Fairfax Media has become the first traditional media company to form an advertising partnership with search giant Google in a deal aimed at stemming the decline in digital advertising that is hurting news organisations around the world.

In a politically significant deal management believe could be a breakthrough for the publisher of The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age, Fairfax will in effect outsource of the job of booking some digital advertisements that appear on its websites to Google’s automated system.

Fairfax’s managing director of Australian Metro Publishing, Chris Janz, said the partnership was about playing to the strengths of Fairfax and not trying to “be everything to everyone”. Credit:Dallas Kilponen

While many media companies have battled the disruptive influence of US technology giants such as Google and Facebook, Fairfax’s managing director of Australian publishing, Chris Janz, said partnership would allow both companies to concentrate on their respective strengths.

“It is important Fairfax doesn’t try to be everything to everyone,” he said.