Further photographic jobs are set to be axed at Johnston Press titles in the North East and Scottish borders.
Earlier this week the company announced that photographic staff would be cut at several of its titles across Lancashire and Yorkshire.
Now it has emerged that the company’s North-East division is also affected by the proposed reductions, with plans to reduce the number of staff photographers to four across the whole region.
It is understood the redundancies will see two permanent photographers retained to provide coverage for three daily papers: the Sunderland Echo, Hartlepool Mail and Shields Gazette, while two more will stay on to cover its weekly titles based in Northumberland.
A further four photographers are set to be made redundant in the Scottish borders, affecting JP subsidiary the Tweeddale Press Group’s nine titles.
Previous culls of photographers have taken place at JP’s Scottish, Midlands and Southern divisions.
A JP spokeswoman said: “I can confirm that, in line with other announcements made recently about our photographic services in certain parts of the business, there is also currently a review of the photographic department in the North East, which may result in a reduction in the number of staff.
“At the moment we are in consultation with those who may be affected and no final decisions have been made.”
In Yorkshire all weekly staff photographers based at JP’s Wakefield and Dewsbury centres are set to lose their jobs, along with those working for Scarborough-based Yorkshire Regional Newspapers division.
In Lancashire six of the nine photographers currently working for The Gazette, in Blackpool, Preston’s Lancashire Evening Post and the Wigan Evening Post on a pool system face redundancy.
Laura Davison, NUJ national organiser, said: “Johnston Press is in danger of leaving itself exposed to the unpredictability of the freelance market when it could retain these specialist staff as a real asset to the company.
“Does it really want to send out a signal that its strategy is to be firmly ahead in a race to the bottom?”
JP also announced last week to merge its three flagship Scottish titles – The Scotsman, Scotland on Sunday and the Edinburgh Evening News – with the loss of up to 45 jobs, following its promise of “further efficiency savings” in an interim management statement.
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without being smug, rather glad I got out when I could, but very worried about those who can’t. When, oh when, are JP going to announce some investment in professional experienced staff. Freelancers are a very mixed bag quality-wise, some very good and some just kids who stick the camera on auto and think that will do. (which it will with most papers now)
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Dear God, I can’t keep up.
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Of course…. Cutting off your arm will make you more able to perform!! People will rush to buy over priced products with amateur content!!!
ARE THESE PEOPLE FOR REAL?!?! I wouldn’t let them run a church news sheet!!
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Facebook beware!! JP are coming to destroy you!!!
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Just typed ‘axed’ into the HTFP search facility – it appears on this website 6280 times.
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Fact. Digital is much cheaper to produce than paper so ad profit ratio is in theory very high. IF you sell enough to make it worthwhile.
Fact. Despite increases in hits JP and others cannot yet make enough hard money from digital to ditch newspapers.
Prediction. When they do reach satisfactory digital income, JP will ditch print, with perhaps some poor quality cheap to run free papers retained with minimal staff to plug websites.
As for photographers, it is clear JP are not fussed about top quality images on the web, as long as they can get away with it. Hence the national culls.
It might not look like it now but it is entirely possible JP will emerge as a profitable digital operation in the future, because advertisers will have no choice. But it will employ far fewer people than print. We had better get used to it. In fact, we already are.
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Please don’t insult those who produce church news sheets!
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JP will be selling blank pages and asking us to write our own news next.
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Last one out switch off the lights… !
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Has anyone been offered more than 2x weeks capped at £30k? Or is this the current going rate?
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just a random thought. if someone finds a much cheaper way to print newspapers what then for digital? There is still a demand for papers. Most sales losses are down to management decisions (needless relaunches, redesigns long abandoned, several price hikes, slashing of staff etc.
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Thanks NUJ for your vote of confidence for Freelances – what a joke your organisation is, that’s why I left……
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With 25 years’ service my redundancy was capped at £20k.
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Photographers in newspapers have always be treated second class in the editorial dept,if this culling of staff was happening to reporters the NUJ would be up in arms,its about time they got there act together and represented their photographic members with more vigour.As for JP i worked for a title since leaving school, 43 years later I was made redundant.On my leaving date and to this day I still have not had a thank you or best wishes from The MD or Editor for a lifetime of service.
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Grad grind, you may well be correct about JP. Indeed if AH has his way that’s exactly what will happen. However you and he seem to forget or conveniently ignore the fact that there ARE successful, thriving newspapers out there. They are still working because they are focused on their core business and not distracted by the digital fools gold. They are traditionally run print operations with local journalists and staff photographers. AH can muddy the waters all he wants with digital promises, the fact is people still want a well produced local weekly paper where they can find all their local news and photos. Digital might work for daily papers but it won’t work for local weeklies.
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JP seemed to have done a deal to rehire the old photo staff on a cheap freelance basis. Good local freelancers cannot get work with them if they weren’t part of the cull. Hence its the same-old same-old photographs again, making the product the same as it was when readers were disinterested. They could have got some very decent stuff by dabbling in the freelance market, as there are plenty of former daily staff (mainly from Trinity Mirror) who’s work is higher quality than the weekly mode.
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Let’s Read… Don’t disrespect local weekly photographers. The reason people became disinterested was because of JP cutbacks in paging and their new page templates which are rubbish and unattractive. Plus the UGC policy which just took quality down to the level of Facebook and people were expected to pay for that!! Ex daily photographers be oil don’t work for the peanuts JP are now paying freelancers. Actually MANY ex JP snappers refused their rubbish contracts
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