Read all about the relevance of print

Following a trend seen right across the global media landscape, advertising revenues in Fairfax Media’s print division have plummeted just as online ad sales have skyrocketed. But instead of Fairfax going to war with itself, so to speak, the company has focused on making its print offering more attractive and relevant to advertisers, as well as concentrating on something that newspapers have always done best: being reliable. While regaining and retaining relevance is the biggest challenge for anyone in the newspaper game, Peters and his team can never lose sight of the fact that being on time is the most important consideration.

“There’s a lot of passion that goes into making sure our products go out on time,” he says. “There’s a belief that every day we affect people’s lives. If someone is getting a home-delivered product, they’re going to walk out on their front lawn expecting to see the paper. If it’s not there, there’s a reaction to that. We take that very, very seriously.”

ProPrint was recently given an exclusive tour of the Chullora facility during a late-night printing shift. The print plant is one of Fairfax’s biggest and is home to daily production of the Sydney Morning Herald, the Sun-Herald, the Australian Financial Review, as well as regional Fairfax publications such as the Bathurst-based Western Advocate and free community newspapers such as the bi-weekly St George and Sutherland Leader.