News Corp Australia boss Julian Clarke says newspaper journalism is not a growth industry in the near term, but may improve when newspapers establish a stronger presence on digital platforms.
Mr Clarke said the newspaper sector was still going through a period of "settling things down" as they transformed their operations into multi-platform businesses embracing both print and digital media.
"It is not going to be a growth industry as far as hiring journalists is concerned."
Mr Clarke told a Melbourne Press Club luncheon on Wednesday.
"I'd be misleading you if I said that was the case.
"But, quite frankly, I do not close off what the future might look like in terms of this industry that we are in.
"We are going through a period where we are resolving a lot of issues, but once that gets done, you might find that growth might be the next period."
Mr Clarke said the environment for newspapers was challenging at the moment, but it was the same case in the mid-1970s when colour television, satellites, regional shopping centres and printed catalogues drew advertisers and readers and their money away from newspapers.
"What happened in the mid '70s was a seismic shift," Mr Clarke said. "It led to the demise of afternoon newspapers and, therefore, consequential loss of jobs - sound familiar?"
Mr Clarke said the response from the newspaper industry was not one of despair but a move to consolidate when News Ltd took over the Herald and Weekly Times.
He said that consolidation led to massive investment in technology in printing and editorial systems, which created new advertising streams and new product development such as lifestyle sections, Sunday and commuter newspapers and weekend colour magazines.
"We were fighting to survive, but we did - we came out of that stronger than ever."
But Mr Clarke said the "contemporary perfect storm" was of a much higher level than that in the 1970s, driven by the explosion of players in the digital space, the lowering of entry barriers, and the growth of social media.
This had resulted in company restructuring and consequent job losses.
Newspapers now had to create and deliver a product that was a mix of print and digital media to retain and grow audiences and compel them to pay for their news.
Mr Clarke said the news product now had to be "three dimensional", including video, amazing graphics, beautiful pictures, relevant content, and the opportunity for transactional activity on the same digital platform.
"This to me is what the future is all about," he said.
