A weekly group editor has left regional publisher Johnston Press after more than 20 years in senior roles with the company.
Amanda Hatfield had been editor of the Matlock Mercury since taking over from the legendary Don Hale in March 2002 and also oversaw a number of sister titles.
Before joining the Mercury, she had previously edited another JP title, the Diss Express, for a ten year period.
Amanda, who left the company on Friday, has also worked on the Bury Free Press and East Anglian Daily Times over the course of a 30-year career in local journalism.
She said: “I am obviously sad to be leaving the job but it is time for me to move on and try something new.
“My decade with the Mercury has been a challenge I have enjoyed and I am proud of what my team has achieved.
“We have worked with traders to keep our town centres open with our Staying Alive campaign and try to help local groups looking for volunteers with the Lend Us A Hand campaign.
“I hope that the community will continue to work with the paper on new projects in the future.”
Over the course of her ten years in the Mercury hot seat, Amanda steadily added other titles to her overall brief including the Buxton Advertiser, Belper News and Ripley and Heanor News.
Then in 2008 she was also given responsibility for the Ilkeston Advertiser and Eastwood and Kimberley Advertiser following the departure of editor David Horne.
However the structure of JP’s Wilfred Edmunds/North Notts Newspapers division meant she reported to another group editor in James Mitchinson rather than to the divisional MD John Bills.
In an internal memo announcing Amanda’s departure last week, John suggested in the internal memo that this structure may now be simplified with the editors of individual titles who previously reported to Amanda reporting to James instead.
Said John: “Amanda has contributed enormously to the Mercury and all mid-Derbyshire titles during her ten years with Wilfred Edmunds. She is well known for her enthusiasm and commitment.
“On behalf of everyone, I would like to thank her for all she has done for the business over the years. I’m sure you will join me in wishing Amanda every success for the future.
“Until further notice all those reporting to her will now report to group editor James Mitchinson.”
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This how JP reward loyalty, professional pride and dedication – with the sack. All JP employees now know that loyalty is a one-way street as far as the cost-cutters are concerned.
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It’s not so long ago that JP chiefs were spouting that the company’s greatest asset was its people. Mind you, they also said Life is Local.
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Good luck to Amanda. I wish her well.
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Amanda had a large portfolio of titles so it’s alarming that this has happened. Is the next big JP cull to include more weekly editors?
I’d like to ask Ashley a question…… There aren’t many of us left in editorial, so if the only way you can please the banks and pay back the debt is to cut jobs and outgoings, what are you going to do when you can’t cut any further?
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Top operator, nice person. Sad loss. All the very best, Amanda.
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Only seems five minutes ago that I worked with James Mitchinson as a trainee reporter. Now he’s a group editor?
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Why can’t Amanda have simply been made redundant, like hundreds of others have been and scores more who will be?
Please, no more of this ‘seeking fresh opportunities’ bullshit. I know that is how it gets sanitised and reported in the titles where editors have been ditched – but there’s no need for it here.
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Sector wide not only JP. Get a grip please and stop dramatising.
AH is doing a great job and has only been in the door 5 minutes. Give him the time to do things his way. You don’t fix a company like JP in 5 mins. Not only are they dealing with industry change we are in the worst economic slump for over 100 years!
seriously, get a grip!
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Get a grip!!??!!
When scores of experienced journalists are being unceremoniously booted out amid euphemisms that shame seasoned propogandists?
When those who made the decisions that brought newspaper companies (plural) to their knees either keep their posts with glorious bonuses while others are sacrificed, or walk away with Lottery-sized windfalls?
When experiments based on online production systems and methods are test-bedded on totally unsuitable media (newspapers)?
When the talents of in-house experts are ignored?
When any opposition is seen as disloyal rather than potentially constructive?
When justification of turning dailies into weeklies and announcing subsequent cash loss (six days revenue versus one day revenue, regardless of ‘savings’…go figure) is hailed as a ‘triumph’?
When much of the self-inflicted damage is blamed on those who tirelessly tried to make a difference we are told ‘get a grip’?
How dare you
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“When justification of turning dailies into weeklies and announcing subsequent cash loss (six days revenue versus one day revenue, regardless of ‘savings’…go figure) is hailed as a ‘triumph’?” – please, not this one again. Please understand that every one of the JP dailies-turned-weeklies will be far more profitable – in real terms as well as margins – as weeklies than they were as dailies. That’s the case with the dailies that Northcliffe converted last year. You’re right to note that revenue from newspaper sales will be lower (15,000 copies at £1 is less than income than 10,000 copies at 40p x 6 days) but the savings in print, production and distribution will more than offset this. And which option do you think advertisers would prefer – a daily selling 10,000 or a weekly selling 15,000? The vast majority of local newspaper advertisers advertise don’t advertise more than once a week so I would imagine the vast majority of existing ad revenues will be retained and the bigger audience means there will be scope to bring in some new (or win back some lost) ad spend.
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Sorry for the typo.
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Amanda was my first newspaper boss at Diss.
I wish her the very best in what she does next.
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Noonetoknow – if AH has ‘only been in the door 5 minutes’ it’s surely a bit early to judge that he’s ‘doing a great job’. You want others to give him time, but have already made your own judgement.
At most, the jury is out, or in the dole queue.
The danger is that low quality, bland online and print products (and that’s what you get when you relentlessly cut editorial) will not produce enough revenue to stabilise the dire situation.
You end up in ever-decreasing circles, looking for something else to blame for the failed business model.
Most of the media groups, while claiming to operate ‘economies of scale’, seem to me to be top-heavy on high cost executives, with upper-middle management busy justifying their existence by inventing more time-consuming projects that do nothing for core revenue but leave staff worn out and losing the will to live, let alone write a reader-grabbing story or sell an ad to a new client.
For operational managers life is truly miserable as they roll out the next load of nonsense or cuts. No wonder so many talented people decide it’s time to ‘pursue new opportunities’.
If by some turn of fortune you ever find yourself inexplicably pushed through the revolving door, may I suggest you consider becoming a spin doctor. I feel that with minimal training you could go far in the dark side of PR.
In the meantime, best wishes for the future to Amanda Hatfield. I hope she finds her energy and commitment valued in a new role. Many of us can testify that this is possible.
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I thought AH was out of the job, not in the door. Aren’t journalists supposed to simplify things?
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I take your point, Ill-informed.
But if the advertisers only advertise one day a week (not my experience) then the pagination of a weekly must be five or six times the daily (200 pages+ at least) to approach the difference?
Or am I missing something?
My other points stand, however….
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phnurg, those dailies-turned-weeklies do have massive paginations, hence moves like this…
http://htfpnew.adaptive.co.uk/2012/news/daily-turned-weekly-splits-in-two-after-being-branded-too-big/
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AH must be the wort thing ever to happen to local newspapers. He is turning once proud and profitable newsapers into’Mickey Mouse’ lame ducks. Someone needs to let him know that everyone and everything DOES NOT live on the internet. His obsession with digital first and closing offces is short sighted and dangerous. The ads are NOT following to his websites and closing town centre offices is plain crazy. What happened to ‘Life is Local’? JP and AH are taking the ‘local’ OUT of local newspapers. AH is like a fox being put in charge of a chicken coop.
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