Industry rallies around journalists made redundant

The industry has come together to support those affected by recent layoffs at Nine Entertainment's Pedestrian Group.

The cuts at Pedestrian claimed CEO Matt Rowley and staff at five licensed titles with long histories in the local market - Kotaku, Gizmodo, Lifehacker, Vice and Refinery29.

Rowley said that a decline in the broader advertising market and the continued growth of global platforms such as TikTok and Instagram were the reasons behind the cuts.

LinkedIn's head of communications for Australia, Rob Sharpe, offered affected journalists made redundant a Premium subscription through the company's LinkedIn for Journalists program. 

"With so many industry changes, your network can be your job security. Lean into it," he said.

Kic's PR and comms manager Nicole Maycroft, advised journalists to get in touch for a free subscription to the health and fitness app.

"Looking after your body and mind during these wildly uncertain times is so important," Maycroft said.

Linkby's chief content officer Vanessa Lawrence, a former publisher of Pedestrian Group, said that she was “very sad to see many former colleagues and friends impacted by the changes and equally sad to say goodbye to brands that mean so much to not only the individuals who have stewarded them over the years, but the communities built around them”.

"If I hired you, or we worked closely together over the years, I'm more than happy to provide a reference or support in any other way that's helpful — just DM me," she said.

"Media folks in my network: if you're looking to fill roles, particularly in the content or audience space, you're in luck — I know where you can find a bunch of the most brilliant people in the biz."

Many others, including Vahe Arabian, Sarah Morgan and Scott Purcell, the founder of indie publisher Man of Many, offered a friendly ear or a time to catch up over coffee.