John Fairfax Holdings Limited
ACN 008 663 161

SYDNEY, January 8, 2001 -- Mr Fred Hilmer, Chief Executive Officer of John Fairfax Holdings Limited [ASX:FXJ], today announced that Greg Hywood has been appointed Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of The Age, and that Alan Revell has assumed the same position at Herald publications, which include The Sydney Morning Herald and The Sun-Herald. Mr Steve Harris, who has been Publisher of The Age since 1997, will be leaving the Company to pursue other interests.

Mr Hilmer said, "A tenet of my leadership at Fairfax is to ensure the continued development of a senior management team that has the experience, depth, skills and balance to manage and grow our Company. Today's appointments continue a process that is well underway.

"Greg Hywood has performed exceptionally well as publisher in Sydney. The Age, with its printing capacity to be expanded next year by the new $220 million plant at Tullamarine, is about to enter a new era. Greg can bring all the experience from the Herald's recent expansion and re-design to maximise the benefits to The Age's readers and advertisers from our investment in Tullamarine, and to grow our overall business in Victoria.

"Alan Revell revitalised The Sun-Herald and has made a substantial contribution to management at f2, focusing on content and commerce. With his broad journalistic experience and commitment, he will further consolidate the papers' strengths.

"The Company will benefit enormously from the leadership both Greg and Alan can bring our publications at this particular time in their development. Steve made a tremendous contribution to The Age, laying the foundation on which his successors will be able to build."

Mr Hywood, 46, was publisher of The Australian Financial Review before being named publisher of The Sydney Morning Herald in 1998. "The opportunity to return home to Melbourne to further the growth of a unique journalistic institution is immensely satisfying, and is an exceptional opportunity. Thanks to Steve, The Age is poised for a new chapter of achievement and growth, and even better days are ahead for the paper and its involvement in the community. I am grateful for the invaluable experiences I have had with my colleagues at the Herald, and they have my respect always. I look forward to continuing the co-operation and interaction between the two mastheads."

Mr Hywood is a graduate of Monash University in Melbourne. He was, for many years, a senior correspondent for The Australian Financial Review, and was the paper's Bureau Chief in both Canberra and Washington.

Mr Revell, 43, is currently Managing Director, Commerce and Content, at f2, responsible for all the newspaper websites and classified supersites. Prior to that, he served as Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of The Sun-Herald from 1997-2000. "I look forward with enthusiasm to leading the two Herald publications and our extraordinarily talented journalists," Mr Revell said. "I especially look forward to working with Robert Whitehead, who has already made an immense contribution as Editor of The Sydney Morning Herald, its quality and its editorial excellence and integrity. I want our publications to be on the strongest business basis so as to support the quality journalism for which we are rightfully renowned."

Before joining Fairfax, Mr Revell was Deputy Editor of the Courier Mail in Brisbane and Assistant Editor of The Daily Telegraph in Sydney.

The appointments are effective immediately.

-- ENDS --

Contact:

Bruce Wolpe, Corporate Affairs Phone: (02) 9282 3640

Note to editors

John Fairfax Holdings [ASX:FXJ] is Australia’s leading publishing group. Its mastheads include The Sydney Morning Herald, The Australian Financial Review, The Age, The Sun-Herald, and BRW. In addition, the Company publishes financial and consumer magazines, regional and community newspapers, and provides online and interactive services. In 2000, the Company had revenues of over $1.3 billion. Fairfax, through f2, its wholly owned subsidiary for its online and interactive businesses, is building a strong position in e-commerce and is Australia’s leading content provider on the Internet. The Company’s key areas of focus include CitySearch Directories, SOLD.com.au (shopping and auctions), classified supersites (drive.com.au, mycareer.com.au, domain.com.au), financial services, news and sport. The extensive network of more than 30 sites attracts over 2.4 million page views per day (2.5 million site visits per week).

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