APN restructures to battle media decline

TROUBLED publisher APN News & Media is restructuring its digital and regional divisions' management as it tries to combat tough times in the newspaper industry.

The company announced that it had replaced its Australian regional media division chief executive Warren Bright with its group operations and procurement director Neil Monaghan.

Chairman Peter Cosgrove said the company still believed there was a future for regional newspapers despite the current tough environment.

"APN believes there is a strong future in regional newspapers to provide local news to local communities and our strategy will be clearly focused on meeting this need for our readers and advertisers," he said.

In its digital operations, the company has simplified the management of its brands Exclusive, GrabOne and CC Media and disbanded its Business Development Office.

"We are committed to our digital ventures and our focus now is to drive the performance of these businesses and link them with our other media assets," Mr Cosgrove said. "We do not intend to make any significant digital investments this year."

APN is also reducing the size of its head office and as part of that process the position of chief development officer, held by Matt Crockett, has been made redundant.

The APN board said the business had been affected by the ongoing structural challenges in the media, mining slowdown, decline of government advertising and, recently, the Queensland floods.

The board said it believed a new direction of leadership was important to build on the company's progress.
APN shares were up 1.75 cents, or five per cent, at 36.75 cents at 2.20pm AEST.

Lonsec private client adviser Michael Heffernan said the market tended to initially look favourably upon restructures at media companies.

"The traditional media stocks are going through troubled waters and restructures tend to be the flavour of the day for them," he said.

"I think the market is looking for changes, and when they do the top management restructure, it gives the market a bit of heart for a little while until they see what the results are."

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Dodgy car quote inflames social media

The Hyundai i30. Source: Supplied

Hyundai driver Mail Hannum wasn't happy with this quote from the Wynnum dealership, posting it online. Source: Supplied

THE driver's complaint about an inflated service quote and unnecessary repairs has gone viral on social media.

A photograph of a quote from Bartons Hyundai in Wynnum, posted by Mali Hannun on the company's national Facebook page, has gone viral and racked up almost 18,000 shares, 10,000 comments and more than 38,000 Likes since it was posted on Good Friday.

Speaking to The Courier-Mail last night, Ms Hannun said she has been contacted by Hyundai Australia, but the only explanation they provided was that staff made an error using a template from a previous job.

"I haven’t had an apology. There has been correspondence via email, but no apology," she said.

"An admission to a typo as the root cause of this situation is not enough for me. I am not satisfied with their response."

"I would like Hyundai Australia to address all the issues as one central problem, and would like to know what they are going to do to ensure the central problem doesn't occur again because, based on the overwhelming comments my post has received, the rest of Australia feels the same way."

Ms Hannun said she was surprised by the overwhelming feedback that her post had received.

"I put it on their Facebook page hoping someone would get in touch with me. The next time I checked it had been shared over 3000 times. I cannot believe the magnitude."

In the post, Ms Hannun accused the service centre of attempting "deliberate fraud", quoting around $700 of unnecessary repairs, including replacement tyres, a brake fluid flush and a power steering flush, which she only discovered after going to two other mechanics for a second opinion.

Ms Hannun was also told that her model, a Hyundai i30, uses electronic power steering and so does not ever require a power steering flush.

"I am extremely disappointed with my experience and simply cannot believe this blatant attempt to deceive me," her post read.

"Hopefully many people will hear about this incident before their next car service and be more aware."

Ms Hannun said she returned to the Hyundai dealership to complain to staff at the centre about the "blatant rip off".

"He squirmed in his seat for the duration of my rant and all he could offer me in way of explanation was that it may have been a 'typo' on the invoice," she said.

Mark Beitz, the dealer principal at Bartons Holden, Hyundai & Mitsubishi, spoke to the Wynnum Herald yesterday afternoon, saying he has been left "distressed" and fearing for the financial future of his business and family following the viral Facebook post.

Mr Beitz admitted some mistakes were made by staff, but staunchly denied the quote was a case of "deliberate fraud" and said if the service had gone ahead she would never have been charged for it.

"In no way would we have charged for something not performed," Mr Beitz said.

"Our culture and reputation was too important for this to occur.  We pride ourselves on our integrity and service including value to our customers and have done for 67 years."

Read more of the dealer's response to the furore at the Wynnum Herald.

In response to Ms Hannun's post, many users also pointed out other charges on the bill they considered to be high, including a fee of $83.05 for windshield wiper inserts.

Hyundai Australia chief operating officer John Elsworth said in a statement, posted on their Facebook page on Tuesday, that the company had initiated an investigation into the dealership, and it appeared there had been a "breakdown in staff communication" at the service centre.

"We are now in touch with the customer involved and will seek to make things right with her as our first priority," he said.

He said the recommendation for tyre replacement was "appropriate" due to Hyundai's long service intervals, and the company was conducting a review of their charges for wiper blade replacements and other items to ensure they offered better value.

-- by Anthony Gough, Stephanie Bennett, Dave Earley

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Fairfax reshuffles media divisions

Fairfax Media chief executive Greg Hywood. Picture: Ray Strange Source: The Australian

FAIRFAX Media is reorganising its operations into five business arms as it continues its massive restructure program.

Fairfax is also reshuffling its executive team, with the head of its New Zealand operations, Allen Williams, appointed to head the group's Australian publishing media division.

Fairfax's Australian publishing media division will incorporate The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age and The Financial Review newspapers as well as the group's regional, agricultural and community titles.

Chief executive Greg Hywood said the formation of the division would simplify how Fairfax did business and reduce bureaucracy.

"We have already integrated our print and digital activities in the Metro division, making us a genuine multiplatform media company," Mr Hywood said. "The next phase of our transformation is to deliver the full potential of our Australian news, business, lifestyle and community media businesses."

Metro Media chief executive Jack Matthews will leave Fairfax following a transition to the new structure.
Regional publishing head Allan Browne will also leave the company.

Mr Hywood said Mr Matthews, who was at Fairfax for seven years, had driven the company's shift to being an integrated multi-media company.

"Jack has told me that he has achieved all he set out to at Fairfax Media and it's time for his next challenge," Mr Hywood said.

Fairfax's other divisions will be Domain, incorporating the print and online real estate operations; Digital Ventures, including the Stayz, RSVP and Tenderlink businesses; and Fairfax Radio and Fairfax New Zealand, both of which remain unchanged.

Within Australian Publishing Media, former Financial Review Group chief executive Brett Clegg will head a broader Business Media division.

No job cuts have been announced today but the statement from Fairfax said the restructure was intended to "drive revenues and efficiencies", indicating some job losses may flow in the future. 

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