City stirs suspicion in Fairfax deal

An alarmed Sydney City Council is divided over a sponsorship deal between the City and Fairfax Media.

Councilors say the new arrangement, which exchanges advertising in the Sydney Morning Herald for the use of the City’s street banners, muddies the editorial independence of the news organization.

Liberal Councillor Shayne Mallard forced a clause into the contract that the sponsorship be “conducted at arms length from the political considerations of the Council”, but three councilors voted against the item, saying they were still uneasy about the relationship.

“All I want to say is that there needs to be a clear boundary between what we’re doing commercially and their [Fairfax journalists’] independence to write as they see fit, and the Lord Mayor’s office not to in any way apply the commercial relationship in their work to get positive media for Clover Moore,” said Cr Mallard, a former Fairfax employee.

“When I was there, if a sales rep went onto the editorial floor there would be a strike.”

A report produced by the City’s Engagement department recommended a longstanding contract to strengthen commercial efficiency between the organizations.

But Councillor Chris Harris said it would be difficult to maintain editorial independence in such a formal financial relationship.

The City’s Director of Engagement, Alistair Walton, refused to disclose the financial value of the deal – classified as commercial in confidence – saying the global recession affected sponsorship opportunities in the marketplace.

The City has previously sponsored Fairfax events such as City to Surf, Half Marathon and Good Food Month, while Fairfax has provided coverage for City initiatives Art & About and Sydney New Year’s Eve.

Media Entertainment and Arts Alliance spokesperson Jonathan Este said there appeared to be nothing suspect about the arrangement and, in fact, encouraged newspapers obtaining government support.

“Government sponsorship of newspapers through advertising is nothing new, in fact, we’re all for it, because anything that brings revenue into newspapers at the moment is good,” he said.

“We’ve urged the Government to look at its advertising support towards newspapers and the media in general and increase it.”