Two long-standing weekly editors have left their roles amid a restructure that has seen a single editor take charge of 18 titles.
Martin Buhagiar, left, has taken redundancy from his job in charge of Newsquest North London’s Times and Independent Series, based in Hendon, ahead of a shake-up that saw his role disappear.
Also departing after 31 years with the group is Peter Wilson-Leary, formerly editor of the Watford Observer and the St Albans and Harpenden Review.
Tim Jones, previously group editor of the East London and West Essex series which includes the Waltham Forest Guardian, is now additionally group editor of all Newsquest’s weekly titles in North London, South Buckinghamshire and South Hertfordshire.
The news was announced to readers in a series of stories that appeared on the paper’s companion websites this week.
They read: “Tim Jones, previously the group editor for Newsquest’s East London and West Essex titles, has now taken on the role of group editor for all titles across Newsquest North London.”
Martin, who took over the seven Times and Independent titles in April 2011, had previously tweeted about his departure.
He said: “Was my decision to leave when I heard editors were being reduced. Enjoying a bit of time off. Sure I’ll be back soon.”
Martin, 38, also joked about his departure on Twitter with Brian Coleman, a former councillor in the London borough of Barnet whom he had previously criticised in a Hendon and Finchley Times editorial.
Asked by the local politician whether he had been fired, Martin responded: “My redundancy payout was nearly as much as one of your weekly taxi claims.”
Newsquest has not responded to requests for further comment on the changes.
The full list of titles that now come under Tim, pictured left, is as follows:
South Herts: St Albans and Harpenden Review, Watford Observer
East London and West Essex: Chingford Guardian, Epping Forest Guardian, Waltham Forest Guardian, Wanstead and Woodford Guardian
North London: Barnet & Potters Bar Times, Borehamwood Times, Ealing Times, Edgware & Mill Hill Times, Enfield Independent, Haringey Independent, Harrow Times, Hendon & Finchley Times, Hillingdon Times.
South Bucks: Bucks Free Press, Marlow Free Press, South Bucks Star
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So the editor ‘in charge of’ 18 titles is hardly going to be hands-on. He’ll have enough trouble remembering which titles are his responsibility, let alone managing them. Ah now let me see, the Outer Mongolian Daily Rasher, is that one of mine?.Better Google it to see.
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The slaughter of the wise old heads is really gathering pace now. Incidentally, my 16-year-old son – who I’m told is good at English and watches The One Show a lot – is looking for a job if any of the suits at Newsquest are reading this. Let’s say £10k pa, some lunch money, and the deal’s done.
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Blimey! Leyton to Marlow! Bigger than my reporting patch!
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Stories about newspapers apologising over errors, and some appearing in court, are becoming quite frequent. Wonder why? This job cannot be spread so thinly, otherwise Newsquest’s next job vacancy will junior -sorry trainee – in-house lawer.
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When did group editors start being younger than me? I feel old.
I’ve never known an industry strip out management at the pace of newspapers. When I left my first weekly we had no editor and no group editor, just a news editor and a sub (of sorts) bouncing ideas off each other, legal advice came from one man miles away. By the end I was proofing my own pages and winging pretty much everything.
The army should rip out its entire officer corps and just tell the soldiers to crack on and get things right first time simply by using their commons sense, see how that pans out.
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Eighteen titles sure is a lot to be responsible for by any standard. Just another example of how local papers are being emasculated to the status of glorified comics.
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Unfortunately Newsquest is stripping out management at the wrong level. It really ought to be getting rid of the expensive useless mouths further up the chain.
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Graphic novels not comics!!!
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There’s no way you can actually be an editor of 18 titles. I suspect the actual job of editing each paper will land at the news editor’s desk or senior reporter.
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Papers seem to be run by content editors, who are production bods and not proper editors, or chief reporters, in charge often of themselves and one or two juniors.
I have seen a marked deterioration in quality of my local, both quality of news and writing, since it came under the so-called control of a group editor, who simply is not up to an impossible job.
This guy editing 18 titles defies belief. He won’t. Simple as that.
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One wonders if it’s a legal requirement, to make it appear as though someone has legal responsibility for the content? I genuinely don’t know.
When my old group editor was laid off (a truly great journalist, used to read every page of every paper under him every week and would let you know if it was c*ap – rightly so) he was replaced with a head of production who, by his own admission, became a sub because he had no writing ability (he was regarded as one of the best subs around though).
During lay offs the NUJ refused to negotiate with him as they said they didn’t recognise his new job title (executive head of discombobulation or something) which I thought was kind of cool.
The NUJ should just ride through these places on horses wearing Derek Hatton masks shouting “we don’t recognise ANY of YOU!!!”
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It’s hard to see how one person can do anything meaningful across 18 titles. And if they did they would probably make themselves ill. Which prompts the question, why have such a person at all?
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Happy Easter to all other hacks trying to make a living in this terrible climate of desperation. Let’s hope rest of year brings better news of newspapers.
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As Former Journo of Reading implies, the interesting question here is the next level of management down – how thinly are the hands-on news editors, chief subs or what-have-you spread?
Because one guy clearly can’t edit 18 titles in any meaningful sense, unless a lot of them really only differ in name; that would mean getting two out every morning and two every afternoon. If the job makes any sense at all, it can only be as a kind of editorial director.
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So Newsquest continues its drive to downsize. I have always suspected that the strategy is nothing to do with creating a lean, mean news machine but is a way of making the company small enough to make it more easy to eventually sell. Gannet does not want British newspapers. When it bought the titles it hoped too have a ready-made internet sales force. We all know that didn’t happen and I suspect they now want rid!
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Legal responsibility? The man to go to jail if it screws up? The person 18 communities call the editor of their local paper? The guy held responsible for the entire content of every page? You reap what you sow Newsquest. Why not pack it all in while the going is good and you can afford your legal bills?
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Don’t hold your breath – the NUJ and CIOJ will have negative impact on these contractions in the industry.
When I was part of a mass redundancy umpteen years ago, the NUJ were as useful as a chocolate screwdriver. The then IOJ was as useful as a toffee claw-hammer.
Each sent a representative to our office. A few sympathetic platitudes were offered. There were one or two moans over drinks in the local pub.
Then the pair caught the train back to London and were never heard from again.
Meanwhile, we all vanished into the sunset.
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Lads, lads, you’re missing the bigger picture. Editors haven’t ‘edited’ for donkeys’ years; in my experience, they host (ever-increasing numbers of) awards ceremonies, sit on committees of the great and the good, do charity challenges (covered extensively in their titles’ pages) and generally act as a figurehead. When it’s decided that these PR roles aren’t cost-effective, it is made worth their while to quit. A proportion of the money thus saved is set aside to settle out of court for the cock-ups that get into their papers, and to pay for consultants to redesign their websites every few weeks in the hope that this will somehow persuade people to read the raw, literal-bespattered copy and verbatim press releases with which they are crammed. The remainder goes back to the shareholders.
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Eighteen titles = just that: ‘titles’. If you’d said that in 1985, you would probably be referring to 18 distinct newspapers, with separate news desks, staff etc. Now, it merely means one or two ‘proper’ papers, one staff, and a host of editions that aren’t changed all that much anyway, plus feeding a one-size-fits-all website. Times have changed, but failing to place appropriate value on professional experience is a very slippery slope which will cost money when complainants and their lawyers come knocking.
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I sometimes take a look at some of these 18 titles and they’re littered with errors. Also potentially good stories not followed up – a couple of pars about a house in X Street badly damaged by fire with three treated at hospital (just based on what fire service dish out), five hurt in crash into house (based on police press office), a serious crime with basic facts left out etc. etc, an outburst claim by a local councillor or other worthy with no one else asked to comment, longwinded wordy items using council jargon…and so on.
Fewer pages too and circulation well down on ten years ago..
Instead the papers are often filled with frothy rhubarb pieces about cheque presentations, bigger pix (often supplied by readers), PR hand-outs, first stage flower pressing advice etc. Sometimes there are “name and address supplied” letters with a suspicion they’ve been written by staff to quick fill the letters page.
Their offices have fewer staff and those left are cheapie juniors led by a quickly promoted and once grateful 28 year old “content editor” who left training 18 months ago and is working all hours and close to burn-out but knows it’s going to be hard to find a job elsewhere.
Know what I mean??
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