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Two popular Australian broadsheet newspapers, The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age, will now be changed to a tabloid format, charge for online content and are likely to stop printing altogether in a 'momentous' shake-up of the country's media. The move came as Gina Rinehart, the world's wealthiest woman, positioned herself to gain control of the owner of the group of newspapers, Fairfax Media. Rinehart has increased her stake in Fairfax Media to 18.67 percent with a recent purchase of more than 143 million shares. According to The Telegraph, the Sydney Morning Herald, which began publishing in 1831, and The Age, which began in 1854, will shrink to 'compact' size next March, slash staff and erect pay-walls on their websites following a continuous decline in print readership since 2006. Meanwhile, Fairfax has announced it will cut 1900 jobs, over a fifth of its workforce, in the next three years. It has also planned to close its two main printing presses in New South Wales and Victoria by 2014. Fairfax said it would consider ending its metropolitan newspaper print editions if readership and advertising revenue continue to decline. According to the paper, The Australian arm of the Murdoch empire, News Ltd, which controls about 70 per cent of Australian newspapers and is the main rival of Fairfax Media, is also tipped to announce a dramatic shake-up and big jobs cuts in the coming weeks.

Oz broadsheets switch to tabloid format amid 'momentous' media shake up