30 jobs to be cut at Nine in shift to 'digital. 30 jobs to be cut at Nine in shift to 'digital-first future' Cameron MicallefNewsWire 20 July 2026, 6:24pm Nine Entertainment has announced further job cuts at its newspaper businesses as part of a restructure towards digital media. As part of its latest restructure, 30 jobs will be impacted across Nine's metro editorial division, which includes The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, Brisbane Times, and WA Today. In a statement, media union the MEAA called Tuesday's announcement devastating for the journalists and other workers impacted. "They come at a time when quality public interest journalism has never been more important," the MEAA said. "Newsrooms cannot keep absorbing job cuts without consequences for workloads, diversity, quality journalism, and the ability of journalists to hold power to account." In a note to staff on Tuesday morning, Nine Publishing executive Tory Maguire asked staff to attend a town hall where they would discuss changes to structure and operations. "The best way to protect our quality journalism is to ensure our organisation adapts to a changing media landscape, that we're growing commercially and investing in new areas which connect with new audiences. In particular we need to keep shifting towards the digital-first future," she said in the email. "Therefore, we are constantly reviewing our business to ensure it is fit for purpose in our changing environment. As a result we are going to be making some changes to our structure and how we operate." The MEAA called for transparency about the proposed changes and how they would impact the company's obligations to uphold its charter of editorial independence and ensure quality journalism. "Nine must engage in genuine consultation with staff through their union and do everything possible to avoid forced redundancies, including redeployment and voluntary options," the MEAA said. The redundancies are on top of an announcement made in April when Channel 9 confirmed it would axe 20 jobs in the first sweep of redundancies to hit its news and current affairs. Staff were told the network had been investing in its Future News project with new technology, training and equipment, and all roles across its news and current affairs division would become more streamlined and multiskilled. "This represents the largest investment in Nine news and current affairs in decades, with new technology, systems and workflows revolutionising the way we produce and deliver news, "Nine executive director of news and current affairs Fiona Dear said in April. "We've said from the beginning that this will touch all roles in some way, shape or form. "This isn't about doing the same work with fewer people to save money; it's about acknowledging that the work itself is changing across our industry and we must adapt to survive and thrive." More to come

Navigating the new normal: Insights from Nine's Independent Exchange. The world has been upended over the last six years, with the global landscape now defined by rapid, compounding disruption. From pandemics and conflicts to shifting geopolitical alliances and the structural integration of Artificial Intelligence into commercial models, businesses are now operating in an environment that demands constant calibration. At Nine's recent Melbourne Independent Exchange event, Managing Director of Publishing, Tory Maguire, sat down with some of the country's most respected journalists - Matthew Knott, Foreign Affairs and National Security Correspondent, The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age, Joyce Moullakis, Associate Editor, The Australian Financial Review, and James Thomson, Senior Chanticleer Columnist, The Australian Financial Review - to unpack the global market forces shaping 2026. The new macroeconomic reality. The ceasefire between the US and Iran has provided a temporary global reprieve, but the structural aftershocks will continue to reverberate in boardrooms. The panel agreed that corporate focus has moved from theoretical environmental metrics to immediate energy security and affordability. "The [US and Iran] war might be over, but the aftershocks are not over," noted James Thomson. "It's going to take months to get the global energy complex rebuilt, and we'll still have a change in the view of most countries around the world as to how they see energy security." Joyce Moullakis identified a stark divergence between consumer mood and action. "Optimism has returned, but there are still a lot of questions around the consumer. Sentiment is very, very low, but consumers are still spending." Thomson explained that this spending resilience is propped up by a massive $3 trillion surge in Australian household wealth over the past two years, driven by rising property values and superannuation returns. This "K-shaped" economic reality means brands must look beyond surface-level data to effectively target distinct consumer segments. AI evolution: Past the hype to the real bottom line. AI has progressed from speculative experimentation to a rigid economic necessity. However, corporate Australia is facing an unexpected structural teething problem: the astronomical cost of "token bills". "Employees are doing exactly what their bosses have told them," Thomson said. "They've been told to go and use AI for everything, and that's what they're doing. And suddenly the cost of the AI is becoming a real issue." Moullakis pointed to major tech adopters like Uber, which chewed through its entire 12-month token budget in four months. The consensus was clear: the race to integrate AI is no longer optional because no business can afford to slow down while its competitors move ahead. For brands and marketers, the critical differentiator in an AI-saturated market will be data quality. The ultimate output of any model relies entirely on the verified, premium data sources fed into it. Moullakis noted that while progressive companies are successfully deploying AI agents to personalise the consumer journey, corporate leaders' back-end focus is shifting toward cost management. "CEOs that I speak to do have a level of excitement about the opportunity, but also headcount reduction. When an economy's not growing very much, cost is something they are looking at very closely." Navigating a fractured consumer landscape. The political arena is mirroring the fragmentation seen across modern media consumption. The traditional stability of Australia's two-party system is being tested, with the pace accelerated by cost-of-living frustrations and the mainstreaming of alternative political movements. Matthew Knott emphasised that this shift is being incubated outside traditional channels. Utilising sophisticated, highly produced, independent video ecosystems on platforms like YouTube, alternative movements are bypassing legacy media campaign structures entirely. "In the way that the traditional parties are doing quite lame TikToks, populist movements are thriving in that part that many people aren't even aware is going on out there." Thomson noted that top-tier ASX executives are scrambling to decode why up to 30% of their customer bases are migrating toward these alternative alignments. He warned that the corporate sector's core growth strategies could face headwinds if anti-immigration sentiment stalls population growth. "Corporate leaders like population growth; they like new skills coming into the workforce. If we didn't have immigration, we would be in an actual recession." The ultimate premium on human connection. Despite macro volatility, geopolitical pivots, and the rapid rise of the algorithm, the panel closed with a powerful note of clarity regarding the enduring value of human capability. As automation absorbs data entry, administrative processing and predictable tasks, the premium on baseline human capability is skyrocketing. Thomson shared a key takeaway from a recent interview with National Australia Bank CEO Andrew Irvine, outlining the ultimate strategy for the modern workforce. "His point was, what you need to teach kids is to have a good handshake and really good personal skills, because that is what AI will never be able to kill. A bank like NAB is actually investing more in frontline bankers because that's the thing that AI can't beat." The overarching strategic takeaway for the market is clear: the most valuable asset in 2026 is a business strategy that successfully blends technical AI fluency with high-level interpersonal skills, critical thinking, and genuine relationship-building. AI can optimise the process, but the human edge remains the ultimate corporate advantage. As Harro navigate these complex waters, Nine remains committed to providing the clarity and insight your brand needs to stay ahead. Whether it's decoding the impact of policy shifts or understanding the evolution of the media landscape, Harro is here to help you turn disruption into opportunity. Main image: Tory Maguire, Matthew Knott, Joyce Moullakis, James Thomson This post is partnered content with Nine for Brands.

Pedestrian Group acquired by Vinyl. By Aja Walter | June 9, 2026 - 1:05pm Vinyl Group has announced it will acquire 100% of Pedestrian Group from Nine. The deal, which has been described as being for "nominal consideration," involves no cash, debt, scrip or royalties, according to the ASX statement. Nine acquired a majority stake in PEDESTRIAN.TV in 2015 for around $10 million, then took full ownership in 2018, purchasing the last 40% for $39 million. The acquisition adds PEDESTRIAN.TV, Pedestrian Jobs, Openair Cinemas, and Pedestrian Studio to Vinyl's portfolio that already includes Concrete Playground, Mediaweek, Tone Deaf and ANZ licences for Refinery29, Rolling Stone, Variety, BuzzFeed and LADbible. Vinyl CEO, Josh Simons wrote on LinkedIn that, "I have read PEDESTRIAN.TV almost every day for as long as I can remember," and that he respected "what this brand means for Australian youth culture." "The point is this: we are not buying these assets to strip culture for parts. We are doing this because I believe these brands matter, and because the team I've built believes they can be made commercially stronger, more sustainable and more valuable inside a modern, technology-first company with the scale, focus and infrastructure to help them thrive." In March, Vinyl Group also acquired Val Morgan Digital for $10.5 million in cash and shares. Amanda Bardas, the head of Val Morgan Digital and former group publisher, left the company in May, after six and a half years. Last week, Vinyl made its head of editorial operations, Sarah Chapman, and Mediaweek's head of editorial, Duane Hatherly redundant, in the latest wave of staff changes in the media group. Completion of the Pedestrian deal is scheduled for 15 June 2026. Image credit: Pedestrian Group/Vinyl Group