Jack Matthews of Fairfax Digital talks about their online strategy

Courtesy of Paid Content is this story by James Pearce about an interview with Jack Matthews, the new head of Fairfax Digital. An interesting is somewhat shallow (for obvious commercial reasons) insight into their plans. His comments about newspapers and how they need to confront the challenges of online competitors are refreshing for someone employed by a newspaper publisher. I’d like to hear Jack Matthews speak with newsagents (maybe at the national conference on Hamilton Island later this month???) because he seems to tell it like it is. The interview underscores the importance of the digital strategy to Fairfax and this is at odds with the “our newspapers are our focus” mantra newsagents hear from publishers. While I agree newspapers have a future, digital is where the real action is. Newsagents investing hundreds of thousands of dollars (if not millions) in their retail and distribution businesses need to know more of what Jack Matthews knows. The interview can be heard here.