KEY POINTS:
APN, publisher of the Herald, magazines and regional newspapers, yesterday confirmed its plan to centralise subediting functions for its titles at a separately owned facility in Auckland.
Martin Simons, APN's New Zealand chief executive, told editorial staff the company saw the contracting-out of the work as part of a positive future for print media.
The plan will see most of the layout, copy editing and headline writing for the Herald, regional papers including the Northern Advocate, Bay of Plenty Times and Daily Post (Rotorua), the Aucklander magazine and the Listener move to Pagemasters, a subsidiary of Australian news agency AAP.
The first pages to be produced by Pagemasters should appear in the Herald in late July or mid-August and content for other publications will be added progressively until the end of this year.
The move has been controversial, with a union representing some staff, the EPMU, claiming there would be a loss of quality, local knowledge and a diminished career path for journalists in the future.
Mr Simons said APN had "confidence in its editorial management skills across the country to maintain individuality and vitality of individual publications, and to maintain high standards of accuracy".
APN was determined "to continue to invest in the content of our current products and intends to launch new ones as we spot opportunities".
"Technology advances which enable us to find better and more efficient ways to produce them will enable us to carry out our plans," he said.
Newspapers had a dynamic and growing future and no company has invested more heavily in New Zealand publishing in the past five years than APN through its launch of the Herald on Sunday, the Aucklander and The Business section of the Herald.
Last night the EPMU said it was considering legal action to stop APN.
National secretary Andrew Little said the union believed the company had failed to properly consult over the decision.
"APN already makes tens of millions of dollars in profit out of this country, now they're trying to squeeze out a little more and it's going to come at the cost of decent jobs and news quality.
"We're looking at challenging this in the courts and will continue our public campaign to hold APN accountable for its wider social responsibilities."
* APN owns nzherald.co.nz, the New Zealand Herald, Herald on Sunday, Aucklander and other papers throughout the country. It is also joint owner of The Radio Network.
