A regional daily editor is leaving his role after bosses decided to merge his paper’s editorial operations with that of a sister title.
Regional publisher Newsquest has decided to merge the editorial operations of The Press, York and the Telegraph & Argus, Bradford.
It means Steve Hughes, currently editor of The Press, is to leave the company after 13 years.
Perry Austin-Clarke, currently editor of the Telegraph & Argus and group editor (Bradford), will assume the new role of group editor (Yorkshire) overseeing both daily titles along with a number of sister weeklies.
The announcement was made to staff today by David Coates, regional managing director for Newsquest Yorkshire & North East.
It read: “The company plans to merge the management of its editorial operations in York & Bradford and after 13 successful years with Newsquest, Steve Hughes has decided to leave the company.
“Steve’s done a great job for us in York, helping to manage our operations through the worst of the credit crisis and he played an important role in our recent move into new offices in Walmgate.
“Our newspapers and associated websites have benefited from Steve’s stewardship and his influence will be missed by his friends and colleagues within the business.”
Today’s announcement means Steve is the 11th regional editor to leave their role during 2014 although his formal leaving date is not until 9 January.
He took over as managing director in York in 2007 after a stint as editor of The Bolton News. Two years later he took over as editor from Kevin Booth, now at the Leicester Mercury, after a restructure saw the MD and editor roles combined.
Perry has been editor of the T&A since 1992 and is one of the longest-serving editors in the regional press.
He is a previous deputy editor of The Press and also edited the Gazette & Herald in North Yorkshire.
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Good Lord!
How can you merge York and Bradford in any shape or form.
You could not get two more radically different cities.
One is prosperous, booming, rural, white, conservative.
The other is poor, run-down, urban, muslim, left-wing.
They need to be managed differently, which means different people.
Poor Steve, Decent guy.
I hope his pay off was a decent one.
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I agree with Flossie, these are two incredibly diverse newspapers. It’s one thing having one editor for the YP and YEP which work out of the same office in Leeds, but having one editor for two radically different newspapers miles apart is going to be challenging.
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Yet another decision that shows how far the regional press has fallen.
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Absolute twaddle from “Flossie the Sheep”.
York? Conservative? It is served by a Labour council, who succeeded a long-time Lib Dem council.
It has a Labour MP of more than two decades.
Bradford is not “muslim”, a crude stereotype if ever I read one. It has a large muslim population, as well as thousands of Sikhs, Hindus and Christians.
It is not left-wing either, it had a Tory-led council until the last few years and has two Tory MPs in its district.
On the story however, this is shockingly poor decision making from a company which acts although it is on the rocks and desperate, rather than profitable.
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Makes you wonder what horrors are in store for 2015. I fear for newspaper journos still some years from pension. And fewer youngsters will be needed for wonderful world of web which is low cost low staff operation compared with print.
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(Adopts serious Laurence Olivier voice-over, graphic of weeklies, P45s, daily editions consumed in the flames, iconic Carl Davis theme music)…Can we take it that Perry has no more territorial demands to make in Yorkshire?
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Having worked for Steve in Bolton, I have to say this is a sad day for regional journalism. I do hope that this editor – who knew exactly what he wanted from his papers, who believed in quality and who took a hands-on approach to many of his pages – will be quickly taken on elsewhere.
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And so we have another admission to the secret warehouse of ex-editors.
I’ve been resident for more than four years, after 36 years in weekly newspapers (32 of them as editor, deputy editor or news editor). I jumped the JP ship when Atex came aboard – and before I was made to walk the plank, which happened to so many other colleagues 12 months down the line.
I leave the warehouse these days to do care work, on minimum wage and a zero hours contract. And I’m much happier than I was in the latter stages of my previous existence.
When asked ‘do you miss it?’ I have to answer ‘what’s to miss these days?’
What saddens me is the wasted potential of so many young, talented young(ish) journalists who are so overworked and under supported that they will probably never have the opportunity to realise that potential.
As for me, I now deal with the infirm, demented and incontinent – so no real difference.
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This is one of the most bizarre decisions yet. York and Bradford, those well-known twin cities ….. what next – one paper for both?
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Extraordinary
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The comments are often used as catharsis for those who currently work in the industry or have recently left in often painful emotional ways. But I seriously think many people should seek help after reading the self-indulgent episodes mixed with a sprinkling of unhelpful moaning, depressing and negative views in previous stories on HTFP. To top it all off, the know-it-all brigade have no better ideas, so the comments often get you nowhere…. So, please, why don’t you move on (possibly call a helpline) and get a new job, get married again, play on a console, read a book, go to cinema, eat at a restaurant – hell, just have a warm bath and relax. Yep, live your lives as peacefully and fruitfully as possible and move on. I get your pain, i really do, but just move on… please…..
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One editor for two city daily papers? How long before both titles go weekly then?
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Flossie does go overboard on stressing the perceived differences, and I fail to understand why two titles in major and long-established urban centres should need to be managed ‘differently’.
However, as with all such decisions, it’s impossible to understand Newsquest’s logic in thining that the same person can manage both titles properly and effectively, whilst also looking after a raft of weeklies.
Unless, of course, the publisher thinks the Bradford editor has only been putting in 2.5 days every week.
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Another wonderfully short-sighted decision by Newsquest. I seem to remember seeing that they made an operating profit of close to £60m in the last year (albeit down on the previous year but still not to be sniffed at). How long will these cretins be allowed to ruin local newspapers?
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“Yep, live your lives as peacefully and fruitfully as possible and move on. I get your pain, i really do, but just move on… please…..” Dear Mr Smith. I hope you never get made redundant, I hope you never have to go down the Job Centre, claim half-price bus fares, scour YouGov for jobs never mind HTFP. I hope you never have to get a job as a Census enumerator (till 2021 at least). I hope you never find yourself feeling your head is in a vice. I hope you have very good friends and family who will understand why you seem so moody.
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“I seriously think many people should seek help.” Thanks for the sympathy, ‘John Smith’. Nice to know you have our best interests at heart and aren’t just having a management nark taking a bitchy little dig at dedicated people who still care about the industry that’s taken their best years, ground them into dust and spat them out on to the scrap-heap. Do keep those positive, supportive comments coming; we feel so much better knowing you’re there for us.
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Thank you to all friends, colleagues and those I don’t know for their kind comments on this forum and elsewhere. I’m working on The Press until January 9 and then we’ll see what opportunities beckon. Best wishes to you all.
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I have been made redundant and it’s awful, but i didn’t continually use the comments feed on a website as a way to vent my frustrations. It is pointless, nobody really cares about the faceless comments. Really they don’t. If i’ve managed to find another job in another career, i’m sure others can. The road to salvation is through hard work and faith in your own abilities. Be adaptable and you will find other jobs. Don’t waste time in whining about ‘back in my day!!!” it was better because it is – quite frankly – boring. Now i’m going to take heed of my own advice and move on and get back to work!
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Nothing to fear York….Perry is a great supporter of editorial and has fought many long battles on behalf of editorial staff. He’s not one to toe the management line. Not only that, the Telegraph and Argus is a very good paper, well designed and modern looking.
Everyone in Newsquest knows it.
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John Smith bitter?
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