Journalists's union members at Nine have passed a motion of no confidence in CEO Mike Sneesby.
Nine, which owns the Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, Australian Financial Review, Brisbane Times and WAtoday, announced on Friday it was cutting 200 jobs, citing economic headwinds and loss of revenue from Meta's failure to renew news deals.
Sneesby reportedly flew to Greece for a family holiday on the same day the jobs cuts were announced.
The cuts diminish the organisations’ ability to fulfill their commitment to quality journalism, according to the Media, Entertainment & Arts Alliance (MEAA).
Australian media organisations must commit to quality journalism rather than look for easy savings by cutting editorial jobs.
MEAA's members have authorised their union to immediately start preparations for a protected action ballot.
Michelle Rae, MEAA media acting director, said the union acknowledged the cuts were in part a result of Meta’s decision not to renew deals under the News Media Bargaining Code, but urged Nine, Seven and News Corp to look elsewhere for savings.
“Any cuts to editorial will mean reduced coverage of a range of matters and result in a less informed Australian public,” Rae said.
“They bring into question how committed Nine, Seven and News Corp are to quality, public interest journalism.
“We will do all we can to support our members during this difficult time and advocate for media organisations to protect journalism by looking for other options to make savings.
“That these cuts are partly the result of Meta walking away from funding deals under the News Media Bargaining Code makes them even harder to swallow.
“Meta rakes in billions of dollars off the back of news content produced by Australian journalism. The funding deals under the News Media Bargaining Code allowed Nine, Seven and News Corp to invest in journalism and increase coverage after years of decline.
“If Meta continues to refuse to negotiate new deals, then it must be designated by the federal government.”
Rae said MEAA members at Nine Publishing were angry that redundancies had been announced during bargaining for a new agreement and that the mastheads had been disproportionately targeted for cuts.
“Nine management has not put a serious offer on the table,” Rae said.
“With the current agreement expiring on June 30, members will be voting on whether to take protected action at the earliest possible opportunity."
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