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CEO of Australia's Fairfax Media resigns
(Agencies)
Updated: 2008-12-05 11:07

SYDNEY, Australia -- The CEO of Fairfax Media Limited, the publisher of leading newspapers in Australia and New Zealand, resigned Friday after three years leading the company.

Fairfax Media Chief Executive Officer (CEO) David Kirk at an annual results news conference in Sydney August 23, 2007. Kirk resigned Friday after three years leading the company. [Agencies

David Kirk gave no explanation for stepping down, but the move comes amid the economic downturn that has shrunk advertising revenue, forced staff cuts and seen Fairfax shares fall nearly 70 percent.

Kirk, a former captain of New Zealand's All Blacks rugby team, said it had been a privilege to lead Fairfax during this challenging time.

"I leave with the strongest pride in the quality and integrity of journalism and our mastheads and media assets, in print, online and on-air, throughout Australia and New Zealand," Kirk said in a statement.

Fairfax holds more than 300 newspapers, 50 Web sites and 15 radio stations. In Australia, it publishes The Age, the Sydney Morning Herald and The Australian Financial Review, among others. Its New Zealand mastheads include The Dominion Post and The Press.

There had been recent speculation about Kirk's position in the current negative economic climate. Shares in Fairfax Media are down 68 percent this year, compared with a 44 percent slide in the overall market. After Kirk's announcement, shares were trading up 0.34 percent at 1.495 Australian dollars.

Earlier this year, Kirk initiated a cost-cutting plan that included dropping 550 jobs. One of the first to go was Andrew Jaspan, editor of The Age newspaper. On Thursday, Alan Oakley stepped down as editor of the Sydney Morning Herald.

Fairfax Chairman Ronald Walker praised Kirk as an "outstanding CEO" and said he had helped with operational improvements including cost reductions, circulation growth and a rapid growth in Internet earnings.

"He and his team have led the complete repositioning of the company, from a metropolitan newspaper publishing business to a position in which the company is now clearly the leading media company in Australasia," Walker said in the statement.

He said deputy chief executive Brian McCarthy would act as interim chief until the board meets next week.

Other media companies have also watched their shares drop and advertising shrink. News Corp. chief Rupert Murdoch, a main Fairfax rival, recently said there would be cuts at his Australian publications.