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SYDNEY, February 6, 2001 – The Sydney Morning Herald and Italy’s Corriere Della Sera (CdS) announced that they had established a joint initiative to publish and distribute CdS in key metropolitan suburbs throughout Sydney.  The first combined editions were on sale this morning.

 From Tuesday through Saturday, 15,000 copies of the Monday-Friday editions, respectively, of Corriere Della Sera will be circulated together with The Sydney Morning Herald in selected newsagents in the Italian areas of metropolitan Sydney. The cover price of the combined papers will be an additional AU$0.40 per issue. 

The agreement also incorporates publication and distribution of La Gazzetta Dello Sport (GdS), the leading European broadsheet daily sports newspaper.

Mr Alan Revell, Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of Herald publications, said, “Our joint publishing and distribution agreement with Corriere Della Sera is an historic first for The Sydney Morning Herald, and we are very proud to have CdS as our partner.  We believe this will strengthen the Herald in dozens of neighbourhoods in Sydney, and provide, for Italian Australians, comprehensive access in print to Italy’s leading broadsheet for news, sport, and features.”

 Mr Gianni D’Angelo, Business Development Director of RCS Editori SpA, said, “We have chosen The Sydney Morning Herald because of its long tradition as a broadsheet newspaper. Its objectives and targets are very similar to ours and from previous experiences abroad – including Argentina, Brazil and Venezuela – we believe that a partnership with a prestigious local paper gives the public a wider view of the world news.                                 

 “Australia has one of the biggest Italian communities outside of Italy, with about 3% of the population who speak Italian in the household,  and although most are second and third generation Italians, they are still very keen to maintain a relationship with their country of origin.” 

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 for further information, please contact Alan Revell, (02) 9282 2858

 Note to Editors:

 CdS and GdS

CdS is published seven days per week, with a circulation of approximately 700,000 copies.

GdS was founded in 1896 in Milan and is the European leading broadsheet daily sports paper. It is published seven days a week and covers all major sports events, with a particular attention to football.  Its average circulation is approximately 500,000, with a peak circulation of 900,000 on Mondays.

Both papers belong to  RCS Editori SpA, one of Europe’s largest publishing companies, which is also active in consumer magazines, books and online publishing. 

The Sydney Morning Herald is Australia’s leading broadsheet, published six days per week, and is Sydney’s paper of record, with a reputation of independence, authority and integrity.  The Sydney Morning Herald is owned by John Fairfax Holdings Limited [ASX:FXJ], Australia’s leading publishing group, whose mastheads also include The Age, The Australian Financial Review, The Sun-Herald, Melbourne Express 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.

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