“The film critic Margaret Pomeranz, novelist Charlotte Wood and festival director Wesley Enoch have joined a growing group of creatives and critics protesting against cuts to arts coverage at Fairfax newspapers, and losses to arts criticism in Australia more broadly,” writes Steph Harmon in Monday’s (5/8) Guardian (U.K.). “Fairfax announced plans to shed 125 jobs, prompting a week-long strike by its journalists…. Positions being abolished will include all dedicated arts, film and books writers at the Age and the Sydney Morning Herald, along with two deputy arts editor roles. Contributors will be paid a lower rate … expected to be less than half of what they currently receive…. This morning’s Sydney Morning Herald ran without an arts page…. The arts pages of both the Age and the Sydney Morning Herald have been shrinking consistently over the past five years, but the cuts are emblematic of declining arts coverage in Australia more broadly. Last week Deborah Stone, the editor of dedicated online arts industry portal ArtsHub, was made redundant; and on Saturday, Daily Review—an Australian arts site which publishes news, criticism and opinion—posted a plea from editor Raymond Gill: ‘…If you don’t support arts journalism, who will?’ ”
Posted May 9, 2017
