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Regional photographers axed in ‘cynical exercise’ says union

A regional publisher has been warned that its ‘cynical’ axing of nine photographic jobs in the West of England will impact on readership.

As previously reported on HTFP, Local World has introduced a “freelance model” to provide photographic cover for all titles in Gloucestershire, Somerset and Avon.

According to the National Union of Journalists, six photographers have left full time employment on the Gloucestershire Echo and Gloucester Citizen, two on the Western Daily Press and one on the Bath Chronicle.

The publisher has however retained four picture desk roles – a regional picture editor based in Bristol, a deputy regional picture editor for Cheltenham and Gloucester, a Somerset picture editor and a Gloucestershire picture desk-cum-roving photographic role.

The NUJ claims the deal on the table involved staff volunteering to leave their full-time positions in return for photographers being retained by Local World on freelance day shifts – with no redundancy pay.

But it has reacted strongly to a caveat in the agreement which has seen a majority of the photographers taking a redundancy pay-out on the understanding that they would get no freelance work with the company for the next 12 months.

NUJ national organiser Laura Davison said: “We oppose this cynical exercise in cost cutting, which loads all the costs and overheads onto poorly paid freelances and leaves them without employment rights.”

The union says the papers are planning to use freelances on a low day rate that includes all their expenses, including mileage. Photographers who cover large geographical areas will be particularly hard hit, it says.

“Local World needs photographic cover every day, and therefore should be employing staff to do this work,” added the union organiser.

“The lack of full-time staff is bound to have an impact on the photographic coverage, the service to readers and the community

To provide help for the job-hit staff photographers, the NUJ has set up a training course for staff photographers going freelance and is urging all affected individuals to join the union and sign up for the course.

Sarah Pullen, managing director of Bristol, Gloucestershire, Somerset and Dorset Local World, said: “We are committed to featuring quality photography in all of our products.

“The decision to move to this freelance model provides us with flexibility that suits the needs of the business and won’t impact the service we provide.

“This model is used in other areas of Local World and by other publishers.”

12 comments

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  • August 22, 2014 at 9:03 am
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    Lost World deals yet another blow to the quality of regional newspapers.

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  • August 22, 2014 at 9:09 am
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    “We are committed to featuring quality photography in all of our products.

    No, you can’t possibly be, although you should be committed.

    “The decision to move to this freelance model provides us with flexibility that suits the needs of the business and won’t impact the service we provide.”

    We’d like the same amount of work but we’d rather not pay for it anymore.

    “This model is used in other areas of Local World and by other publishers.”

    So that’s okay then.

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  • August 22, 2014 at 9:18 am
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    “We are committed to featuring quality photography in all of our products.

    “…provides us with flexibility that suits the needs of the business and won’t impact the service we provide.”

    ‘Exciting developments, robust approach, meeting challenges…yada, yada, yada!’

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  • August 22, 2014 at 9:49 am
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    We should start to introduce a ‘freelance model’ for upper level management and I bet you the papers would not be affected!

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  • August 22, 2014 at 10:37 am
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    “This model is used in other areas of Local World and by other publishers.”

    Quite. And with devastating affect. The picture quality in Local World publications has dropped off the face off the earth!

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  • August 22, 2014 at 10:38 am
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    If I might step in to correct the rather dismissive Ms Pullen – down here further south west steps were taken many moons ago to turn our photographic operation freelance but certainly NOT under the rather ghastly conditions she has driven through.
    Those being made redundant by us were offered the proper packages and in the majority of cases were then given freelance contracts which allowed them to work for us on our terms, granted, but to also do their own work elsewhere.
    It’s called treating properly – something which seems to have been forgotten in the mad rush to scrape a few more quid to send up to the slavering London bossess…

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  • August 22, 2014 at 12:50 pm
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    Local newspaper managing directors lost all interest in photography decades ago – pretty much as soon as publishers stopped appointing editors to the role and turned instead to sales reps and the accounts department.

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  • August 22, 2014 at 6:45 pm
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    Pity managing directors are ex ad men full of biz bull and caring nothing about news, let alone pictures. Standard of sumitted (free!)pictures used in weeklies is cringe- making and READERS notice. Memo to MDS: dont let editors use crap pictures. It downgrades papers!! The public are not stupid.

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  • August 22, 2014 at 10:31 pm
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    More journos needed at top level, fewer over promoted ad reps.
    Quality might improve. Some pix in weeklies pathetic. Why use them?
    As for sent in copy. Words fail me!!!

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  • August 24, 2014 at 2:36 pm
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    By Dosent the taxman take a closer at these ‘freelance models’? In effect the photographers are doing regular shifts and being directed. This is against tax office rules and publishers like LW and JP are saving a fortune in national insurance and tax contributions by riding a coach and horses through the rules. The quality of papers in these groups has nose dived, photographers are giving up and refusing to sign their ghastly contracts leaving amateurs and inexperienced snappers to try to do what they can’t really do. Just look at the papers, they are pure rubbish!! The journalists are next!! The fools who are implementing this folly will regret it as family owned local papers who do things properly will thrive.

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