faifax picks mitchell as clear winner

FAIRFAX Media has appointed Harold Mitchell's Mitchell & Partners agency to handle media buying for its metro and national mastheads and Fairfax Digital.

The deal follows four-way pitch.

Fairfax would not disclose the terms of the appointment but said Mitchell & Partners was "the clear winner" in terms of "general capabilities, media agency capability, and commercial terms". The company is understood to spend about $30 million a year to advertise brands such as The Age, The Sydney Morning Herald, The Australian Financial Review and the Fairfax Digital portfolio.

The group's radio stations and community and regional newspapers are understood not to be included.