Nine’s new metro masthead boss Luke McIlveen rules out job cuts, downmarket shift
In an all-staff meeting, Nine Entertainment’s new metro newspapers boss moved to quell the concerns of some journalists about the future direction of its historic mastheads.
The new top editor of The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age has ruled out job cuts in his first address to staff and assured journalists that the newspapers will not shift down market.
In an all-staff town hall on Wednesday, Nine Entertainment’s new metro newspapers boss, Luke McIlveen, said he was struck by the passion the newsrooms had for journalism, after meeting with editors and staff during his first week in the role following his formal appointment in late January.
The former Fox Sports and Daily Mail Australia editor also used the opportunity to address concerns in both newsrooms that his arrival could trigger a downmarket shift in the positioning of the mastheads. Instead, he said the premium journalism offered by both newspapers would continue to be key to their offering, and that a tilt towards tabloid journalism is not on the cards.
“It’s not really about kind of bringing in a digital strategy that turns the place upside down. It’s really about continuing to tell the great stories that we tell, but bringing it to more readers,” McIlveen said, according to a recording of the address obtained by Capital Brief.
