMandurah Mail and theAugust-Margaret River Mail. The Queensland titles have already shut and are closing for good while the Western Australian titles are going to digital-only by the end of the month.
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The closures will be completed by April 30 and are indicative of the ongoing pressure regional media companies face in generating cash from advertisers and subscribers. This is not the first time ACM has closed newspapers. In 2020,followinga temporary suspension of print publications,Catalano permanently closed a number of regional titles.
Kendall told staff the company was narrowing its focus to more profitable titles to ensure the continued growth of the business. “While it may seem from these changes that ACM is in decline,let me be clear that this is not the case,” he said.
Catalano told this masthead the core of the business was strong.