NZ papers outsource editorial production By RAY LILLEY, Associated Press Writer

NZ papers outsource editorial production By RAY LILLEY, Associated Press Writer
2 hours, 35 minutes ago



WELLINGTON, New Zealand - Newspaper publisher APN News & Media began outsourcing editorial production work Sunday, a strategy being watched by media outlets in other countries, a senior executive said.

An outside contractor now will do the editing and layout work for The New Zealand Herald — the nation's biggest daily — along with several regional papers and weeklies, said APN deputy chief executive Rick Neville.

Starting Sunday, 20 full-time sub-editors at contractor Pagemasters New Zealand will be "operating on an extension of APN's 'Cyber' computer editorial production system" at a site 20 minutes from the paper's editorial offices, Neville said.

By the end of 2007, Pagemasters will have about 45 editing staff at their site to edit the seven newspapers — nearly 30 fewer than the newspapers employed for the job.

"I'm confident readers won't notice the difference," said Neville, who has led the project.

The Engineering, Printing and Manufacturing Union, whose members include New Zealand journalists, said the move will erode the quality of news coverage because stories will be handled by editors unfamiliar with local issues.

Editing staff layoffs were completed at the Herald on Friday, with regional staff cuts coming by the end of the year, Neville said.

Neville said the outsourcing program's benefits include lower personnel costs, more efficiency and "doing a lot more" with costly "knowledge technology."

APN is half-owned by Irish businessman Tony O'Reilly's Dublin-based Independent News & Media PLC, which publishes 175 newspapers and magazines worldwide.

It also runs radio stations and outdoor advertising sites in Australia and New Zealand. Pagemasters is a subsidiary of the Australian Associated Press news agency.

Newspapers owned by O'Reilly in Ireland also recently announced an editorial outsourcing strategy.