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Up to 25 jobs set for axe across daily and Sunday titles

NewsquestUp to 25 editorial jobs are set to be lost at a group of regional daily and Sunday newspapers in Scotland.

The Herald & Times Group, based in Glasgow, has announced the planned redundancies due to “challenging trading conditions”.

The Newsquest-owned group is responsible for a series of daily and Sunday titles including The Herald, Sunday Herald, Glasgow Evening Times and The National.

The cuts are set to be made to management, sport, arts, features, multimedia and content management across the group.

However, the planned restructure will also see new roles created to push forward the company’s “digital ambitions.”

The move follows the loss of around 20 editorial jobs at the group in August which led to a number of journalists taking voluntary redundancy.

Those who stepped down at the time included Richard Walker, editor of The National and the Sunday Herald, as well as Evening Times editor Tony Carlin.

However, Richard was retained as consultant editor of The National – the pro-independence daily whose launch he oversaw in 2014.

In a statement today, the company said: “The Herald & Times Group, in line with industry-wide trends, continues to face challenging trading conditions.

“Digital advertising and subscription revenues are continuing to rise and we are exploring other avenues for income growth to offset the declines in other areas.

“But it is paramount the company continues to closely control costs, so we are taking measures to ensure the long-term sustainability of the business. Therefore we propose a reduction of around 20 to 25 roles in editorial.”

“We very much regret this but we aim to maintain the most competitive editorial operation. The proposed restructure includes the creation of new roles to drive our digital ambitions which positions us strongly for the future.”

The National Union of Journalists has pledged to fight compulsory redundancies at the affected titles.

Paul Holleran, NUJ Scotland national organiser, said: “This is the fourth round of editorial redundancies in the Newsquest Scottish titles in 14 months. This is not a clever way of running a publishing company and there is a serious risk to the future of the newspapers in this stable.

“We are concerned that a further reduction in quality is inevitable as talented journalists lose their jobs and those remaining struggle with an increasing workload to gather and produce news and features that help sell the product.

He added: “The NUJ will endeavour to work with the new management team, which has inherited this situation, in mitigating the loss of jobs and damage to the titles.

“However, we are not prepared to accept blatant compulsory redundancies and there is little doubt the chapel will stand up for that principle.

“I am sure we can put into place maximum consultation to ensure a restructured editorial team which provides support for the workforce while producing decent newspapers but Newsquest needs to work flexibly with the union on a number of fronts, including acceptable redundancy terms for those at risk.”

It is also understood the art desk and production department of a regional publisher bought by Newsquest last year were shut down before Christmas with the loss of 19 jobs.

Newsquest Scotland has reportedly closed the former departments of Romanes Media Group in Clydebank and Greenock, which housed its art desk and sub-editing operations, while its credit control and accountancy departments in Greenock are also thought to have also been closed, with the loss of a further four jobs.

The art desk and production staff are understood to have worked their last day on 30 November, after a consultation process which initially began in August.

Newsquest purchased the Romanes group for £15.2m in May, and the company announced plans to close the former Romanes production department in Berkshire two months later with the loss of up to seven jobs.

Staff in Scotland were told of the consultation in August in an internal memo, seen by HTFP, from Clyde and Forth Press managing director Graham Morrison.

It read: “In order to improve operational efficiency and capitalise on the synergies which exist between our business and the wider Newsquest group, it is proposed that the activities of both departments are transferred to centralised functions. As a result of these proposals, job roles in both departments are at risk of redundancy.”

Graham has since been promoted to MD of Newsquest Scotland following the retirement of Tim Blott.

Newsquest has yet to respond to HTFP’s request for a comment on the Romanes job losses.

21 comments

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  • January 7, 2016 at 10:31 am
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    Are we to infer that the Romanes closures were done covertly – all those “we understand” and NQ “has reportedly closed the former department”. Are any of the departed ready to comment? Finally, “we are exploring other avenues for income growth” reminds me of those Victorian expeditions that disappeared into the Amazonian rainforest and were never heard of again. I’ll leave it to digi-guru Oliver for his thoughts on how this “exploring” is going.

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  • January 7, 2016 at 10:37 am
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    Well done Romanes – mission accomplished. Papers run into the ground. Pockets bulging. Hold those heads high.

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  • January 7, 2016 at 11:10 am
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    And how many advertising and non editorial jobs are at risk?
    Should I be surprised that I can’t see those figures?

    More of the same whenever cost control measures are needed and the usual suspects are trotted out to face the laughable ‘ consultation process’

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  • January 7, 2016 at 11:25 am
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    So cynically launching a paper to help break up Britain isn’t going so well for this American firm then ? You’d need a heart of stone not to laugh. Sincere commiserations to the other journos affected, however.

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  • January 7, 2016 at 11:37 am
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    They should do an updated version of Superman, where Clark Kent is too stressed to actually do any Superman stuff because Jimmy Olsen has been laid off and Perry White is based at an office 20 miles away with responsibility for 16 other titles, and Lois Lane now works for the Metropolis Fire Department Press Office.

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  • January 7, 2016 at 12:29 pm
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    Not so much a publishing company as a ruthlessly efficient redundancy machine.

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  • January 7, 2016 at 1:26 pm
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    Three working days into the new year and already there’s a theme developing.
    Job cuts, cost saving, less than expected profits,falling copy sales and a down turn in trading will sadly become the norm as we go through the year, it will be very interesting to see how different the local regional press map looks at year end.
    Years of mismanagement, failure to invest and not adapting to a changing media market place appears to be coming to fruition in 2016.
    Condolences to all the good people affected by these actions

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  • January 7, 2016 at 1:30 pm
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    Editorial job losses again, anyone ever take a look at the overstuffed and under delivering advertising departments that are leeching company profits?
    Somehow I think not

    Thats where the real cost savings are to be had and with little negative impact on company profits or product quality too

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  • January 7, 2016 at 1:43 pm
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    Does anyone know of any time a consultation process ever worked in favour of the individual rather than the company?
    No, me neither

    We all know this is just a ticking the box excerise with the result and outcome already pre determined.
    Having worked with many top individuals in both editorial and advertising I know of some good alternate options being presented but brushed aside as it stood in the way of what had already been agreed, it’s a pointless process that never sees decisions reversed no matter how sound the argument against.

    It’s no wonder there’s so many unhappy people working in RP these days and looking to get out . Loyalty has to be earned and the kind of HR driven processes that purport to be helping those affected are seen for what they are, back covering exercises to protect the employer not the employee

    Happy new year everyone

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  • January 7, 2016 at 1:44 pm
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    Synergies. It’s the new ‘in’ word for management types.

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  • January 7, 2016 at 2:18 pm
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    Speaking of the Romanes titles, perhaps Hold The Front Page might want to enquire what has also happened to the Berkshire titles Newsquest bought, more importantly how most of the senior editorial staff have quit and the pressure left to produce titles by (very few) trainee staff. To quote Henry Faure Walker at the time of the acquisition: “This portfolio of good quality weekly titles provides a strong fit with plenty of opportunity.”

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  • January 7, 2016 at 3:14 pm
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    These days Newsquest are nothing more than an advertising platform masquerading as a media organisation. You only have to look at the scores of editorial jobs axed in recent years to know that all the NQ hierarchy care about is swelling the company coffers and keeping its shareholders happy. Hundreds of dedicated and professional journalists, photographers and subs have been replaced by cheap outsourcing, the Newport sub hub and inferior quality UGC sent in by anyone who fancies being a photographer because they have a camera and Instagram account on their smartphone. Notice how none of the managers or advertising reps ever lose their jobs despite not hitting their sales targets – much easier to sack six reporters and the entire photography department then blame the ‘economic downturn’ isn’t it? To anyone facing redundancy at NQ, just take your pay-off and run. I did when I was let go in 2014 and I’ve never looked back…

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  • January 7, 2016 at 4:40 pm
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    Onlooker, the National is one of the few publications in their Scottish portfolio that is doing well, along with the Sunday Herald – also pro-indy. I think it more than balances the rampant Unionist Labour-backing Herald, which is doing not so well. Make your own conclusions from that.

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  • January 7, 2016 at 4:43 pm
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    Being a Newsquest employee feels like sitting on one of those mechanical-bull machines at a fairground.
    The challenge is to hold on for as long as possible before, inevitably, being cast off.

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  • January 7, 2016 at 5:10 pm
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    Only just getting over the New Year hangover and this body blow delivered. Regrets to those losing jobs.
    And welcome to the wonderful world of journalism you bright young things everywhere. Watch your back.

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  • January 8, 2016 at 8:54 am
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    Consultation period….I wonder in Newsquest history how many times they have listened to the employee and changed their mind….I wonder if they ever feel guilty for winning that award for ‘Investing in People’, I bet whoever picked up that award looked down a lot.

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  • January 8, 2016 at 11:53 am
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    And this year’s “DIVESTING OF PEOPLE” award goes to……..(insert name of any major newspaper company here).

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  • January 9, 2016 at 9:19 am
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    Good editorial is what sells papers, not adverts. Dunno why publishers just can’t see that.

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  • January 9, 2016 at 4:14 pm
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    Let it not be forgotten that Newsquest has won an “Investors in People” award. Makes you feel proud doesn’t it?

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  • January 9, 2016 at 4:21 pm
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    Unfortunately Newsquest are a huge company looking to save money in a dead market. Like Coronation Street (had its day), they’d be best off packing it all in before it’s too late.

    NCTJ isn’t easy. If you can manage a degree and a post-grad qualification then aspire for more than newspapers. Being a reporter is largely about re-hashing other people’s press releases or churning out PA/Reuters copy. If you enjoy writing then have your rants on Twitter, etc. You’d earn more in human remains, or a similar non-job. Give accountancy a go. Or planning with a local authority job in mind. Or teaching.

    Newsquest possibly, in connection with sub-editing jobs moved miles away, takes the “you’re all right; we’ve offered you jobs elsewhere” stance. But what about those who have kis at school, for example? Yes, people at papers under-40 tend to be single and renting accommodation, but not all.

    Newsquest an unethical bunch (are the early stages of pregnancy an appropriate time to give someone the boot?). But who buys local papers any more (fewer are delivered free of charge where I live)? This question never appears to be addressed? Are the trendy folk starting their first job interested in the local news? I doubt it.

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