New Zealand’s top daily outsourcing Sunday production

Things like this show I’m in a dying profession:

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) -- Newspaper publisher APN News & Media began outsourcing editorial production work on Sunday, a plan that will be extended to five daily and three weekly newspapers by year end, a senior executive said.

The changes mean news editing and layout operations at The New Zealand Herald, the nation’s biggest daily, and a string of regional dailies will be done by an outside contractor, APN deputy chief executive Rick Neville said.

“I’m confident readers won't notice the difference” in the papers’ editing and design, Neville said.

The Engineering, Printing and Manufacturing Union that includes New Zealand journalists, however, said the move will erode the quality of news coverage because stories will be handled by copy editors not familiar with local issues. ...

By year end, Pagemasters will employ about 45 editing staff at their site to edit the seven newspapers - nearly 30 fewer than the newspapers employed.