The shock departure of Fairfax chief executive Brian McCarthy from the company's head office in Australia was apparently triggered by a power struggle over his plan to bring in a print executive from New Zealand to run its metropolitan mastheads.Two weeks
The shock departure of Fairfax chief executive Brian McCarthy from the company's head office in Australia was apparently triggered by a power struggle over his plan to bring in a print executive from New Zealand to run its metropolitan mastheads.
Two weeks ago Mr McCarthy announced a restructure of the media company, which brought together the separately-managed print and digital editions of its major metropolitan mastheads, The Sydney Morning Herald (SMH), The Age and The Canberra Times.
Under the restructure, the company planned a news tsar to run those Australian metropolitan mastheads -- which are expected to generate 22 percent of the company's $A639 million ($NZ819.4 million) annual earnings -- but the spot was still vacant when the restructure was announced.
Journalists were told at the time that an international search was under way to find a suitable candidate.
Fairfax owns a number of New Zealand newspapers, such as the Dominion Post, The Press and the Stuff website.
The Australian newspaper has reported that Mr McCarthy had a favoured candidate in mind -- a New Zealand-based print executive -- but company chairman Roger Corbett resisted that appointment and a stand-off followed.
Mr Corbett and Mr McCarthy were unable to agree about future directions for the company, which is grappling with reports of plummeting revenues and profits at The Age and the planned launch of a planned public campaign to save the 156-year-old Melbourne institution,
Fairfax Media told the ASX the company had wanted Mr McCarthy to stay on for a further three to five years, but he was unwilling to do so and was forced to hand in his resignation.
But it did not say in what capacity Mr Corbett wanted Mr McCarthy to stay on: "It is unlikely to have been the CEO's chair," the Australian reported.
Yesterday's immediate departure of Mr McCarthy opens the door for Greg Hywood, a former editor in chief of the SMH and The Age. He left the company in 2003 after an arm-wrestle with then chief executive, Fred Hilmer, but rejoined as a board member last month.
He will now be acting chief executive while an international search is undertaken to find a permanent replacement.
"With Hywood's hands already on the tiller, many observers will ask why they should bother," The Australian reported.
Hywood is a Walkley Award-winning journalist and a former publisher and editor-in-chief of The Australian Financial Review, The Sydney Morning Herald/Sun Herald and The Age.
He also has been a group publisher for Fairfax magazines.
Mr Corbett said Hywood brought to his new role deep editorial and commercial experience.
"We are in a fortunate position to have someone of his calibre acting in this role," Mr Corbett said.
