The Age’s editor-in-chief Paul Ramadge today conceded the possibility that the print-edition of his newspaper will carry fewer stories and sections in the future. But, he said, it was unlikely that The Age would disappear entirely from newstands, as has happened to some newspapers in some parts of Europe and North America.
‘Maybe it will be slimmer. Maybe there will be fewer stories’, Mr Ramadge said. ‘But we will do them better: higher quality, more context, more impact.’
‘We will be in print for as long as readers value the strength, the serendipity and sophistication of our words, images and ideas’.
Speaking at a conference on the future of journalism hosted by the University of Melbourne, Mr Ramadge said that The Age would resist the trend towards hyper-local news coverage advocated by some media commentators. Mr Ramadge described the shift towards hyperlocalism as ‘myopic’ and out of step with an increasingly globalised world.
‘Most definitely, we will publish more pieces with depth and more pieces with consequences beyond the daily news cycle’, Mr Ramadge told the conference. ‘We will hold onto, and build our journalistic advantages of breadth and quality of coverage’.
Watch an excerpt from Paul Ramadge’s talk
