AddThis SmartLayers

Fifteen jobs at risk as Trinity Mirror closes London titles

Trinity Mirror has announced the closure of a free newspaper series in West London with up to 15 jobs at risk of redundancy.

The Fulham and Hammersmith Chronicle series, which had a free distribution of 45,490 according to the most recent ABC figures, is to be axed at the end of the month.

The series, which also includes the Westminster Chronicle and Kensington and Chelsea Chronicle, was said by the company to have become “unsustainable.”

Staff were told the news at a meeting on Friday and Trinity Mirror confirmed the move to HTFP shortly afterwards.

It is understood that around ten of the 15 roles under threat are editorial roles along with three receptionists and two sales roles.

In addition staff at the paper’s West London sister titles are to be moved from their current base at Uxbridge as the lease on the building is expiring and relocated to the company’s offices in Watford, north of the capital.

Trinity Mirror Southern said in a statement: “Following a recent review of the portfolio in West London it has become clear that some areas of the business have become unsustainable.

“As a result the company is proposing to close the Hammersmith and Fulham Chronicle Series. The final edition will be published on Friday 25 April.

“Additionally, once the lease expires at the Uxbridge premises the office function and staff will be relocated to the Watford site. The company will also support remote working and relocation to other Trinity Mirror Southern offices where practical.

“Regrettably, these proposals mean that 15 roles are now at risk of redundancy.”

None of the other Trinity Mirror titles currrently run out of Uxbridge are under threat of closure.

The Ealing Gazette, Harrow Observer, Uxbridge Gazette and Hounslow Chronicle will continue along with their umbrella companion website getwestlondon.co.uk.

However according to the National Union of Journalists, the Uxbridge Gazette, Hounslow Chronicle and Ealing Gazette are switching from door-to-door distribution to free pick-up while only the Harrow Observer remains door-to door.

The union claims that the jobs at risk include those of six reporters, three photographers, a sports reporter and a sales manager.

National organiser Laura Davison said: “This announcement has come as a terrible shock to the hardworking staff of these titles. The speed of it means there is little time to look at meaningful alternatives to closure.

“Trinity Mirror should not simply be able to shut down these titles and lock them away after years of starving them of resources. It will leave some communities with no local paper, depriving them of a way to access information and hold local power to account. Readers and the Trinity Mirror journalists who serve them, deserve better.”

The Fulham and Hammersmith Chronicle became notable in recent years for fighting a long-running and ultimately successful battle with Hammersmith and Fulham Council over its fortnightly paper H&F News.

In 2010, the paper launched its ‘Proper Papers Not Propaganda’ campaign against the council’s publication, saying it was designed to look like a independent newspaper but was written by spin doctors.

However peace broke out between the paper and the council after the H&F News ceased publication in April 2011 following the Coalition’s clampdown on ‘town hall Pravdas.’

The Chronicle signed what was originally envisaged as a six-year deal with the authority to publish public notices and other adverts in the paper.

 

4 comments

You can follow all replies to this entry through the comments feed.
  • April 13, 2014 at 11:00 pm
    Permalink

    Condolences to all staff about to lose their jobs in this game of ever decreasing circles.
    If these newspapers were buildings they’d have blue plaques and preservation orders on them, with titles dating back to the 19th century.
    But instead the inventors of ‘Proper Papers Not Propaganda’ can shut them down, just like that.

    Report this comment

    Like this comment(0)
  • April 14, 2014 at 9:48 am
    Permalink

    And very bad news too if it’s true that the Uxbridge and Ealing papers will switch from door to door to free pick up.

    Report this comment

    Like this comment(0)
  • April 14, 2014 at 5:10 pm
    Permalink

    What a waste. For a short time in 2010, when I was working on the Fulham Chronicle series, it looked as though Trinity Mirror really did want to bring the paper back to life. It went from a small paid-for circulation to massive free coverage, more reporters were hired, and we moved into a modern office in central Hammersmith and set up something close to a functioning news room.

    Sadly, it didn’t last. Reporters weren’t replaced, page counts went down, editorial space shrank, circulation was cut, and the company completely failed to tap into what must remain a lucrative local advertising market.

    The Ealing Gazette, on which I also worked, has a long, proud history and deserves a better future, as do the Harrow Observer, Uxbridge Gazette and Hounslow Chronicle.

    Good luck to the many talented reporters and photographers who are about to lose their jobs.

    Report this comment

    Like this comment(0)
  • April 18, 2014 at 10:37 pm
    Permalink

    This is very sad news. Fulham Chronicle has seen a death by a thousand cuts, and is now to be ignominiously dealt a final blow by a parent company that cares little for the heritage or responsibility it has inherited.

    FULHAM CHRONICLE, R.I.P.

    Report this comment

    Like this comment(0)