Journalism jobs and news from Holdthefrontpage.co.uk

Regional press news - this story published 01 December 2008

Union to stage day of action over job cutbacks

by holdthefrontpage staff

A co-ordinated day of action is to be held against pay freezes and rising job cuts in the regional press, the National Union of Journalists announced today.

The union held an emergency summit meeting on Saturday attended by reps from some of the biggest newspaper groups.

The meeting followed a week of turmoil in the industry as leading publishers slashed costs in an attempt to offset the impact of the economic downturn.

Major announcements included the loss of 78 posts in a wide-ranging shake-up in Trinity Mirror North-West, a cull of senior management and frontline journalist positions at Newsquest, and the axeing of 30 jobs at the Cumbrian News Group.

As a result of Saturday's meeting, union reps agreed a series of moves in response to the jobs crisis including:

Co-ordinating industrial action against compulsory redundancies

Organising a union-wide day of action and a series of protests and activities against job cuts and pay freezes around key company and industry events

Exposing instances of shareholder and management greed

Building community-based Stand up for Journalism campaigns

Lobbying the various Parliaments and call on politicians to back the fight to stop job cuts and save local media

NUJ general secretary Jeremy Dear said: "Instead of greater investment in quality online content, more localised coverage and strengthened editorial teams, for years the vast profits of local newspapers have been largely shovelled into shareholders' pockets, directors' pay rises and executive pension pots, amidst reckless borrowing and poor investment decisions.

"Now the very people who plunged the industry into this crisis by demanding such excessive profits believe the solution is to axe journalists and freeze pay.

"They were spectacularly wrong in the past and are spectacularly wrong again. It is a false economy to put the ability to deliver scoops, quality content and strong local coverage in jeopardy.

"Local newspapers in print and online remain viable and profitable businesses. We can't stand by and see this profiteering destroy our industry."

The union has also urged editors to work alongside journalists to defend editorial independence and integrity.

See the full list of major job loss announcements in the industry since June in our guide to how the regional jobs crisis unfolded.

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Ed (02/12/2008 10:16)
The problem for editors is that in this 21st century feudal system where the owners and managers act like Victorian mill owners any dissent is met with expulsion and severe punishment. But clearly, in this time of recession companies should accept a cut in profits and not dump poorly paid staff.

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Ross Jones (02/12/2008 10:23)
Newspaper journlaists will continue to be treated in this way by employers as long as they are prepared to work for increasingly lower standards of pay and longer hours “for the love of the job” – the same crap that was sold to nurses and teachers for decades. Maybe its time for those who are able to do so to seriously think about career changes and move out of the profession, or at least warn young would-be entrants not to bother.

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Disillusioned Journo (02/12/2008 12:48)
My advice to any youngster contemplating a career in journalism is don't. We are undervalued, mistreated and abused by the owners, and viewed with distrust by the general public. It would interest me greatly to see how many entrants into journalism r do their time before departing for a better paid job in PR each year. That would be a telling statistic IMHO.

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Lister (02/12/2008 13:55)
The owners are getting away with it simply because they think they CAN get away with it. And the more we sit back and let them, the more they will get away with. But this latest wave of cuts, on top of a wage freeze, has sparked a real sense of outrage and resentment. There is a will to fight back, with ballots for action taking place up and down the country. The NUJ's decision to hold a national day of action is a welcome move and a big step in the right direcion.

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Observer (02/12/2008 14:41)
They were cutting jobs before the credit crunch. That didn't work, so now they're doing it again. This isn't to save the companies, but their own salaries and bonuses. I don't know whether I want these companies to survive or not - there's be a very warm feeling inside to see them all next to us waiting for their appointment at the job centre.

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Lister (02/12/2008 14:57)
Hey Observer. I hope they're standing next to me. Because I learn on Friday whether or not I still have a job. But I tell you this, I'm ready for fighting and so are the overwhelming majority of my colleagues.

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Ross Jones (02/12/2008 14:57)
I hate to sound negative, but does the NUJ really carry serious weight with the major employers today? There is a perception, rightly or wrongly, that since the big strike during the 1978/79 winter of discontent, it has increasingly become a toothless tiger/tabby. All that a day of action will achieve is owners rubbing their hands with glee at the prospect of saving a day’s pay. The papers will still come out because there are enough non-NJUJ members to produce them. If the NUJ really cares about the welfare of its members, why not spend time and money on setting up resources to show them how to find jobs in other careers or retrain? You can only negotiate from a position of strength, and no staff to write and/or edit papers will force the owners to either close them down or pay reasonable wages. The fact is that what the job pays today is not worth the responsibility and risks that go with it. No days of action will put that right overnight, if ever.

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adman (02/12/2008 17:42)
Sounds like more of the same to me. The problem with the NUJ is that it has spent the last few years chasing headlines without building up its base in under-represented areas. I worked at one paper where staff plucked up the courage to take on management for union recognition and, just at the crucial time, the union stopped supporting local staff because there was a possible strike up the road instead. I'm fed up of seeing silly comments from Dear about huge bonuses and sideswipes at management. They don't care, and Dear and co should know that. The style of ownership of media companies won't change because of his comments. Unions in the public sector, such as Unison, know that slagging off councils for the way they are run won't lead it being run in a fundamentally different way so they build up relationships with the councils' management and try to improve things in partnership with management. Perhaps the NUJ could try that? Or does that not guarantee a headline on HTFP?

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rich s (03/12/2008 11:31)
Re. a couple of the comments above asking if the NUJ can make a difference. What you're really asking is, can journalists make a difference? It's an old one, but I'll say it again. The NUJ is not a business, a factory, or a charity. It is an expression of the will of its members. And its weight is the collective weight of journalists - us. These cutbacks are an attack on journalists' livelihoods, an attack on the work journalists do, and an attack on the communities the media bosses claim to serve. Journalists have to fight back. The only way to do this is through the NUJ. We can't do it individually, or in isolated groups. We must co-ordiante our response and act with a united show of anger. But we must also demonstrate the positive benefits of investing in good quality journalism - the production of which, I assume, is why we all got into this business in the first place.

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rich s (03/12/2008 11:47)
P.S. adman asks if the NUJ could be more like Unison. No, no, no, no, no, no, no. Please. No. We have a democratic union where members decide what we do, how we act, what we campaign on, and how, not officials with their own agenda. We want to keep it that way, thanks. As for Unison's 'effective' strategy to court local government bosses. There hasn't been a pay rise to speak of in local government for about six years.

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