Canadian media giant Postmedia to retrain, cut more jobs for digital-first strategy

The largest chain of newspapers in Canada is about to do some serious cost-cutting as it restructures its business for the “digital age”.

According to a report from Reuters, Paul Godfrey (the man in charge of Postmedia) has indicated that there will also be some extensive retraining during the reshaping of the company. Godfrey goes on to say that “Reporters are going to have to become more than just a reporter,” and mentioned that there are already Postmedia print journalists in the field who have video cameras at their disposal so that they can send video clips from the field for online articles.

Godfrey is aware that not everyone that works for Postmedia is going to be on board for the coming changes. “A lot of people who have done a certain job for so long do not want to learn anything new, and the older you get, the more reluctant you are to change,” he said.

Since Postmedia took over, more than one in ten of the jobs within the company were cut. Now with less than 4800 employees remaining that cover a variety of news outlets such as the flagship National Post, Montreal Gazette and Vancouver Sun, it seems as if more cuts are on the way. It has offered buyouts across the country, which include some employees at the National Post.

Currently, Postmedia’s digital presences (websites, smartphone/tablet apps and other digital services) draw 10 percent of the company’s sales. The expectation is that by becoming a “digital-first” media outlet, the company will get up to a quarter of its revenue from digital platforms within four years.