Ten sub-editors on the Northern Echo have been given the choice of moving 270 miles away to South Wales or losing their jobs.
As previously reported on HTFP, publisher Newsquest wants to transfer production roles at its Darlington, York and Bradford centres to a subbing hub in Newport.
More details of the plan have now emerged, with the National Union of Journalists claiming 11 roles at the Darlington-based Echo are under threat, including the chief feature writer whose role is being made redundant.
The other ten journalists affected – all sub-editors and other production staff – have been given the option of transferring to Newport.
Three new positions are also being created in Darlington for a deputy head of production, night production editor and features writer and coordinator.
The NUJ said more than 20 jobs were at risk in total across the three sites in the North of England, including 11 at Darlington and five at York.
Earlier this month, the union announced it would hold a ballot for industrial action over the plans and chapel representatives who had taken part in consultations said that management had “refused to budge an inch” on the proposals.
The strike ballot in Darlington will close tomorrow and the ones in York and Bradford will close next week.
NUJ members in Wales have given their support to the journalists affected, issuing a statement extending “support and solidarity.”
It said: “The NUJ Wales Executive Council would like to extend its support and solidarity to colleagues working for Newsquest and currently balloting for action in Bradford, York and Darlington.
“The dispute is in response to the threat of compulsory redundancies and the impact on quality and workloads after the proposed transfer of subbing work to Newport, Wales.
“Our union campaigns to protect local media jobs and local journalism. We believe that to move work away from the communities can only harm the titles and local democracy.
“The local press plays a crucial role in holding politicians or local councils to account. Local newspapers should be produced locally. The NUJ in Wales supports the calls for Newsquest to stop the threats to force journalists out of their jobs.”
No one from Newsquest had responded to requests for a comment at the time of publication.
Sign up for our free daily email bulletin
Follow HTFP on Twitter
Got a story? Email the Editor at
This is on top of the subs being forced to move from the Worcester News? Tragic, really – and with the inevitable decline in quality that comes with having your quality control based hundreds of miles from the source, how long before circulation dips so low that many of these papers go weekly?
Report this comment
And so we bid farewell to the Northern Echo…once edited by legends such as WT Stead, Harold Evans and Peter Sands – a paper all journalists in the North East once aspired to work for and looked up to. Surely it doesn’t have to be like this…
Report this comment
It’s a sorry state of affairs – but you’re going a bit ott sub up north. There are plenty of North east journalists who had no desire to work on the Echo (one of them is writing this). And Peter Sands – legend?? Let’s get some perspective here.
Report this comment
Given technology, why do they have to make the physical move to Wales? Surely they can work remotely as part of a central team from home or an office without the need for personal upheaval. If ads are being done in India surely it is possible to sub and design between Darlington and Wales or am I missing something?
Report this comment
I despair when I see Pete Barron tweeting about changing the front page late at night to get some important breaking news in.
Sorry Pete, but that simply will not happen with this new subbing hub.
You’d have to wait an hour for the template you requested to be made, then another hour for the page to be subbed.
Good luck.
Report this comment
In fact, The Daily Mess, no one actually made the 60-odd-mile move from the Worcester subbing team to Newport. One person secured the replacement role of production editor at Worcester and one as content manager at Stourbridge, the remaining 14 were made redundant.
Report this comment
Hmmm, how long did the Hub of sh**te last for the HDM? The answer is two years! History has a tendency to repeat itself!
Report this comment
I agree with Puzzled. Surely, with modern technology, they should be offered the option of working from home rather than relocating to Wales.
Report this comment
It’s deja vu all over again.
In the last round of cuts at Darlington, subs were given the option of moving to the new, all-singing, all-dancing Bradford hub. One took up that option. Now, it’s bye-bye Bradford hub.
Why would anyone move to Gwent when the next Newsquest master plan to end all master plans will probably junk the Welsh hub and send the work God knows where in a couple of years?
Stay classy, Newsquest.
Report this comment
This move is another cunning plan to have a subbing hub based in Taiwan or a factory estate in downtown Bejing! The Mumbiai sweatshop hub, in conjunction with Primark, was in the first plan but there was a fire risk plus overcrowding.
Report this comment
Newsquest should change their name to Cashquest…
Report this comment
Just so that you are all warned, there are plans to do this at every Newsquest newspaper in the country. When the announcement comes that you are going to get a new editorial system at your Newsquest-owned newspaper, it will mean the end of subbing in the office and remote template subbing instead, more pressure on the news desk to lay out pages and the end of photographers.
Perhaps subs have had it too good for years and their skills can now be replaced by computer programmes? Whatever it is, the sub is no longer king of the office. All power lies with the news desk, and the reporters finally (!!!) become the most important asset.
Report this comment
This sounds like JP 12 months ago. This is a tragedy for the industry. It will no doubt mean a drop in the quality and look of the paper and reporters being forced to fill shapes. Such a shame. I feel for all those affected by this move.
Report this comment
Newsquest insider: “All power lies with the news desk, and the reporters finally (!!!) become the most important asset.”
So will reporters get pay rises to reflect their prestigious new status? Or will you be relying on 21-year-olds on Tesco wages?
Report this comment
I was one of the Worcester subs, and none of us moved to Newport. Some were fortunate to find a job elsewhere in the industry, two are now ‘production editors’ in the new system and the others, all talented, experienced subs, were thrown on to the scrapheap. One of those is battling a serious illness, and at least two have been driven to anti depressants. It is a sad, unnecessary state of affairs and I hope the other centres do not go the same way.
Report this comment
If you had a factory making plastic buckets you’d have a quality control department. Sadly, quality control and local knowledge no longer counts, and the money the big groups are saving must be more than enough to pay the bill for any legal action arising from libel or contempt of court. Shame on you, Newsquest! Have you no ink in your veins like we old-timers had?
Report this comment
Newsquest Insider… Wales: I think we’re all well aware of that fact, and now have the joyous wait in our dead end jobs. Horrible way to be left hanging, coming into work every day, for who knows how long, wondering if it will be the day of the announcement.
Ex-Worcester sub: I can well imagine, it wouldn’t surprise me if some of our team end up on ADs and/or off sick before the time comes.
Report this comment
Don’t forget the dozen trainees straight out of uni that have had about three weeks training before being unleashed on newspapers as new subs. Who needs experienced journalists who understand legal matters, councils and other specialised subjects?
At less than 15k a pop get some kids in to do it. After all subbing is just cutting off the bottom of the story and whacking a headline on…Anyone can do that!
Report this comment