Three photographers are among eight editorial staff at risk of redundancy at two sister dailies, according to the National Union of Journalists.
Trinity Mirror has confirmed that “several” roles are at risk at the Manchester Evening News and Huddersfield Daily Examiner, although six new posts are being created across the two titles.
Among the new roles are three digital sports writers, a city beat reporter and a breaking news blogger.
TM has declined to reveal which posts are set to go, but the union claims they include three of the MEN’s eight-strong team of photographers, and the head of news at the Examiner.
A Trinity Mirror spokeswoman said: “MEN Media is introducing six new digital content specialist roles – five in Manchester and one in Huddersfield.
“To allow for creation of these roles, several existing roles are at risk and we have entered a period of consultation with all directly-affected staff.”
Five of the new roles are being created at the MEN and one at the Examiner.
The new MEN roles also include a “trend writer” whose job will be to focus on content which is trending on the internet and create “compelling local stories” around this.
According to the union, the four MEN roles due to be axed nclude three photographer posts and an assistant publishing editor.
At the Examiner, the roles understood to be at risk include two part-time admin staff and a community content curator as well as the head of news.
A fortnight ago, Trinity Mirror announced similar restructures at its Birmingham, Liverpool and North Wales centres, with 18 jobs at risk and 16 new roles to be created across the three areas.
At the same time, TM also revealed plans to axe the equivalent of 13.5 full-time posts at the recently-acquired former Local World weeklies in Essex, Kent and Surrey.
Chris Morley, NUJ Northern & Midlands organiser, said: “Once again news photographers are in the line of fire with media companies in the grip of an obsession that quality news images spring from nowhere or can be plucked relentlessly with no cost or worry from the internet.
“This is a false and damaging belief and such cuts are proving elsewhere to be cuts too far.
“The NUJ welcomes investments in digital journalist jobs. But the central and compelling question about a sustainable digital strategy that will pay for quality journalism still remains.
“Our members quite rightly want to see hard evidence of this before more resources are taken from elsewhere.
“We ask that Trinity Mirror be much more open about its plans for digital transformation, which it says are local initiatives, but are clearly being driven by a central strategy to its regional centres.
“Answer the questions about sustainable levels of digital income and sustaining a real quality of journalism online, and NUJ members would be a lot more understanding of these changes.”
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My careers master (we were respectful back then) at school asked me what I wanted to do once I’d grown up and I answered “trend writer”, quick as a flash. He beat me mercilessly. Just couldn’t keep up with the times, I guess.
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“The NUJ welcomes investments in digital journalist jobs. But the central and compelling question about a sustainable digital strategy that will pay for quality journalism still remains.
“Our members quite rightly want to see hard evidence of this before more resources are taken from elsewhere.”
How about the NUJ tell us what it thinks the alternative to digital is? Which magic tree has it planted which means digital is no longer needed?
And this is the union which is supposedly sticking up for journalists.
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Why do they have to advertise these jobs? They’re already being advertised online but nobody stands a chance because they’ll be earmarked for under threat staff (and rightly so) but why all the pretense? I feel sorry for all the budding journos who will waste an afternoon of their lives.
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Is the MEN NUJ chapel fighting this and if so how? MEN photographers (staff and freelance) have been hit almost annually for the last ten years!
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“blogger” and “trend writers” have lower wages than reporters.
Those currently in post have scant information about the new posts.
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MEN last staff photographer gets made redundant in 2009. http://www.holdthefrontpage.co.uk/2009/news/last-evening-news-photographer-is-made-redundant/
At some point staff photographers employed again.
MEN cut freelance shifts in 2014
http://www.holdthefrontpage.co.uk/2014/news/men-halts-shifts-for-13-freelance-photographers/
Now photographers being cut again. Why would anyone take a job there??
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Jeez…so even the seemingly new-fangled role of ‘community content curator’ is now in danger. Still, I’m sure that ever-shrinking posse of old-timers who actually pay hard-earned cash for a newspaper will be delighted to know their money is going to pay for a ‘trend writer’.
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Interesting House of Commons hearing today grilling the executives who ran BHS. How long until we can expect the TM counterparts to face the grand inquisitors? One year? Two? Depends how long it takes for the penny to drop in City circles that the current ‘strategy’ (I am loathe to give it such credibility) is just pure, misguided bunkum.
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Isn’t the editor in chief managing Leicester after its boss ‘departed’ too? Trinity Mirror needs Nikita Khrushchev to take things in hand.
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Fair enough. How else does the industry evolve, other than by, erm… evolving?
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Hello everyone. Dick’s back from a donkey tour of Caledonia with rump exceeding sore and I’m about to start work on A Journey to the Western Islands of Scotland. Fellow traveller Jimmy Boswell’s penning A Journal of a Tour to the Hebrides as a kind of alternative reality account, but it won’t be as good as mine. Presume it’s all been pretty quiet since I last corresponded. Would anyone like to fill me in?
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Is the daily (as in morning) regional done for? Late with the best news (all the good stuff has been on the website) and spaces filled with weekly paper material. And desperately short of quality writers.
How long can it be before these once superb papers become weeklies, or nothing at all?
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In reply to Dave,
MEN last staff photographer gets made redundant in 2009. http://www.holdthefrontpage.co.uk/2009/news/last-evening-news-photographer-is-made-redundant/
The Men sacked its last photographer (me) in 2009, they let ex-staff return as freelances, they then sacked them all a second time as the paper had started using the MEN Media staff (weekly papers) to cover MEN jobs.
So the people being sacked this time around are actually MEN Media staff.
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Welcome back, Dick, we’ve ALL missed you!
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Sad to see the NUJ become such a stuck-in-the-past organisation. It really doesn’t understand how many in the industry, including members, now see it – a useful backstop if things get difficult, but utterly irrelevant generally. Seriously asking whether digital is the future of the regional press? Expecting companies to seek its endorsement of company strategies? The likes of Chris Morley and his colleagues who believe in government accreditation of the Press (backing a Royal Charter?) will tell you they are just speaking up for members, but what they are doing is speaking up for the voices who say what they want to hear – anyone differing opinions aren’t welcome, and that’s been made very clear in chapel meetings.
As anyone who fell victim to the Newsquest subbing hub in Newport will tell you, the NUJ talks a good fight, but you wouldn’t want it alongside you in the ring. It will be chasing the new digital jobs as potential members of the union at some point in the future…. priorities eh?
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