Leading Australian media company appoints new chairman

SYDNEY - One of the Australia's major media companies announced on Thursday the appointment of a new chairman to lead it.

Nick Falloon, former executive of the late billionaire Kerry Packer's publishing and TV broadcasting empire, will take up the position at Fairfax Media in August, replacing Roger Corbett.

Falloon most recently helmed the national Australian Ten TV network.

Fairfax Media currently operates major newspapers such as the Sydney Morning Herald and Melbourne's Age, plus key metropolitan and regional radio stations across a nationwide network.

Fairfax Media has struggled on the share market in the rapidly changing media industry, and Falloon's appointment is seen as a plus, analysts suggested on Thursday.