Twelve editorial job cuts at Newsquest’s Bolton and Bury titles have been achieved without compulsory redundancies.
Voluntary redundancy, transfers and leaving empty posts unfilled has achieved the target, with more staff volunteering to leave than required. Newsquest (Bolton), publisher of the Bolton Evening News and the Bury Times, has agreed voluntary redundancy for seven editorial staff.

National Union of Journalists members will be asked to vote in an election for general secretary in June after nominations were opened last week.
The NUJ general secretary is subject to election/re-election every five years and the union’s National Executive Council have agreed a timetable for the election.

The director of Google News and the general manager of Yahoo! News will participate in a debate at the World Editors Forum on the impact of new competition from news aggregators and news agencies on traditional newsrooms.
Nathan Stoll of Google and Neil Budde of Yahoo! will be joined by Pierre Louette, CEO of Agence France-Presse, and Dean Wright, senior vice president and managing editor for consumer services at Reuters, in a session entitled, “Web Portals and News Agencies: New Threats to Newspapers?” at the event in Moscow in June.

If you think you can write a winning travel article, there is still the chance to enter the Independent on Sunday/Bradt Travel Guides travel-writing competition.
First prize is a holiday for two in Hungary. The deadline of May 26 is fast-approaching so visit www.bradtguides.com for full details.

Southend Evening Echo readers have given the thumbs-down to plans for a new supercasino in the town, after the local authority said it would be a good opportunity to bring jobs and boost the economy. Of the 939 people who voted in a phone poll, 740 – or 79 per cent – said they were opposed to such a development.

Journalists from all over the world will flock to London next month for an international conference about the future of the press.
The International Press Institute’s World Congress will take place over four days, with speakers including BBC chairman Michael Grade, former diplomats and politicians. Topics up for debate include the recent Danish cartoons furore, with delegates discussing the relationship between religious freedom and the media.