Two more senior photographic roles have been axed as part of an ongoing review across Newsquest’s North East and Yorkshire titles.
Last month HTFP revealed that York daily The Press was axeing the role of picture editor and reducing the number of staff photographers from four to three.
Two staff photographers at weekly sister titles the Keighley News and Craven Herald, Bob Smith and Steve Garnett, were also made redundant as part of the review.
Now it has emerged that the chief photographer of the Northern Echo, Richard Doughty, and deputy chief photographer Andy Lamb, have also left the company.
The review covers the group’s titles in Darlington, Bradford and York.
Each centre has reduced staff photographer numbers and increased the use of freelances and it is understood that both Richard and Andy will continue to work for the company in a freelance capacity.
Newsquest is the latest of several regional publishers to move towards a freelance model for photographic cover.
Johnston Press has also axed a number of staff photographer roles across its regional divisions, while Local World has introduced a freelance model at some of its Gloucestershire, Somerset and Bristol titles.
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One JP paper invited sent-in pix instead of attending two important events in adjoining towns as it should have done. Result. Two drab badly composed pix both used (instead of usual staff pic spread). And no one on paper was passionate enough about standards to care.
Sad reflection on general attitudes in industry. Wish it was otherwise.
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I seem to remember the Daily Record ditched the model and rehired staffers when someone realised freelancers were more expensive.
Others like Newsquest don’t take a telling though
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Or, as the editor of the Craven Herald commented on Steve Garnett’s departure:
“In common with all newspapers, the Craven Herald is always looking for new, innovative and creative ways to provide the best coverage of the area for our readers and we think our new emphasis on local, grassroots community pictures, with lots more local faces and names, will prove as popular as it has in other group newspapers.”
That’s right, the editor is purported to have said this.
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Reducing quality to the level of Facebook will NOT sell more papers!! When will the greedy bosses who know nothing about newspapers finally realise their mistakes??……When it’s too late!!
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We are talking about a multi-million pound industry here, which is planning to get by by selling cheap pictures to people. I don’t see a blurred mobile phone pic of a shelf of baked beans tweeted by Sainsbury’s to propel growth.
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Newsquest will never learn, they can not create a quality paper people enjoy reading without photographers and from only submitted pictures. Newsquest Midlands are reducing their photographer roles also in their Stourbridge Office that run 8 weekly titles from 4 photographers to 1. At Worcester News (daily newspaper) reducing from 3 photographers to 1!
As always just before Christmas!
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They are also making cuts in Newsquest wiltshire and Oxfordshire the quality of picture will go down hill
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Hear on the grapevine that over in Lancashire at Bolton, they have lost three staff in photographic…when will it all end?
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It’s already too late!
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JP doing same eg only three staffers in West Sussex. Do JP, NQuest and Trinity have regular meetings with each other to plot joint destruction of newspapers. Bàaaaaaaah!
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At least all Newsquest managers and bean-counters will have a nice Christmas and a job to come back to in the new year eh?
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Only in newspapers do people get the push and then get re-hired on the cheap (ie on a freelance rate). A remarkable state of affairs.
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