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More jobs at risk as Newsquest plans to shut second subbing hub

A regional publisher is set to close its remaining regional copy-editing hub putting 18 jobs at risk – a month after the loss of 14 roles at its sister centre.

Newsquest has announced its plan to cease all copy-editing at its Weymouth hub by the end of June due to a “continued decline” in the centre’s workload.

The proposal comes a month after the company closed its other copy-editing hub in Newport, South Wales, with the loss of 13.85 full-time equivalent roles as a result.

Newsquest said at the time that all copy-editing activity would be transferred to Weymouth as a result of the change, but now regional production manager Carl Blackmore has told staff in the Dorset town that their roles are also at risk.

Dorsetoffices

The offices of the Dorset Echo where the Weymouth copy-editing hub is based.

In a memo which has been seen by HTFP, Carl said: “As you are aware we continue to face difficult trading conditions with sustained pressure on the profitability of the business. The company continues to look at all activities and disciplines across the business and where appropriate, implement re-organisations or consolidations of functions to deliver efficiencies and reduce costs.

“Since the introduction of the ‘Write to Shape’ project the workload has significantly reduced within the group editorial services copy editing function. Due to the continued decline of the workload, it is proposed that all copy-editing work will cease from the Weymouth copy-editing hub by the end of June 2017.”

A consultation period begins today and will run until 8 June, with an announcement on the outcome scheduled for the following day.

It is not yet clear whether the closure of both hubs will mean a return to individual centres taking responsibility for their own copy-editing.

The Weymouth hub was created in 2010, and was initially responsible for the production of both the Dorset Echo and the Bournemouth Echo.

However both the Weymouth and the Newport hub, which was created in 2013, have since taken on responsiblity for copy-editing from more titles from across the group as part of a centralisation process which saw most sub-editing at individual newspaper offices phased out.

The copy-editing hub at Newport closed on 7 April although some group editorial functions along with page planning are still carried out there.

Newsquest has declined to comment further on the plans.

11 comments

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  • May 9, 2017 at 8:04 pm
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    Well, quelle surprise! The hubs in Newport and Weymouth were clearly a device enabling Newsquest to make lots of staff in their regional papers redundant. Then once that rearrangement had achieved its purpose they made all the staff at the hubs redundant – at little or no cost – citing the new ‘right to shape’ policy as the reason. It’s so cynical it would be hilarious if people’s livelihoods weren’t involved.

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  • May 9, 2017 at 8:07 pm
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    what a surprise , take it the big or little bosses will be going now that theyve desecrated everything.

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  • May 10, 2017 at 10:09 am
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    What happened to the 0.15 of a person who escaped the cull at Newport?

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  • May 10, 2017 at 11:57 am
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    A decision that is farcical, deeply cynical, or a combination of both. How very Newsquest!

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  • May 10, 2017 at 1:06 pm
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    Hubs failed with JP too. People who knew nothing about journalism creating useless shapes for journalists to fill. Some of them like to call themselves journalists now…

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  • May 10, 2017 at 1:14 pm
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    What happened over the cash subsidy row with the council in Newport? Update please.

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  • May 10, 2017 at 1:53 pm
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    Reminds me of the time back in the 1980s when IPC Business Press moved journalists on different magazines/publications from one large office block to three different ones in different parts of south London. Management denied at the time it was anything to do with being fed up with the antics of the NUJ which as seen as a thorn in the flesh of IPC. It worked in the sense it made it quite difficult to hold NUJ meetings. Quel surprise – after a few years the journos were all moved back into one office block. The management denied their tactics had anything to do with the NUJ.

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  • May 10, 2017 at 3:44 pm
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    I think while we all knew this was coming, it’s still a shock. I’ve got out by the skin of my teeth, having been looking for another job for a few months while we sat there with not much to do as more and more papers went ‘write to shape’.

    Even with very few stories there to sub, the number of critical errors I picked up every day made me shudder to think of all these hard-pressed newsdesks going it alone, with no checks.

    We all make mistakes, that’s why you need a second pair of eyes. Get rid of that check and you have all sorts of silly spelling mistakes.

    But worse, trainee reporters are flinging stuff on the web unchecked. Stories are identifying sex attack victims, stories involving figures are just plain wrong and important web addresses mis-typed.

    It wasn’t only legals, spelling and grammar. Many stories I saw would have humiliated people for no good reason – details that didn’t add to the story and were just gratuitous. I often removed chunks from stories that were grossly insensitive because the young reporter didn’t have the maturity to omit certain quotes and newsdesk didn’t have time to read the story before putting it on the template.

    So good luck, all you lot at the coal face without us – the former subs, chief subs, news editors and more who wore the copy editor’s dunce’s cap to save NQ cash on proper salaries – as a safety net.

    And the very best of luck to all the talented, experienced subs who have lost their jobs over the last year or are facing redundancy now.

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  • May 12, 2017 at 10:23 am
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    ‘Hub Grub no more’
    That’s an excellent synopsis of it all. Sadly, the issue now is that publishers like Newsquest no longer have an interest in accuracy, quality or sensitivity, provided the legal liabilities are manageable… :o(

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  • May 12, 2017 at 1:46 pm
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    As long as the out-of-court libel settlements cost them less per year than the subbing hub, it’s a no-brainer.

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  • May 21, 2017 at 1:41 pm
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    Being made redundant by Newsquest is without doubt the best thing that ever happened to me. My life is now so sweet.

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