Following a pair of meetings with staff today, NZ Herald managing editor Shayne Currie has confirmed that NZME has outlined a proposal to restructure its business yet again.
“While we are very much in the review stage, we have let them know that there may be up to eight roles affected,” said Currie in a statement.
“Today we met with the New Zealand Herald and regional daily newspaper production staff, to outline a proposal to operate an integrated, multimedia production unit that can work across our digital and print channels at any point in time.”
Currie would not provide specific information on the staff affected by the proposal, given that review process is still underway. However, he did explain that the changes were limited to the production units.
“NZME has two production units for the Herald and regional newspapers with more than 50 staff,” he said. “The review encompasses sub-editing roles within the departments, with potentially up to eight roles affected.”
Currie said that this shift is part of NZME’s strategy to develop a 24/7 newsroom across print, digital, video and radio.
“In line with this strategy, we have appointed Lois Turei to the new role of head of production for NZME. This pivotal leadership role will ensure we deliver the highest production values across all channels and publications. Lois will join NZME in May having most recently been at Fairfax in a similar role.”
This latest shuffle follows on from a round of restructuring last year that resulted in the departure of several columnists and journalists.
Currie added that the proposal also included a commitment to developing the skills of the teams.
“This proposal includes training and developing the production team in new digital skillsets, and ensuring we are meeting audience and reader demand in the way our journalism is being produced and presented.”
- If you have more information on this story, send us an email ([email protected]).
