AddThis SmartLayers

Free newspaper owner eyes Trinity Mirror titles

Newspaper owner Chris Bullivant says he intends to bid for Trinity Mirror’s midlands titles, which were put up for sale by the company.

He told journalists, MPs and business leaders that he wanted to avoid “recycled Reuters news”, and stressed that to achieve that you needed to invest in quality journalism.

The free-sheet owner already runs 19 newspapers in the midlands under the Observer Standard banner. He believes that after being in competition with Trinity Mirror’s titles in the area he can now take them on board and make a success of the venture.

He was speaking at an event organised as part of the NUJ’s Journalism Matters campaign, which was supported by MPs, including Tom Watson, Lynne Jones, Ian Austin, Gisela Stuart and Rob Maris, and by city councillors, former editors and representatives of the TUC, Amicus and business groups such as CV1, Birmingham Forward and the Institute of Directors.

They joined forces to call for more resources for quality journalism and to discuss the future of Trinity Mirror’s midland titles.

Former CBI director General Digby Jones told the meeting: “One of the greatest commitments for any new owner has to be more resources for quality journalism and journalistic integrity.

“Quality journalism doesn’t come cheap but it is central.”

He called for any new owner to have “concern for more than the bottom line”.

NUJ general secretary Jeremy Dear said the sale was an opportunity to build a coalition “to make the case for investment in quality journalism”.

He said: “Ours is a case for investment in long-term sustainability, not smash and grab. That can only be achieved by building on quality, investing in staff and providing them with the resources to be the best, whatever the media.”

Trinity Mirror has said it plans to sell many of its regional titles, including the Birmingham Post and Mail, Coventry Telegraph, South London Press, Croydon Advertiser and Surrey Mirror.

Following a wide-ranging review of the company, it has earmarked its newspapers in the midlands, London and the South East for sale.

Prospectuses for interested parties are to be made available shortly.

Barbara Goulden, from the Coventry newspapers’ NUJ Chapel, and Martin Warrilo from the Birmingham Post and Mail Chapel explained how the cuts made by successive owners had resulted in too few journalists on their respective titles to cover all the stories that needed covering.

NUJ President Chris Morley told them: “Of course we want to safeguard jobs but our interest is also in working with others in the provision of good quality newspapers that serve the interests of their community.”

An Early Day Motion supporting the NUJ’s campaign has been tabled by Stourbridge MP Linda Waltho. Do you have a story about the regional press?
Ring 0116 227 3122/3121, or e-mail:
[email protected]