Fairfax celebrates its independent journalism in new ‘Independent. Always’ campaign launch

Fairfax Media has launched a campaign celebrating its long and proud history of independent journalism. The campaign kicks off with today’s full-page advertisements running across Fairfax mastheads encouraging readers to “seek out the truth” about the independence of the news they consume.

Says Greg Hywood, Fairfax Media chief executive: “Fairfax’s greatest strength as a news organisation is its independent journalism. Our audiences want it. They value it. Others won’t and can’t deliver it.”

Fairfax has unveiled a new tagline “Independent. Always.”, appearing alongside several mastheads in print and online. The campaign will extend to other Fairfax assets in the coming weeks, including Fairfax’s radio stations.

VIEW THE AD – Independent AD_2308.pdf

Says Hywood: “Not all news is created equal. Quality independent journalism has been the guiding principle at Fairfax for the past 180 years. Our journalists pursue the truth without fear or favour. Vested interests don’t get in the way, and nobody offshore is directing us.

“Independence is at the very core of who we are and what we do. Our journalists give their communities the facts. They tell it like it is. They weed out corruption. They expose the truth. Our journalists make society a more civil place. Fairfax has deeply engaged audiences – spanning print, online and radio – and our readers know what they want from us.”

Fairfax’s quality independent journalism is a central part of its strategy to build, and monetise, its large and highly engaged news media audience.

The new ’emma’ (Enhanced Media Metrics Australia) data, launched this week by independent research company Ipsos, shows that Fairfax mastheads attract an impressive audience of 9.6 million Australians each month, across print, web, mobile and tablet. That’s 1 in 2 of the population over 14 years of age.

The data recognises The Sydney Morning Herald as being the nation’s most read masthead with 4.5 million cross-platform readers a month, well ahead of the competition.

At Fairfax’s full-year financial results on Thursday, the company revealed impressive early uptake of digital subscriptions introduced locally in July for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age.

Says Hywood: “We achieved half of our first year budget for paid subscribers in the first month, with minimal impact on total visitor numbers to our websites. The numbers are growing at an impressive rate, propelled by The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age’s outstanding journalism.”

The two mastheads have 68,000 paid digital subscriptions plus 98,000 bundled print and digital subscriptions.

Says Hywood: “No matter how readers access Fairfax’s journalism, they can always expect us to stay true to our core promise of delivering independent journalism.”