Australia's largest locally owned media company, Nine Entertainment, is cutting around 30 newsroom jobs at the Sydney Morning Herald and the Age, blaming what it called an "extreme state of disruption" caused by artificial intelligence. Publishing managing director Tory Maguire told staff on Tuesday the cuts, a mix of voluntary and targeted redundancies, were not merely cost-cutting but an "evolution" needed to adapt to structural change in the industry, with plans to retrain and hire for "digital-first, reader-savvy, data-informed roles".

The move follows earlier cuts of 200 jobs two years ago, including 90 from the legacy mastheads and the Australian Financial Review, which will not be affected this time as it is considered more digitally evolved, having run a paywall since 2007. Maguire pointed to research showing AI chatbots and search summaries are reshaping how people consume news, with Nine's digital subscription revenue down 6% last year and reader revenue stalling for the first time in three years. She said AI had disrupted the business more than the internet or social media had.